HEADS UP AVIAN INFLUENZA ALERT

[MrsBachbach]

News just reported another case in Missouri. They did not say where, only that 130 birds were destroyed.

 

[MrsBachbach]

Another fairly dumb question... We have a wetland very close to where our chickens live. The wetland usually has wild ducks and a pair of wild geese, who frequently visit the yard where the chickens free-range. Would it be safer to keep the chickens in a covered tractor where the geese don't go? Should we just lock them up in the coop, or would the tractor option be safe enough? We are located in SE Wisconsin.

I'd try to keep them away from the water and waterfowl for sure. Also, any ground those birds have been on. Not sure how long the virus remains infective in feces.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

The carcasses are probably incinerated. They are not put into the "food chain".
The litter is also destroyed. The entire building is thoroughly disinfected and then sets empty.
I am curious how you think the feed could be carrying the virus???

Much if not all of the chicken food fed on large commercial poultry farms is irradiated to kill all pathogens that might be introduced from wild bird populations while the food is being grown and harvested.

Also keep in mind that your backyard flock MAY be subject to destruction. This is especially true if you keep ducks or geese. There is no vaccination against N5H2 and I doubt that one will ever be approved because vaccines would make a positive antigen test for N5H2 meaningless.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I have a dozen laying hens that do free range on our 2 acre property. The nearest located to be effected is about 35 minutes south of us. As we are more centrally located in Iowa, just outside the Des Moines metro area. Is there anything I should or should not be doing? Should I be keeping them from free ranging? What about feeding song birds....should I stop that too? Any other ideas for backyard/small flock owners?

The long and short of it is that if you're keeping chickens then you should at no time ever be feeding song birds on the same property. If you don't care about the health and well being of you're chickens, think about all the poor song birds whose health you are endangering with your chickens.

 

[chicknmania]

Another fairly dumb question... We have a wetland very close to where our chickens live. The wetland usually has wild ducks and a pair of wild geese, who frequently visit the yard where the chickens free-range. Would it be safer to keep the chickens in a covered tractor where the geese don't go? Should we just lock them up in the coop, or would the tractor option be safe enough? We are located in SE Wisconsin.

Not really a dumb question, but hard to say without knowing how many birds you have and how big your coop and tractor are. I personally would think it would be ok to put them in the tractor, if you can put the tractor where the wild waterfowl don't go. And then just keep them in the coop at night.

 

[chicknmania]

The long and short of it is that if you're keeping chickens then you should at no time ever be feeding song birds on the same property. If you don't care about the health and well being of you're chickens, think about all the poor song birds whose health you are endangering with your chickens.

The song birds are going to be there whether you feed them or not. As far as there not being an effective vaccine, actually they are working on one. Last I heard it was in testing stages.

 

[chicknmania]

News just reported another case in Missouri. They did not say where, only that 130 birds were destroyed.

It was in Lewis County. (Monticello). A backyard flock, mixed poultry.

They are saying now that they think the virus is mutating so it stays alive longer, and is being transported in dust, and on feathers, etc, that are blown out of infected farms....That's disturbing as the weather in Missouri has been pretty warm...but it's not, apparently, killing off the virus...like originally they said it would.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

The song birds are going to be there whether you feed them or not. As far as there not being an effective vaccine, actually they are working on one. Last I heard it was in testing stages.

The Pharm industry may be working on a human vaccine but a chicken vaccine would make it impossible to tell if any chicken in any particular flock had been exposed to the H5N2 virus or had only been vaccinated against it. Therefor I don't expect the CDC, FDA, & USDA to approve a vaccine for chickens.

You can be right 10,000 times and no one remembers but if your wrong just once no one forgets. A lot of the hype goes back to the "Never Let A Good Emergency Go to Waste" mind set of the present administration. I think that this too shall pass but there is a small chance for a pandemic to erupt. At any rate there is the prospect for fewer flocks of chickens in the near future, maybe a lot fewer flocks.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

It doesn't sound ignorant to me as far as the other buildings go. Chances are it hasn't reached those buildings. Of course if even one bird is found to have it, it is assumed that the virus has spread to others, especially those in the same building, it is just incubating and not showing visible signs yet. However, the problem with lettting it play out in a flock with such extremely large numbers (those thousands in a building) is that it give the virus the chance to mutate to possibly a more dangerous strain, even a strain that may infect humans. So, I can understand not letting it play out in a building. I still don't understand the need to cull other houses that have no symptoms. Unless they just feel it is inevitable that they will be infected. I don't know why they would feel that way though.

What is being tested for is the mere exposure to the N5H2 virus. No bird that I know about has died from this pathogen. They only test for the specific antibodies that show that these chickens have been exposed, not if they have a raging case of N5H2.

 

[MrsBachbach]

What is being tested for is the mere exposure to the N5H2 virus.  No bird that I know about has died from this pathogen.  They only test for the specific antibodies that show that these chickens have been exposed, not if they have a raging case of N5H2.

N5H2? Isn't that a non pathogenic strain? I thought it was the H5N2 that was being found in all these flocks. At least that is what is being reported, that the highly pathogenic strain is being found. I'm really confused now.