INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[raisinemright]

It's pushing 70 today and Sunny so I put the CornX back in the tractor, they are doing great this afternoon.
Here they are between grazings just being lazy!

 

[kittydoc]

Whew, felt like I was off here forever! We've been busy hatching our Bielefelders (7F, 4M--woo hoo!) as well as more Orps, so we are full to the gills with babies. And it's not over quite yet.

Anyway, I don't know how many of you have continued to follow the Avian Influenza outbreak, but Minnesota turkey farms are having a horrible time. It's up to 9 turkey farms there now. I don't think any new states have been added except for South Dakota.

Here's the latest bulletin that came from the USDA earlier today:

WASHINGTON, April 8, 2015 -- The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza (HPAI) in a commercial turkey flock in Meeker County, Minnesota. This is the ninth confirmation in a commercial flock in Minnesota. The flock of 310,000 turkeys is located within the Mississippi flyway where this strain of avian influenza has previously been identified. CDC considers the risk to people from these HPAI H5 infections in wild birds, backyard flocks and commercial poultry, to be low. No human infections with the virus have been detected at this time.

Samples from the turkey flock, which experienced increased mortality, were tested at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa confirmed the findings. NVSL is the only internationally recognized AI reference laboratory in the United States. APHIS is working closely with the Minnesota Board of Animal Health on a joint incident response. State officials quarantined the premises and birds on the property will be depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. Birds from the flock will not enter the food system.

The United States has the strongest AI surveillance program in the world. As part of the existing USDA avian influenza response plans, Federal and State partners as well as industry are responding quickly and decisively to these outbreaks by following these five basic steps: 1) Quarantine – restricting movement of poultry and poultry-moving equipment into and out of the control area; 2) Eradicate – humanely euthanizing the affected flock(s); 3) Monitor region – testing wild and domestic birds in a broad area around the quarantine area; 4) Disinfect – kills the virus in the affected flock locations; and 5) Test – confirming that the poultry farm is AI virus-free. USDA also is working with its partners to actively look and test for the disease in commercial poultry operations, live bird markets and in migratory wild bird populations.

The Minnesota Department of Health is working directly with poultry workers at the affected facility to ensure that they are taking the proper precautions. As a reminder, the proper handling and cooking of poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F kills bacteria and viruses.

USDA will include the confirmation information in routine updates to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), and will notify international trading partners of this finding as appropriate. OIE trade guidelines call on countries to base trade restrictions on sound science and, whenever possible, limit restrictions to those animals and animal products within a defined region that pose a risk of spreading disease of concern.

These virus strains can travel in wild birds without them appearing sick. People should avoid contact with sick/dead poultry or wildlife. If contact occurs, wash your hands with soap and water and change clothing before having any contact with healthy domestic poultry and birds.

All bird owners, whether commercial producers or backyard enthusiasts, should continue to practice good biosecurity, prevent contact between their birds and wild birds, and report sick birds or unusual bird deaths to State/Federal officials, either through their state veterinarian or through USDA’s toll-free number at 1-866-536-7593. Additional information on biosecurity for backyard flocks can be found at http://healthybirds.aphis.usda.gov.

 

[TIC Remember]

Look it's leahs mom https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/967154/byc-member-interview-leahs-mom

 

[Leahs Mom]

@kittydoc
Do they ever post where the farms got their poults from? I still think that would be valuable information in stopping the spread. It seems likely that they could all be from the same hatchery since they're all somewhat near each other.

 

[Kiniska]

I don't have a specific breed I'm looking for. I'll have to find out what breeds are available and then choose. I do want to get started soon, though. The farm supply stores have chicks now but I don't want to rush into buying them.

Thanks for the link - I'll take a look to see if there is anyone close by.

I can usually sex my birds at two weeks. Have a 90% success rate or better. The hens get tail feathers a full three weeks before my boys. This only works for the birds I am breeding though. Not true of all chickens by any means. Sent you a PM

 

[Kiniska]

Great information Kitty Doc!

 

[Faraday40]

I don't have a specific breed I'm looking for. I'll have to find out what breeds are available and then choose. I do want to get started soon, though. The farm supply stores have chicks now but I don't want to rush into buying them.

Thanks for the link - I'll take a look to see if there is anyone close by.

Just ask for everyone's opinion on fav breeds & you'll get a ton of replys! LOL

For me, it's Orpingtons! Sweet, docile, overly friendly, winter hardy, HUGE! Beautiful variety of colors. Only con is the food bill. Other breeds may produce more eggs.

 

[flyladyrocks]

Here's the latest bulletin that came from the USDA earlier today:

I also wondered the same thing. I've been thinking where are all these poults coming from since I first heard about the outbreak.

@kittydoc
Do they ever post where the farms got their poults from? I still think that would be valuable information in stopping the spread. It seems likely that they could all be from the same hatchery since they're all somewhat near each other.

 

[flyladyrocks]

Just ask for everyone's opinion on fav breeds & you'll get a ton of replys! LOL

For me, it's Orpingtons! Sweet, docile, overly friendly, winter hardy, HUGE! Beautiful variety of colors. Only con is the food bill. Other breeds may produce more eggs.

 

[kittydoc]

I also wondered the same thing. I've been thinking where are all these poults coming from since I first heard about the outbreak.

Dunno. Not sure that matters a whit. Most of them are large commercial farms that may well hatch out their own poults. I would think that if there was a common supplier, that information would have been released.

Turkeys are 100X more susceptible than chickens (though chickens have been affected in backyard flocks as well) to the current highly pathogenic avian flu strains. There are, if memory serves, two different strains, H5N1 and H5N2, that have been found since the nightmare started. It takes 100X more virus to infect chickens than turkeys. Bad news for turkeys, better news for chickens. And be glad we aren't in Minnesota.

The Indiana BOAH (Board of Animal Health) thinks cases will continue to increase in the US throughout this fall!!! I hope not, but they know better than I do. I'm hoping once the migratory waterfowl get settled into their summer homes, that's maybe when it will start to die out--at least until the fall/winter migration.