INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[kabhyper1]

So the article I read if I read it right said he bought some new birds. Then he introduced them to his flock. Then his other birds started getting sick. Hope it stays at his farm and not be airborne. Glad I'm hatching my own.

The flock he got his birds from tested negative.

 

[chick rookie]

Just Pic's I know how we love chick pic's:


I took care of miss pasty butt after I took the pic's.





Thats it for now, hope everyone has a great day. I have to get my butt to work.

 

[flyladyrocks]

Just Pic's I know how we love chick pic's:


I took care of miss pasty butt after I took the pic's.





Thats it for now, hope everyone has a great day. I have to get my butt to work.

 

[flyladyrocks]

So we aren't being told anything really about the AI here. I called the AG dept today and she told me that it is in South Whitley but they don't know where. The only advice I can give is don't panic. Just be proactive with your birds. use common sense. Figure out a way to isolate your birds if it has infected flocks close to you. its a temporary discomfort to your birds, but it could save their lives, and the lives of your neighbors birds. I wouldn't sterilize everything. You want good germs too, and sterilization will kill all germs. Just keep a spray bottle of diluted oxine or bleach and spray your entry way and barn boots , yes you should have them, or shoes if you step somewhere that you think could contaminate your birds. Change your clothes and wash them after going out in public, especially feed stores. The recommendation is to get birds under cover. The sooner we get our own flocks under control, the sooner we stop the spread of this crap. I understand that some cannot contain their flocks to the ideal levels, but a good effort would still help. I realize this seems bossy and some think it isn't possible to do some of these things in their own flocks, but I live in the county this has hit. Honestly, until you are in this position, like myself and a few others on here, you have no idea the jolt of reality that hits. It's not a feeling of panic, but it is real. Like when you prepare for tornadoes...you prepare for the possibility, throw opinions around about the best way to handle the hypothetical scenario, do it year after year and never have it happen near you. Then one year your neighbors house gets hit by a tornado. You realize you aren't as prepared as you thought, and anyone telling you they don't worry about it because it won't ever happen to them, it makes you want to shake sense into them. If I looked across the street today and there was poultry running all over after what happened yesterday, you better believe that neighbor would be getting an earful from me. Considering the lengths we are going to keep our flock safe, and I want to be able to let them back out of the barn asap.. that wont happen if this becomes an epidemic. We don't have neighbors with poultry, so that's not going to happen LOL. It's just the point that there would be a huge monetary and emotional toll taken here if are birds contracted AI because people aren't heeding the warnings. We are all hoping this is an isolated case. It will only be so as long as other poultry aren't allowed near the water source that the poultry that were culled were mingling in. My advice.. pay attention, accept that it can happen to anyone, be prepared to deal with consequences, but don't panic. Just be alert to what's happening. I will post updates as I hear them. Not too many people here know much at all, but through calling around locally, we are getting bits and pieces of information. Unless you are dealing with what we are right now being within miles of this crap, please don't come back at me about pressuring everyone to contain their flocks.

 

[Mother2Hens]

@kabhyper1 posted:
Honestly, until you are in this position, like myself and a few others on here, you have no idea the jolt of reality that hits. It's not a feeling of panic, but it is real. Like when you prepare for tornadoes...you prepare for the possibility, throw opinions around about the best way to handle the hypothetical scenario, do it year after year and never have it happen near you. Then one year your neighbors house gets hit by a tornado. You realize you aren't as prepared as you thought, and anyone telling you they don't worry about it because it won't ever happen to them, it makes you want to shake sense into them.

kab~ I had that same feeling last night when I was writing my post—that a tornado watch has been issued and I wasn't prepared. That's why I was wondering if there were any other preparations that could be made. I wonder if I fenced off an area around their coop and run and covered it with tarps if that would be enough protection. In one way, our property is less susceptible, but all it takes is one infected waterfowl flying over...

From weather to health warnings, there are always skeptics who view proactive people as Henny Penny types: "The Sky is Falling!" I used to overlook many weather warnings as being sensationalized, but then an F-3 tornado hit the east side of Evansville ten years ago. We've had many damaging storms since then that have had 120 mph winds and damaging microbursts. Just had one last month not too far from my house.

I was just thinking about the difficulty of truly understanding something unless you've experienced it, and I ran across this interesting article about the psychological aspects.
The Psychology of a Crisis - How Knowing This Helps ...

(This is why I'm always behind on the thread…one thing leads to another! lol)

Btw, our Purdue Extension Agent posted this newspaper article on Sunday:

Things to note about current outbreak of bird flu
May 10, 2015

EVANSVILLE - The Indiana State Board of Animal Health has been issuing notices to farmers about highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), known more widely as "bird flu."
HPAI has been spreading rapidly in commercial poultry operations throughout the Mississippi Flyway, which Indiana is part of. So far, no cases of HPAI have been diagnosed in Indiana.
A few important things to note about the current outbreak of HPAI:
1. The food supply is safe. All shipments of poultry and eggs are tested to ensure the absence of avian influenza (AI) before moving into the food supply.
2. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stated that the risk of transmission to humans is low. The strains of HPAI that are currently circulating in North America have no history of causing human illness.
3. Poultry owners should practice good biosecurity. This includes minimizing or eliminating exposure the poultry has to wild birds and their droppings.
HPAI has been found primarily in wild migratory waterfowl (ducks, geese, etc.). Many of these species are currently migrating with warmer temperatures. The virus is shed in their droppings; therefore, bodies of water and resting areas could be sources of infection. Wild waterfowl present the biggest threat because they do not appear sick or die from the disease. Other bird species may also carry the disease. Backyard poultry owners are encouraged to take steps to minimize their birds' contact with wild bird species.
Anyone who notices unusual wild bird deaths (five or more feeder-type bird deaths in close proximity) should report them to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources at 812-334-1137. The DNR wild bird biologists will make a determination about collecting the dead birds for surveillance testing.
Birds affected with HPAI may show one or more of the following signs:
Sudden death without clinical signs
Lack of energy and appetite
Decreased egg production
Soft-shelled or misshapen eggs
Swelling of the head, eyelids, comb, wattles and hocks
Purple discoloration of the wattles, combs and legs
Nasal discharge
Coughing, sneezing
Incoordination
Diarrhea
If your backyard poultry show one or more of these symptoms or you see unusual bird deaths, you are asked to contact the USDA Healthy Birds Hotline at 866-536-7593. Callers will be routed to a federal or state veterinarian in Indiana for case assessment. You will probably be asked to send them the dead birds, so double-bag and refrigerate them. Be sure not to handle the dead or sick birds with your bare hands; wear disposable rubber gloves.
A great resource for backyard bird health information is online at healthybirds.aphis.usda.gov. For more information on avian flu, check out this site: in.gov/boah/2390.htm or contact the Purdue Extension Service at 812-435-5287.
For more information or to get on the small farmer's list, contact me at the Purdue Extension Service at 812-435-5287 or by email at [email protected]. (Larry Caplan)

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I got a nice packet of info from Purdue. It restated the bio security precautions they recommended and it listed much of the previous post too. As far as I could tell there was not any thing different in the bio security recommendations from the last time I got their list back in January.

I'm not so sure there is a whole lot to be done if it is airborn. I cannot keep my flocks in their coops this time of year.


In other sad news sometime after 11pm last night our circuit breaker flipped for the incubator area. And I did not notice till almost 11am this morning. The incubator had 3 sets of eggs in it and one was in lockdown. I was thinking I would have 1 small set of chicken eggs to add and be done for the year but now I will need to rethink that as I'm sure I lost many eggs / chicks. Normally I would notice sooner but I'm a bit preoccupied with my kid (the black goat I have) and learning to milk the goats. In the future I will have to recommend that people starting out with goats start with a well trained nanny and not the cute kid. There is a lot to train the goat it is worse than taking a first time mom to a LLL meeting by far.

 

[kabhyper1]

M2H I think you have about covered it.Getting your birds under cover is the best thing you can do for now. So tarps and some sort of corral would be fine I'm sure. Really the only thing you can do in the midst of it, is what I wrote in my post. Just be prepared. I really hope it doesn't spread any farther, and that none of our friends birds contract it. Its a devastating blow, and I feel so badly for that poor guy who lost his flock yesterday.

 

[hoosiercheetah]

So, I have two production white Leghorn roos, about 6 or 8 weeks old. Anyone want one or both of them?

 

[SallyinIndiana]

So, I have two production white Leghorn roos, about 6 or 8 weeks old. Anyone want one or both of them?

I'm on rooster overdrive here. But the leghorns are somewhat pretty for a white chicken. There is a guy north of Indy that will process them for you if grow them out. He is not exactly cheap though. For meat birds his price is good but for a standard rooster its more than what I could pay considering how many I have.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/223539807770426/

 

[hoosiercheetah]

If it comes to that, I'll process them myself. I just thought I'd put them out to the group, in case anyone is looking for such a bird. I think the time to butchering weight on a leghorn is pretty long, if I recall correctly.