Let’s Talk About Bird Flu

[Squawkers]

Can humans get bird flu?

 

[Bigbluefrog]

I don't know the answer, I have discovered that by staying hydrated and eating probiotic foods I am healthier and able to fight the bugs off
Homemade yogurt plain one every few days! Sour dough bread made from scratch
Eat food from the garden!
I don't want to live my life in fear!
Covid taught me that media played into that fear- and even health agencies would post number of people in our area who were sick- I would take the population number and did the math it was always less than 1 percent sick at one time-
So far I have only heard of rumors and haven't had one single person. Near me deal with bird flu.
I will live my life without fear

 

[Tracyree]

Can humans get bird flu?

Yes

 

[BDutch]

Seems like everyone here is on lock down. Just curious in backyard chicken forum how many have lost chickens to the flu? We are a pretty big community- seems like we should be seeing posts on it.
I give my birds fresh water daily and quality feed. They get kale and sometimes plain yogurt.
Keep their coop clean and remove waste weekly if not more often.

My country is on lock down for many winters now . Im not in the US, but we got hit by other types of bird flu before and by the H5N1 a few years before it the US.

Initially I followed the instructions of the government and kept my chickens inside the run. But the girls were not as happy and the soil in the run got dirty.
I decided to free range for a few hours each day again. Nothing happened with my flock.

I use the autumn leaves again to enhance the soil in run yearly. And make compost again with the chick shit and bedding material.

My idea : you cant stop a virus that is carried around the world by wild birds. The wild bird populations that got hit in the first years of this H5N1 flu got hit with dead’s but there numbers came back in the following years. A healthy flock that lives in a healthy environment (free ranging in lively gardens, forests and on meadows) can coop with diseases better than the poultry kept inside an overcrowded stable.

People with backyard chickens or ducks who report a possible infection with bird flu have their poultry killed. The ones who don’t often see that a part of their flock dies, but not all of them. Cant give numbers because these dead and survivors are obviously not reported. The messages I’ve read are from (unreliable) social media and forums.

 

[BDutch]

Can humans get bird flu?

Yes

Yes but it’s not contagious from one human to another human. So far, in my country , the people who were infected have been around poultry intensely.
New mutations can be dangerous for humans too in an unknown future.

 

[theoldchick]

Wait, I don't think I am understanding this: what do you mean by "untreated" and "proper disposal"?
As far as I am aware, it is recommended that animal and human waste not be put used "raw" as fertilizer, as it can "burn" plants. So it is often biological digested/composted, which can appear to be just sitting in a large pile with bedding. That is how the chicken farm down the road from me deals with their waste. It is how I deal with my (much more limited) chicken's waste.
It is not unusual that animal and human waste is used as fertilizer on fields. I was under the impression that it was less likely to result in environmental runoff than inorganic chemical fertilizer applications. What would the proper disposal of animal waste be?

Good questions. Each state has laws on how poultry litter is processed. Most poultry farms scrape the debris from the houses with a backhoe, pile it up nearby and then spread it on nearby grass fields. Various state have different laws. Commercial operations need a permit to deal with their waste. In this state you can't leave piles of poultry waste, can't put piles within a certain area of dwelling, you must spread plow it in the ground within a three days using certain techniques. There can't be a creek, river on the property and it can't be used on land that grows veggie, fruit and so forth. Personally, I burn my chicken waste before spreading it.

https://thepoultrypunch.com/2020/09/poultry-farm-waste-disposal-management/ https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/guy204579.pdf

 

[AntiqueB]

Yes but it’s not contagious from one human to another human. So far, in my country , the people who were infected have been around poultry intensely.
New mutations can be dangerous for humans too in an unknown future.

Healthy people will not die from the strains currently out there. People with other health conditions are more likely to become very sick or die. Only one has died so far, in the US, at least.

 

[MichaelDJ]

Can humans get bird flu?

Yes.
It's very rare but it does happen. If I remember correctly an elderly person died of it last fall. Quite a few underlying at risk health issues.

 

[Bigbluefrog]

One thing I have learned - I am married to a first responder EMT Firefighter.
We can't live life in fear.
Have faith
Do your best and be kind to others.
Be happy find the good in life
Fear creates stress and stress creates illness
So be happy be smart be kind

 

[JnAP]

My question is about dedicated shoes. The Ag Dept here in GA recommends having dedicated shoes that are only worn while attending the flock. I've read about people having shoe wash stations, wearing booties over the shoes, etc. I'm wondering what you all are doing.