LOS ANGELES county CA under bird quarantine :(

[Aunt Angus]

I called (one of) my local avian vet(s) and encouraged them to also call the authorities. I have asked them to help educate the public, as well. They are in contact with the stafe Vet and are compiling information.

It's not even my prep period, yet here I am.... I am gathering phone numbers. I will post them here shortly.

 

[Morrigan]

Part of me wonders if it would make a difference. If we end up in a quarantine situation like in SoCal, they will be euthanized regardless. I will confine them so they don't get sick, but excellent biosecurity didn't help many in SoCal.

I gotta stop obsessing over this and go to work now.

It's hard not to worry and obsess. My birds are confined in the sense that their yard is fully fenced, with hot wire, and with avian netting over the top. I do not sell chickens, or bring in new birds other than hatching eggs and chicks from hatcheries. But we have migratory sparrows that are small enough to squeeze through the fence and netting. We also have geese flying overhead that drop poop though the netting. I can't see confining them all to the coop, and its not really practicable to cover the yard with a roof and hardware cloth (it's a big area). I could section off and fully secure a smaller area if that was necessary, as a temporary measure.

I kind of feel if the problem is the disease spreading through migratory birds, I'm not meant to keep chickens. I would switch to quail or something I could keep more confined. I mean, unless the disease is eradicated throughout the Americas, there will always be migratory birds.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[micstrachan]

It's not even my prep period, yet here I am.... I am gathering phone numbers. I will post them here shortly.

THANK YOU!

Ok, friends, need a little help/guidance here. In an effort to help others, the local (paper) news wants to ask me some questions about what precautions I’m taking to protect my birds. I don’t want to contribute to hysteria and misinformation, but I think spreading the word might be a good idea. Thoughts on the subject (news article) and what to say?

 

[Morrigan]

Without more information on how the disease is being spread, I would think the easiest and most effective thing most could do is to not bring in new birds into their flocks and don't sell/transport their birds elsewhere. Avoid poultry shows. If we could all freeze in place for a while, it would allow authorities to get handle on where the disease is/where it's coming from.

 

[Kathy Golla]

I think we are speculating a lot here without having any information from the state about what the actual situation is, where they have found birds in NCAL. Where was the Redwood City bird from? Was there a Fremont bird? Was is a parrot? Did they go to a bird show and were the birds from South CA? What is the Tracy bird situation?
VND as I understand it can just be in flocks, you dont have to get it from an outbreak. But I DO know, the genesis of this outbreak and the spread of this outbreak is NOT spread by wild birds. That is misinformation you dont want to pass on. If wild birds were the cause the state could do nothing about VND, they would just have to let it die itself out.
I dont think it hurts to say, don't go to bird shows or fairs, or farms, or petting zoos. Dont let anyone who has chickens around your flock and vice versa. Keep a closed flock. Do not move birds in your flock off of your property.

 

[Bug n Flock]

If you have house birds, be very careful about where you get their toys, food, etc etc etc from. Buying dog food from a pet store that sells birds, be careful. Not wanting to scare people or anything, just trying to help protect peoples beloved birds.

As much as we love our chickens, other bird people love their parrots, their pigeons, their finches. We can't look at it as "poultry people" and "exotic bird people"... we are all in this together, plus there is a lot of overlap. I have poultry and exotics and love both classes of birds very much. (Not that I think anyone was trying to throw exotics keepers under the bus) We bird people are all crazy, the type of bird is less important than the feather fever in our hearts.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Governor Newsom's office: Phone: (916) 445-2841; email form: https://govapps.gov.ca.gov/gov40mail/

OOH - Just found THIS - UC Davis has a list of contacts: https://ucanr.edu/sites/poultry/Resources/contact/

 

[Aunt Angus]

As much as we love our chickens, other bird people love their parrots, their pigeons, their finches. We can't look at it as "poultry people" and "exotic bird people"... we are all in this together, plus there is a lot of overlap. I have poultry and exotics and love both classes of birds very much. (Not that I think anyone was trying to throw exotics keepers under the bus) We bird people are all crazy, the type of bird is less important than the feather fever in our hearts.

Hear, hear! Well said!

 

[notsorandom]

stupid question here i suppose but i have a family member watching my 3 girls they are out in paradise ca while we house hunt. is it going to be safe to get them when we finally do find a home? they dont free range if that matters. i would be devastated if i could not go and get them .

 

[micstrachan]

VND as I understand it can just be in flocks, you dont have to get it from an outbreak. But I DO know, the genesis of this outbreak and the spread of this outbreak is NOT spread by wild birds. That is misinformation you dont want to pass on. If wild birds were the cause the state could do nothing about VND, they would just have to let it die itself out.

Thanks, Kathy. Are you absolutely sure about this and can you share the source? It would be a big factor as to whether I let my flock free range. I never thought they (wild, migratory birds) were the cause, but thought they could be carriers, especially pigeons? We have a flock of pigeons that visits the tall trees surrounding our property every day just before dusk. Thanks!