Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[fuzzybutt love]

Awwww. That is very sad.

 

[RaZ]

That is sad to hear, Stacy. The portrait is a very nice gesture.

 

[bigmrg74]

Just finished putting together my Christmas present. I got a wood top steel workbench. Has a peg board backing, a light on top of it, and some drawers under it for some storage. Just big enough to slide the generator in under it. Going to be really useful in keeping my assorted stuff there along with various projects on it. And just to keep from worrying about marking up the wood on it, I already put a few dings in it with a hammer. No sense in worrying about that.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Please read, at least the section describing avian symptoms if nothing else. If you are able lock down your birds. If anyone knows of any other *virus* a chicken could get other than this and mareks please tell me- a nearby farm was shut down by the usda. They will not say what virus, only that humans are not at risk and that it is being carried by migrating geese and seagulls-water birds. All their birds were destroyed even though they weren't sick but had been at some point- which if correct is not mareks since that is a forever illness. Please take this serious; whatever it turns out to be it is very real. Here is a detailed explanation of bird flu, just in case
http://www.fao.org/avianflu/en/qanda.html

 

[1muttsfan]

Reportable avian infections in Michigan

www.michigan.gov/documents/mda/MIAvianDis2009_284984_7.pdf

Note that some, while reportable, result in no further action (Mareks)

 

[fuzzybutt love]

I can't read downloads on my phone! Can you list the reportable viruses? It is not mareks then.

They went in and destroyed the birds and disinfected the grounds using hazmat procedures. Still not public knowledge. They are going door to door over there, checking doors that don't even own birds. Not my area as of yet. My birds are locked down; they have been locked down since the move during summer with only brief bits outside. I felt terrible but now i think it was a blessing in disguise?

Eta this is another possibility, still not good but...
http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/pou..._infections/newcastle_disease_in_poultry.html

Sorry to be a downer on christmas. I just found out about the bird's destruction today. Reporting in as i find out things since by the time they bother to warn anyone publicly it will be too late. Disgusted by the poor handling of this...

 

[aart]

Just finished putting together my Christmas present. I got a wood top steel workbench. Has a peg board backing, a light on top of it, and some drawers under it for some storage. Just big enough to slide the generator in under it. Going to be really useful in keeping my assorted stuff there along with various projects on it. And just to keep from worrying about marking up the wood on it, I already put a few dings in it with a hammer. No sense in worrying about that.

My Dad put a 1/4 thk sheet of 'masonite' or medium density fiber board over the wood top of work bench with countersunk screws. Easy and cheap to replace if needed, nice smooth surface. Probably because it's home made and so wasn't too smooth to begin with, but served him well for 40 years and now me for another 20. Just a thought.

 

[JackieandChicks]

I can't read downloads on my phone! Can you list the reportable viruses? It is not mareks then.

They went in and destroyed the birds and disinfected the grounds using hazmat procedures. Still not public knowledge. They are going door to door over there, checking doors that don't even own birds. Not my area as of yet. My birds are locked down; they have been locked down since the move during summer with only brief bits outside. I felt terrible but now i think it was a blessing in disguise?

Eta this is another possibility, still not good but...
http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/pou..._infections/newcastle_disease_in_poultry.html

Sorry to be a downer on christmas. I just found out about the bird's destruction today. Reporting in as i find out things since by the time they bother to warn anyone publicly it will be too late. Disgusted by the poor handling of this...

Where was this again ? (Sorry too many pages back). And did you ever get in contact to find out what they are testing for?

Lots of mystery stuff going around. I remember being told year about an organic egg/chicken farm north side of Holland closing early because their flock got some disease one or two years ago....

 

[1muttsfan]

The reason they do not issue warnings is because there are people who would attempt to hide or move their birds to avoid having them killed. The diseases that lead to this kind of action are serious risks to other people's birds and sometimes to people as well. While it seems draconian, these actions are well thought out and clearly stated in the reportable disease handout. Maybe you could get on a computer and print them out, our library allows you to do that. Hopefully your birds are safe.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

I know they think it, but not out clearly. It is wrong to kill animals that test clean, yet they would not hesitate. The object is to find, surround, kill. No matter how your biosecurity is. There was a lot of flack toward the other country for killing out a whole valley of birds- which included pets that had tested clean. That is where i draw the line. My objective is to make people aware, so they can focus on biosecurity and avoiding the disease in the first place. The less it spreads the smaller the circle. Should mine test dirty i'd have no choice but to have them euthanised as i keep my indoor doves too and it would be a high risk to them and me, my family. If they test clean you can bet your backside that at least one hen of my bloodline and some hatching eggs will be safely tucked away indoors for extra measure, or if i can get moved this spring the lot of them in a spare room aviary. Climate controlled indoors anyway, less to worry about for me. Whether this is a flu scare or something that isn't human related the recent bird flu discoveries in the us are going to scare people. In order to keep public confidence we have to show that we can act responsably and minimalize risk- caged birds are less risk than free.(not necessarily in the house, mine are just a few pets) Otherwise we may well lose the rights to own them that we fought so hard to get.