Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[ManueB]

you might find this interesting
https://doi.org/10.1017/S1466252310000095
'Avian influenza: our current understanding'
It's from 2010, so 13 years behind now, but better than most things I've read on the topic.

It's under a paywall for me.

 

[GregnLety]

@GregnLety how is Cholo Jr's beak? Our Miss Carrots had an awful break, bad enough I feared for her future, and it grew back quickly. Not perfectly, but it works.

The fracture went across the whole beak, and the beak was nearly severed all the way up to her nostril on one side. The afternoon it happened, she found a sunny spot, stuck her head in her wing, and napped. But that was the only day she seemed to be in pain. I brought soft food and treats at sunset, only to find her crop full already (but she was happy to gingerly pick out the chopped blueberries).

She was preening again 2 mornings later, able to snap off blades of grass and peck her friends again in a week. This photo was 2-3 weeks after the break. I didn't have the fortitude to take photos when the break was fresh. If Carrots had a mirror to see how bad it was, she wouldn't have rebounded so fast.

View attachment 3434792
It just fused itself back. Looks funny but is functional. Maybe she'll get her old beak back eventually? Our bearded beauty pre-beak-break:

View attachment 3434794

Thanks for asking about Jr. I have not seen him in a few weeks due to work. I am currently on a rig near Dubai. I will see if Lety can get a picture today. If not I'll be home this weekend to give an update. I'm glad Carrots beak grew back as it gives me hope for Jr.

 

[RoyalChick]

It's under a paywall for me.

I can only get the abstract without being asked to pay (quite a lot I should say!).

 

[Perris]

It's under a paywall for me.

Shame. Here's the conclusion:
"AI viruses remain one of the most important challenges in veterinary medicine, and long-term control appears unlikely because of the wild bird reservoir of LPAI virus. Over the last 20 years, the incidence of new HPAI outbreaks appears to be increasing, suggesting that current poultry-rearing practices may increase the opportunities for outbreaks. Lastly, the emergence and spread of H5N1 HPAI in Asia, Europe, and Africa has greatly increased the stakes for both veterinary and public health communities. AI continues to be a global health issue, and control efforts need to be coordinated before the virus can be eliminated. As an example, the veterinary officials in Hong Kong have instituted the most rigorous controls and have maintained a high level of surveillance for over 13 years, but they continue to face H5N1 and have to respond to outbreaks almost every year. AI also continues to affect a disproportionate number of smallholder and backyard poultry farmers, which results in economic and food security concerns for the poorest people. The last 13 years have resulted in a huge influx of resources into the veterinary community, both for control and research, and although progress has been made, we still remain far from our goal. An increased understanding of our adversary and innovative approaches for control and eradication is still needed. The most obvious control tools are vaccines, and the next generation of viral-vectored vaccines may have distinct advantages over our current vaccines. However, AI, like other influenza viruses, suffers from antigenic drift, and vaccines will need to be targeted for the best results. Other technologies may include the use of transgenic animals that are resistant to influenza infection. These technologies are on the near horizon, but are currently out of reach. International cooperation, virus sharing, and transparency in disease reporting are all necessary first steps to achieve the goal of eradication of H5N1 HPAI and the prevention of outbreaks with either LP or HPAI viruses."

On the public health threat front, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268810000518 'What is the evidence of a role for host genetics in susceptibility to influenza A/H5N1?', also from 2010, makes a good case for genetic susceptibility in the host, and its summary is
"The apparent family clustering of avian influenza A/H5N1 has led several groups to postulate the existence of a host genetic influence on susceptibility to A/H5N1, yet the role of host factors on the risk of A/H5N1 disease has received remarkably little attention compared to the efforts focused on viral factors. We examined the epidemiological patterns of human A/H5N1 cases, their possible explanations, and the plausibility of a host genetic effect on susceptibility to A/H5N1 infection. The preponderance of familial clustering of cases and the relative lack of non-familial clusters, the occurrence of related cases separated by time and place, and the paucity of cases in some highly exposed groups such as poultry cullers, are consistent with a host genetic effect. Animal models support the biological plausibility of genetic susceptibility to A/H5N1. Although the evidence is circumstantial, host genetic factors are a parsimonious explanation for the unusual epidemiology of human A/H5N1 cases and warrant further investigation." To try to nip any potential scare-mongering in the bud, I add another brief quote: "The scarcity of human cases despite widespread exposure clearly demonstrates a substantial barrier to humans acquiring infection".

Edited to add: I've just seen RC's post and see that you can get the abstract anyway. So I've replace it with the conclusion.

 

[RoyalChick]

Shame. Here's the conclusion:
"AI viruses remain one of the most important challenges in veterinary medicine, and long-term control appears unlikely because of the wild bird reservoir of LPAI virus. Over the last 20 years, the incidence of new HPAI outbreaks appears to be increasing, suggesting that current poultry-rearing practices may increase the opportunities for outbreaks. Lastly, the emergence and spread of H5N1 HPAI in Asia, Europe, and Africa has greatly increased the stakes for both veterinary and public health communities. AI continues to be a global health issue, and control efforts need to be coordinated before the virus can be eliminated. As an example, the veterinary officials in Hong Kong have instituted the most rigorous controls and have maintained a high level of surveillance for over 13 years, but they continue to face H5N1 and have to respond to outbreaks almost every year. AI also continues to affect a disproportionate number of smallholder and backyard poultry farmers, which results in economic and food security concerns for the poorest people. The last 13 years have resulted in a huge influx of resources into the veterinary community, both for control and research, and although progress has been made, we still remain far from our goal. An increased understanding of our adversary and innovative approaches for control and eradication is still needed. The most obvious control tools are vaccines, and the next generation of viral-vectored vaccines may have distinct advantages over our current vaccines. However, AI, like other influenza viruses, suffers from antigenic drift, and vaccines will need to be targeted for the best results. Other technologies may include the use of transgenic animals that are resistant to influenza infection. These technologies are on the near horizon, but are currently out of reach. International cooperation, virus sharing, and transparency in disease reporting are all necessary first steps to achieve the goal of eradication of H5N1 HPAI and the prevention of outbreaks with either LP or HPAI viruses."

On the public health threat front, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268810000518 'What is the evidence of a role for host genetics in susceptibility to influenza A/H5N1?', also from 2010, makes a good case for genetic susceptibility in the host, and its summary is
"The apparent family clustering of avian influenza A/H5N1 has led several groups to postulate the existence of a host genetic influence on susceptibility to A/H5N1, yet the role of host factors on the risk of A/H5N1 disease has received remarkably little attention compared to the efforts focused on viral factors. We examined the epidemiological patterns of human A/H5N1 cases, their possible explanations, and the plausibility of a host genetic effect on susceptibility to A/H5N1 infection. The preponderance of familial clustering of cases and the relative lack of non-familial clusters, the occurrence of related cases separated by time and place, and the paucity of cases in some highly exposed groups such as poultry cullers, are consistent with a host genetic effect. Animal models support the biological plausibility of genetic susceptibility to A/H5N1. Although the evidence is circumstantial, host genetic factors are a parsimonious explanation for the unusual epidemiology of human A/H5N1 cases and warrant further investigation." To try to nip any potential scare-mongering in the bud, I add another brief quote: "The scarcity of human cases despite widespread exposure clearly demonstrates a substantial barrier to humans acquiring infection".

Edited to add: I've just seen RC's post and see that you can get the abstract anyway. So I've replace it with the conclusion.

Very interesting.
The piece about host genetic susceptibility are just about H5N1 disease in people - not about chickens. Right?

 

[becstalls]

Lurking tax. Not chickens, but they’re still pretty. And it shows just how cold it is here this morning. I’ve never seen a grackle hunker to the ground like that before. Also, not a bad picture for having been taken by a cell phone through binoculars.

 

[Perris]

Very interesting.
The piece about host genetic susceptibility are just about H5N1 disease in people - not about chickens. Right?

yes, that's right. The risk of it evolving to infect people is real, but remote.

 

[Perris]

I should add that the other paper, the overview on current understanding, has a lot about the variable genetic susceptibility of different bird species.

Edited to add, for example, tho' the virus has been found in over 100 different bird species, it's especially prevalent in Mallards, Northern Pintail, Green-winged teal, and Northern Shoveller ducks, who are (or in 2010, were) therefore key reservoirs of it in the environment.

 

[ManueB]

Thank you @Perris.

Other technologies may include the use of transgenic animals that are resistant to influenza infection.

Oh dear .
Twelve years after and still no vaccine, though.

My brother thought he would die when he got H1N1 in 2009...now from what I understand it's just a seasonal flu.The worse isn't always certain.

I'm glad we're out of the alert zone because if I had to be serious to keep birds out of feeders and waterers, the only way would be to keep my chickens locked up in the coop...and then even in the coop the smaller baby birds sometimes manage to get in.

 

[no fly zone]

Today is my sweet girl's 4th birthday