Texas/ New Mexico area Avian flu

[ZiaEggcelente]

Hi friends,
I’m seeing news of avian flu at an egg producing plant in this area. Thoughts on how to protect my home flock? Should I refrain from free ranging right now?

 

[TooCheep]

I'm afraid there is no perfect answer- only mitigations. The two million birds at the Texas poultry facility certainly didn't free range. People have different circumstances. Probably the best BYC owners can do is a coop + covered run, but that will be a challenge for some.

For most of us, infection can most likely come from (a) wild birds or (b) bringing in new infected poultry. The covered run will do a lot to minimize exposure to wild bird poo, etc. If you do need to bring in new birds, then be sure to quarantine them for a while (which is good even without HPAI) before introducing to your flock. That will give you plenty of time to see if they are sick.

You can educate yourself about HPAI (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza) at:
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-influenza

You can follow HPAI news at:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/avian-influenza-found-in-south-carolina.1507893/
And you can watch for news of newly detected infections at:
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestoc...za/hpai-detections/commercial-backyard-flocks

 

[ZiaEggcelente]

Thank you!!!