The Old Folks Home

[vehve]

Here the free ranging ban is still in effect until the end of May. Birds have to be kept in covered runs, and if there is waterfowl on the premises, no poultry is allowed to be kept outside.

 

[Beer can]

Big Blue Bell icecream recall also, Listeria. We have nothing to do with their company but everytime something like this happens we have big meetings at work, pound into everyone's heads the importance of food safety and the devastating effects of a recall, not only on the cost today but the loss of consumer trust.

 

[Beer can]

What am I supposed to do? Start shooting all the geese and ducks in our and the neighbors ponds, yard? I'm not free ranging but I sure can't bring them inside.

 

[vehve]

Beer, covered runs should help already. And keeping wild birds out of the runs, especially waterfowl. Your birds should not come into contact with wild bird droppings either, again, especially focusing on the waterfowl.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

H5N1 has been bad in Europe and Africa.

"Hon Ip, PhD, MS, a microbiologist with the US Geological Survey's National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis., told the AP that researchers believe the spread of the Eurasian H5N8 virus from Asia to Europe and North America last year resulted from the mingling of migratory birds in northeastern Russia last summer. The H5N2 virus is a product of reassortment between the Eurasian H5N8 strain and viruses from North American wild birds."


Interesting

"No H5N2 in Minnesota wild birds

In Minnesota, no evidence of the H5N2 strain has been found in samples from wild birds that were near the affected farm at the time of the outbreak earlier this month, according to Lou Cornicelli, PhD, wildlife research manager for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR)."

Lends credence to a friend of mine with the theory that it is a conspiracy.

"One challenge scientists have in predicting how H5N2 may spread is that they don't have enough surveillance data from wild birds to prove they're the source yet, said Tom DeLiberto, DVM, PhD, assistant director of the USDA's National Wildlife Research Center, according to the AP. He said only 56 wild birds have tested positive for H5N8, H5N2, and a few similar viruses, and most were in the Pacific Northwest. Only four or five wild birds have tested positive in the Mississippi flyway, he said."


"Transmission study

In other H7N9 developments, researchers from St Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., yesterday reported that the virus can spread easily between finches and quail through shared water, suggesting that passerine birds may be vectors that spread the virus to poultry. The team published its findings in Emerging Infectious Diseases.
The group had previously shown that finches, sparrows, and parakeets are susceptible to the virus and can shed H7N9 into water. In their follow-up study, they tested interspecies transmission between finches and chickens and between finches and quail in adjoining cages with and without a shared water source. The researchers used both human and avian H7N9 viruses."

 

[casportpony]

The feed store here in Gilroy has a pond for their waterfowl, and I see *tons* of Wild Mallards when I go there. Just a guess, but I think they probably have well over 1000 bird (chicks, chickens, turkeys, quail, doves, pigeons, peafowl, waterfowl guineas, finches, etc).

-Kathy

 

[drumstick diva]

Personally I think the virus mutated due to deliberate laboratory manipulation and was released under top hush procedures by persons,groups, as yet unnamed who hate the world yet, want to take possession of it and kick everyone else - OFF. disclaimer: I know I am wacky but, this makes sense to me (proof of wackiness).

Eventually it might be house chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, that will remain safe. People do not usually keep large populations of poultry in their house, and generally they are very limited in their exposure to other birds, free ranging etc. Much less chance for virus spread.

The human flu this year was not the strain expected - flu shots didn't do much to help. I never knew there was such a thing as CANINE flu till this year and it has hit some areas hard. I do accept randomness and unprovoked mutations. It does seem to me that viruses are changing more frequently, around the same point in time.
I've read (not in Enquirer) recently of thus far, untreatable versions of Lyme disease and Nile virus,etc.

Would calmer, wiser heads (Ron, Felix, etc) please talk(

) sense into me?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

...
Would calmer, wiser heads (Ron, Felix, etc) please talk(

) sense into me?

Keep going.

 

[drumstick diva]

Personally I think the virus mutated due to deliberate laboratory manipulation and was released under top hush procedures by persons,groups, as yet unnamed who hate the world yet, want to take possession of it and kick everyone else - OFF. disclaimer: I know I am wacky but, this makes sense to me (proof of wackiness).

Eventually it might be house chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, that will remain safe. People do not usually keep large populations of poultry in their house, and generally they are very limited in their exposure to other birds, free ranging etc. Much less chance for virus spread.

The human flu this year was not the strain expected - flu shots didn't do much to help. I never knew there was such a thing as CANINE flu till this year and it has hit some areas hard. I do accept randomness and unprovoked mutations. It does seem to me that viruses are changing more frequently, around the same point in time.
I've read (not in Enquirer) recently of thus far, untreatable versions of Lyme disease and Nile virus,etc.

Would calmer, wiser heads (Ron, Felix, etc) please talk(

) sense into me?

 

[ronott1]

Personally I think the virus mutated due to deliberate laboratory manipulation and was released under top hush procedures by persons,groups, as yet unnamed who hate the world yet, want to take possession of it and kick everyone else - OFF. disclaimer: I know I am wacky but, this makes sense to me (proof of wackiness).

Eventually it might be house chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, that will remain safe. People do not usually keep large populations of poultry in their house, and generally they are very limited in their exposure to other birds, free ranging etc. Much less chance for virus spread.

The human flu this year was not the strain expected - flu shots didn't do much to help. I never knew there was such a thing as CANINE flu till this year and it has hit some areas hard. I do accept randomness and unprovoked mutations. It does seem to me that viruses are changing more frequently, around the same point in time.
I've read (not in Enquirer) recently of thus far, untreatable versions of Lyme disease and Nile virus,etc.

Would calmer, wiser heads (Ron, Felix, etc) please talk(

) sense into me?

Someone on another thread posted some information about flu. It is an RNA not a DNA virus so it is not stable. It mutates very quickly so it fools the immune system--it is different enough that you can catch a flu and then it mutates in your spouse and then you immediately catch it again. DNA viruses are stable and do not act like that.

The problem with the vaccines we have for flu is that it takes more than 6 months to make. They are already making next years so they have scoured the southern part of the world and have predicted the three most likely strains--and collected them to make the vaccine. They then need to grow the vaccine in chicken eggs! Millions of chicken eggs!

There is a new process that can make the vaccine faster which would dramatically change things but there are some glitches(likely cost) in getting the new process up and running.

Bird flu is not likely from human causes--it is nature having it's way.