What did you do in the garden today?

[Sueby]

Huh, I guess I found it. What do y'all think this means?

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

@Wee Farmer Sarah I got the impression it was possibly a turkey farm, or a small chicken farm nearby. I also live about a half mile from a lake & have wetlands in my yard, we see ducks in the wetlands every year, seemingly stopping by on migration. The agent seemed a bit dismayed that she herself didn't have a ton of info, of course I asked a million questions she couldn't answer, lol. & I can't tell you how many migrating geese flew over while I was out there working!

But in all reality it's not a huge deal for me to lock them down & as @Elyrian1 said, I think this will raise the price of eggs so I'd rather keep my layers in lock down then lose them.

I ended up putting them all in the big coop together, they seem to be doing well but that might just be the flock block I put out. I did order a tarp that will fit the small run/coop if I need to separate them. DH will be able to help me with that this weekend, I don't think I can manage it myself. But for now all are tucked in & safe & hopefully nobody kills anybody else!

I’m more concerned with the lack of information being provided from Massachusetts. As I said before, is this something to be concerned about or not.

 

[Sueby]

I told the poor lady that called me the same thing! I finally saw a post on social media about it last week - I told her there should be much more info out there & she agreed. But also told me she was retiring (as are any State of CT employees that are eligible) come April.

ETA: this is HPAI, by the way.

 

[igorsMistress]

This is hilarious!

Hey all. Warm out there today, things are melting. Picking up what is frozen of the saw dust from the tree cutting. I wasn't sure what to do with it some went in the chicken run & I think they think it's food. So then the rest went in the compost. Which is rock solid frozen.

I took a walk thru the garden, very wet. I'm going to put up new hoops for the lettuce & maybe get some planted soon.

The chicken drama here today is killing me. Teenagers coming into lay are just as dramatic as real girl teenagers, I swear.

Yes, they certainly are like real teenagers!

 

[igorsMistress]

Huh, I guess I found it. What do y'all think this means?
View attachment 3017646

Check this out

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ou...e-information/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-2022

 

[Anime2lover]

I just got a call from the Dept of Ag telling me they recommend locking the chickens up - she said Avian Flu was found in a large non backyard set up near by.

If your in rhode island then you probably should.

I checked with the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture website and near the bottom of the list is a notice regarding the avian influenza @Sueby. It is pretty low keyed and not specific where infected ducks were found. I did find a brief bit of information on the Mass Wildlife website. I’m a little concerned if they are downplaying this or the risk to backyard flocks is low. Migrating ducks are not real common in my immediate area however there are several lakes where local birds could mingle with migrating birds taking a break. Fingers crossed this doesn’t get really bad.

you may have them flying over and pooping on your yard, wich can spread it, i'd be careful.

Huh, I guess I found it. What do y'all think this means?
View attachment 3017646

Means that back yard flocks in Connecticut have it. Rhode island does.

 

[Sueby]

Check this out

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ou...e-information/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-2022

Yep, that's where I got it from. I'm confused on the 'Backyard Mixed Species (non-poultry)' wording tho. What does that mean?

 

[Sueby]

Oh & here's a link to the press release - sure seems like a large backyard flock was culled:
https://portal.ct.gov/DOAG/Press-Ro...F9yisqWNkxPSHunIPQOUst7HyTIJxMs2HcRbcxbIToADg

 

[Sally PB]

I'm confused on the 'Backyard Mixed Species (non-poultry)' wording tho. What does that mean?

This has been hashed over a lot on another thread. "(Non-poultry)" means that the birds involved are not part of the commercial food chain. It's a legal(?) term I think. It does NOT mean the birds are NOT poultry, just that they aren't commercial poultry.

My thanks to @U_Stormcrow for figuring this out and passing on the info.

 

[Sueby]

This has been hashed over a lot on another thread. "(Non-poultry)" means that the birds involved are not part of the commercial food chain. It's a legal(?) term I think. It does NOT mean the birds are NOT poultry, just that they aren't commercial poultry.

My thanks to @U_Stormcrow for figuring this out and passing on the info.

Thank you for that, that's the impression I'm getting. I may have kind of skimmed that thread & not read it all completely! I should have!