What I Learned From My Awful Experience with Avian Flu

[JonathanHeno]

Do you have a link to an article with these items? I would love to share it with some family members…

I can ask. A friend sent that list to me the other day but I had heard of many of them on my own.

I believe if you Google/duck duck go the incidents individually you can find out about each one.

 

[luckycluk]

I didn't claim they were competant. Governments in Europe, as well as Isreal, ARE culling wild bird populations. The US isn't there yet.

I’m not sure you are understanding my question? I was wondering what sense do you think it made culling the domestic birds of hers and leaving infected wild fowl on her pond alive. Doesn’t that seem like that is defeating the purpose? I wasn’t asking what is going on in other countries, I was just speaking about the members situation with them culling all her birds but leaving infected or possibly infected at her pond. Because the wild fowl could fly to another persons flock nearby and infect them. Asking a question while giving my opinion.

 

[Perris]

Great news on this front from the UK govt today:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uks-top-scientists-join-forces-to-battle-bird-flu-outbreaks

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I’m not sure you are understanding my question? I was wondering what sense do you think it made culling the domestic birds of hers and leaving infected wild fowl on her pond alive. Doesn’t that seem like that is defeating the purpose? I wasn’t asking what is going on in other countries, I was just speaking about the members situation with them culling all her birds but leaving infected or possibly infected at her pond. Because the wild fowl could fly to another persons flock nearby and infect them. Asking a question while giving my opinion.

I understood your question, which is why I pointed out that I wasn't defending the competence of the government agency in their response.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Testing is perpetual. There is a national AI monitoring program performed in coordination with numerous Gov't agencies, as well as voluntary participation of the States and individual participants by way of the NPIP program.

I too would like negative sample numbers.

Thank you! Yes, agreed, that's how it was identified so early on here on the east coast. I'm also curious about the ongoing testing, especially in areas that aren't in active flyways at the moment, if that makes sense. In my case, NC. I think so many areas have residential waterfowl nowadays with our mild winters. I imagine the same can be said for FL. I still have a lot of Canada Geese, although all 15 goslings are nearly unidentifiable to anyone not familiar with them. I have 7 wild Mallard Drakes that stay on my pond everyday and a few hens with probable failed nests or lost ducklings. One of the hens must have formed a bond with my bantam flock because she stayed right beside their run all day for days on end. With all of that rambling, I know these birds fly and most of them fly away right before sunset, only to return midmorning the next day. It'd be nice to know if testing is still being done because I hope and pray they don't contract something and then bring it back to my flocks. There's no way I'd ever call and ask this information for fear of putting a target on the backs of my birds. So for now, I'll continue to search for more information and do what I can to protect my birds. Thanks again for everything and sharing so much time and knowledge

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Thank you! Yes, agreed, that's how it was identified so early on here on the east coast. I'm also curious about the ongoing testing, especially in areas that aren't in active flyways at the moment, if that makes sense. In my case, NC. I think so many areas have residential waterfowl nowadays with our mild winters. I imagine the same can be said for FL. I still have a lot of Canada Geese, although all 15 goslings are nearly unidentifiable to anyone not familiar with them. I have 7 wild Mallard Drakes that stay on my pond everyday and a few hens with probable failed nests or lost ducklings. One of the hens must have formed a bond with my bantam flock because she stayed right beside their run all day for days on end. With all of that rambling, I know these birds fly and most of them fly away right before sunset, only to return midmorning the next day. It'd be nice to know if testing is still being done because I hope and pray they don't contract something and then bring it back to my flocks. There's no way I'd ever call and ask this information for fear of putting a target on the backs of my birds. So for now, I'll continue to search for more information and do what I can to protect my birds. Thanks again for everything and sharing so much time and knowledge

Yes, testing continues. Commercial testing continues as part of the regulations governing the keeping of large flocks intended for the food supply, while voluntary NPIP particpants like myself, who are more widely spread across the states are tested twice yearly (at least, 2x a year here in FL), which helps ensure that regular, widespread testing occurs even when not as intensive as some of the programs earlier this year.

I suspect some of the more northern state with significant poultry industry are currently breathing a sigh of relief and *hopefully* asking themselves what they did right, and wrong, as they prepare for a potential return of AI this fall when the birds migrate south.

I'm here in FL, and well west of the Eastern flyway, so the inital infections missed me entire. and w/o getting too political, in a state not recently famed for competant governance, our Commisioner of Agriculture, Nikki Fried, has (it appears to me) run a very tight ship. I've had nothing but excellent dealings with the offices she oversees, on a host of issues this past year or two. I anticipate they will show similar competance as winter approaches.

 

[Geena]

I blame ignorance of the principle of survival of the fittest and of the newest science that shows:

1. Wild birds develope immunity to bird flu.

2. Parent birds that develop immunity will pass it on to their offspring.

This is why bird flu isn’t causing armageddon among wild bird populations.

Chickens are capable of the same sort of immunity building. The reason they don’t develop it is because the birds who develop the immunity get culled.

Let bird flu rip through the domestic chicken populations a few times. Many will die, but the numbers will be rebuilt by the survivors, which will lead to larger levels of immunity and mitigation of the worst effects. It doesn’t take long to rebuild chicken populations. We kill at least 136 million chickens a day just for our appetites.

This is all well and good except HPAI has a 90 to 100 percent mortality rate in chickens. All the genetics behind the commercial meat and egg flocks would likely be destroyed. It would take a very long time to come back from that.

 

[Egg Blues]

This is all well and good except HPAI has a 90 to 100 percent mortality rate in chickens. All the genetics behind the commercial meat and egg flocks would likely be destroyed. It would take a very long time to come back from that.

I remember hearing the story of a wheat farmer who watched helplessly as his nearly ripe grain was beaten down in a summer hailstorm. He lost his entire crop. Wait! He took a second look, for there was one small patch of wheat still standing, despite the hailstones on the ground. He harvested those seeds, planted them the next year, harvested again and replanted them, until he had bushels enough to seed a field on it. He then took these to market, and got a very fat price for his hardy stock.

There's an opportunity lurking behind every disaster.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

This is all well and good except HPAI has a 90 to 100 percent mortality rate in chickens. All the genetics behind the commercial meat and egg flocks would likely be destroyed. It would take a very long time to come back from that.

I don’t believe that. 90-100% mortality in 48 hours is the claim. If that was so, infected flocks wouldn’t need to be culled. They’d simply cull themselves in 2 days. Which isn’t what actually happens when HPAI hits a flock. Otherwise we wouldn’t have stories like the OP. A flock could just be quarantined until all the birds die in a few hours. Instead, what actually happens is some birds die, some birds don’t. The government culls the birds that don’t.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I don’t believe that. 90-100% mortality in 48 hours is the claim. If that was so, infected flocks wouldn’t need to be culled. They’d simply cull themselves in 2 days. Which isn’t what actually happens when HPAI hits a flock. Otherwise we wouldn’t have stories like the OP. A flock could just be quarantined until all the birds die in a few hours. Instead, what actually happens is some birds die, some birds don’t. The government culls the birds that don’t.

You don't believe it because you've made a number of very erroneous assumptions. Not surprising, you have to hunt a bit to find out much about why they cull the birds that they do, and why the numbers don't match up with some of the worst claims about HPAI.

Do you want an education, or are you comfortable with your current state of knowledge?