Avian Flu raises its Ugly Head in Eastern US!!

[Ellamac]

Yes it can affect all birds. Try to encourage everyone to sanitize and be a little extra careful when coming home from work.

Check into the "Farm and Dairy" newspaper you might be close enough to get it. It's mostly a ohio Pennsylvania Kentucky farm paper but excellent updates on the bird flu

Thank you. We do the sanitize thing a lot to keep salmonella at bay. It's hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake if not. I don't personally go to the farms but if I did I wouldn't be allowed to have my bird or any fowl at all. One never really ponders the real amount of work and thought that goes into the commercial farm industry.

 

[Icca]

Thank you. We do the sanitize thing a lot to keep salmonella at bay. It's hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake if not. I don't personally go to the farms but if I did I wouldn't be allowed to have my bird or any fowl at all. One never really ponders the real amount of work and thought that goes into the commercial farm industry.

Being that this is the business you all do. I'm sure your family knows better than most on how to handle these situations. With any luck it's peaking now and will phase out when the migrating birds settle in.

It's all part of life we just do the best we can and hope it all works out

 

[SailBoat]

I was wondering if this was something I need to worry about. Does the bird flu affect all avian critters My family has a business that deals with the cleaning of the chicken farms for Tyson chicken and such. We do all of Ky and half of Tennessee as well as a couple in North Carolina.

Your family likely has detailed information regarding what is required, especially since they are cleaning farms that supply Tyson Foods. Your Family would be operating under State Requirements and have detailed requirements in place for cleaning their equipment and themselves.

 

[SailBoat]

Sadly, very bad news coming out of Michigan as the State reported three cases of Avian Flu jumping species as three Red Fox tested positive to Avian Flu this week!! As important is the distance between the Red Fox locations, which indicates that spread is larger and more common then just these three Mammals.

 

[ravvlet]

There’s been 32 (I think?) human cases so far too. Our avian vet has started pre-appointment screening for parrot patients (asking if owners keep outdoor poultry or waterfowl). Really relieved we no longer fall into the “outdoor birds” category.

Stay safe everyone!

 

[Cottonoid]

A baby fox that died was confirmed H5N1 here in Minnesota as well. And I believe two red fox last week in Ontario Canada.

Minnesota is now up to 2.9 million affected poultry from 75 sites across the state, with 200 wild birds testing positive.

Minnesota DNR states that songbirds are not at high risk of transmission so my neighbors and I have kept our bird baths/feeders with our regular cleaning schedule (we don't have backyard chickens on our block and the neighborhood corvids never visit our yards).

 

[SailBoat]

It appears that Fall's return is 4 to 6 weeks early!!
It could be that Winter will be earlier this year 'or' that Hot Spots have increased in numbers!!
Either way, take care with your Feathered Family members as we enter the Fall Migration Season, albeit early this year!!

Deadly bird flu returns to Midwest earlier than expected
The disease has so far required 2.7 million birds in Minnesota to be killed this year.

 

[Cottonoid]

For Minnesotans that celebrate the fall holidays with turkey, it's likely going to be very expensive this year!

 

[SailBoat]

Yes, it's early February and it seems that the Avian Flu has (is) over-Wintering in North America. Some of you may have seen short News stories in both Eastern and Western edges of North America regarding Avian Flu being found in some chicken and turkey farms. Plus the more serious statements of that disease jumping Species as it has been found in wild mammals, once again on both coastal Eastern and Western North America. And just to scare everyone even more there has been at least two examples of a mutation crossing to Humans. The details are thin at this time, but the guess is that it is likely the mutation that first crossed over to mammals.

As it is pre-migration season, and these over-Winter Hot Spots are being reported, it would be wise to follow migrations season protocols, now!!

 

[ravvlet]

Thanks so much for the update. I admit I haven’t been following as closely. I’m glad I got a new, easier to clean cage for Kirby, because it sounds like our days of rolling his cage out for a wash are numbered! I am thinking it may be wiser and safer to just clean it indoors with less harsh products until we see how bad this year will be…

 

[DonnaBudgie]

That's horrible and very concerning, especially for our parrots and other birds.

I wanted to get a few chickens this spring for fun and eggs but I know I would play with my chickens and love them like they were my pets and I'm terrified of them getting avian flu and me bringing it inside and giving it to Rocky and my seven other budgies and them all getting sick! So no chickens for me ! Not taking any chances!

 

[ravvlet]

I wanted to get a few chickens this spring for fun and eggs but I know I would play with my chickens and love them like they were my pets and I'm terrified of them getting avian flu and me bringing it inside and giving it to Rocky and my seven other budgies and them all getting sick! So no chickens for me ! Not taking any chances!

This is wise. When this all started I rehomed our quail flock. It was just too easy to forget and walk through the back door into Kirby’s room after feeding or mucking out their pen. It was kind of sad, because I’d just hatched them last summer and we actually ran the incubator in the bird room because it is kept the warmest! So Kirby was there for their hatching and growing up. I don’t think he cared too much though, haha.

 

[SailBoat]

Latest Bird Flu News on the World Level:
Please remember that this was a News Flash from Cambodia!!

Girl in Cambodia dies from bird flu
Health officials said, first person in the country to die from infection since 2014
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/ot...s-from-bird-flu/ar-AA17QD0B?OCID=ansmsnnews11

 

[ravvlet]

That poor girl and her family. We had a chat about this with our vet. We have pigeons who nest on our roof, and I don’t have a ladder tall enough or the expertise to know how to shoo them away (and I must admit, I rather like them). She laughed and said while pigeons are like rats and can be disease vectors, the more serious risk is waterfowl. I hope this holds true, because I’m not sure how avoid the little guys; they’re everywhere here in the city, and they nest on the neighbors’ roofs as well. I’ve never seen one sick thankfully; we even had one fledge in our yard.

 

[SailBoat]

That poor girl and her family. We had a chat about this with our vet. We have pigeons who nest on our roof, and I don’t have a ladder tall enough or the expertise to know how to shoo them away (and I must admit, I rather like them). She laughed and said while pigeons are like rats and can be disease vectors, the more serious risk is waterfowl. I hope this holds true, because I’m not sure how avoid the little guys; they’re everywhere here in the city, and they nest on the neighbors’ roofs as well. I’ve never seen one sick thankfully; we even had one fledge in our yard.

Surprised that you have not seen an increase in Red Tailed Hawks.

 

[ravvlet]

Surprised that you have not seen an increase in Red Tailed Hawks.

I’ve seen a small falcon (maybe a Merlin?) in the green bank between our street and the one above us, but never anything bigger. I’ve seen crows however go into the pigeon nesting areas and stir up a fuss. The area they nest is a part of the roof that’s about a half foot lower than the rest, about a two foot by one foot rectangle. One house has bird spikes there; hilariously it’s also become the most popular and successful nesting spot! The bird spikes add structural integrity for the nest site so the eggs don’t roll down the sloped roof. We have had our share of eggs roll down and smash on the walkway beside our nest area.