Avian influenza found in South Carolina

[aart]

@aart
Is this near you?

Yes, next county over to the east.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Yes, next county over to the east.

Fortune favor you and your feathered friends, Aart

 

[aart]

Fortune favor you and your feathered friends, Aart

I'm not too worried, my birds have always been confined,
small birds could get thru the 2x4 run fencing but pretty sure it's rare.

It sure would be nice if these incidences were more detailed....
what kind of flocks(numbers/species, how are they kept(free range/confined),
how they are managed(new birds added), any clues to how the virus gained access to flock(wild bird and/or waterfowl exposure, did keeper feed wild birds)..... etcetcetc.

 

[Sally PB]

What will any of you do for chicken sitters if you plan to go away while all this is going on? Or will you cancel travel plans?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I'm not too worried, my birds have always been confined,
small birds could get thru the 2x4 run fencing but pretty sure it's rare.

It sure would be nice if these incidences were more detailed....
what kind of flocks(numbers/species, how are they kept(free range/confined),
how they are managed(new birds added), any clues to how the virus gained access to flock(wild bird and/or waterfowl exposure, did keeper feed wild birds)..... etcetcetc.

Blame the vodka and whatever mixer I'm currently using, but I am considering writing them and inviting them to direct one of their communication peeps to BYC. Together with a polite suggestion to provide some additional details to help us help them. At minimum, it would be nice if they defined "non-poultry", since they seem to be using the term in a way that includes chickens. A bird which, last I checked, was "poultry" in everyone's definition but (sometimes) theirs.

I'll make that decision tomorrow. Right now, I'm certain i would not be the best messenger.

 

[RoyalChick]

Blame the vodka and whatever mixer I'm currently using, but I am considering writing them and inviting them to direct one of their communication peeps to BYC. Together with a polite suggestion to provide some additional details to help us help them. At minimum, it would be nice if they defined "non-poultry", since they seem to be using the term in a way that includes chickens. A bird which, last I checked, was "poultry" in everyone's definition but (sometimes) theirs.

I'll make that decision tomorrow. Right now, I'm certain i would not be the best messenger.

I think that is a great idea. If not you, maybe one of the BYC mods could do it 'on behalf of the BYC community'.

 

[KRack]

Probably a stupid question, but is everyone everywhere advised to keep their chickens closed up for now until this passes? I'm in PA, and late to the party apparently.

 

[tripletfeb]

What will any of you do for chicken sitters if you plan to go away while all this is going on? Or will you cancel travel plans?

I'd travel anyways. My sister would do the chickens like she normally does. I don't see traveling as an issue at all, considering this is passed by birds that fly all over

 

[raingarden]

We're not in danger here, at least for now, and talk is cheap. But, if my livelihood depended on poultry (which is doesn't) and if my flock became infected, I'd call the authorities first and then call a lawyer. Anything you say may be used against you in negotiating an indemnification.

Did I mention they are all over-paid and under-worked idiots?

Penn State webinar

 

[Sally PB]

The reason I ask about a chicken sitter is this: my options are my neighbors.

Right next door would be the logical choice: she has chickens, and I took care of her flock over Thanksgiving. Except her run is uncovered, and occasionally, her chickens escape, though they don't get far. She wants a bigger, better, covered run, but she has a LOT of irons in the fire, so it might not happen.

DH has said that we (neighbor and I) should avoid getting near each other's flocks, as a precaution. That might be like locking the barn door after the horses escape, but could be a good idea.

We're kind of a community back here. There are 5 houses, and we all walk along the same road, so do our dogs. We're at the end of the road, so nobody "walks by" our house, though we pass every other house on the road when we walk our dog.

There are plenty of geese in the area, year round. We're on a river, and just upstream is a dam and reservoir, and I've seen ducks there. I don't know if it's their summer home, but it could be. If so, that may mean if AI comes to the area (and Kalamazoo is less than 100 miles from me), it could be here all summer. Or forever.

Do I stay home to take care of my birds, or chance someone else coming on the property? I haven't brought this up to DH, yet, and he hasn't made the connection in his head, yet, that he's mentioned. The "conflict" overseas has dominated his thoughts since yesterday, not AI possibly on our doorstep.

What would you do, in my position?