Unknown disease in waterfowl, two dead, another one sick

[MysteryChicken]

I would agree with you if bird flu wasn’t already widespread in the wild bird population. Culling one backyard flock will do little to stop the spread. Sadly bird flu is most likely here to stay. Mass culling is an ineffective method to control the disease.
Also, California has created a mass culling exemption which means they think quarantine can be safely and responsibly done. So what I’m proposing is not a crazy idea.
I’m only sharing my opinion because I believe everyone has the right to know that culling is the not only option.

I believe in building natural immunity through exposure with Bird Flu. So the idea of culling an entire flock isn't the way to do it.
I've had what seem to be LPAI(Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza), circulate through my flock, & only culled really bad ones. The rest either never caught(Low Infection Rate)it, or kicked it quick.
I'm speaking chickens, not ducks though.

 

[Bird-Whisperer]

If it is bird flu, reporting it will likely mean they will kill all your birds. But ducks and geese actually can survive bird flu. A sanctuary in California was allowed to quarantine their flock and only around 17% of their birds died. So bird flu is not necessarily a death sentence. A sanctuary in the UK has had success treating bird flu. I’ll try to find the article.

Personally I wouldn’t report and would just quarantine so they have a chance of survival

Totally agree with you.

Do you have a source on that sanctuary? I didn't find anything on Google and I'm just curious about what happened.

 

[My15Ducks]

Totally agree with you.

Do you have a source on that sanctuary? I didn't find anything on Google and I'm just curious about what happened.

https://harvesthomesanctuary.org/sanctuary-announcement/
This is the sanctuary.
If you have a New York Times account you can read the full article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/02/...ten done,say results in unnecessary suffering.

 

[HereForTheChicks]

If it is bird flu, reporting it will likely mean they will kill all your birds. But ducks and geese actually can survive bird flu. A sanctuary in California was allowed to quarantine their flock and only around 17% of their birds died. So bird flu is not necessarily a death sentence. A sanctuary in the UK has had success treating bird flu. I’ll try to find the article.

Personally I wouldn’t report and would just quarantine so they have a chance of survival

Have you heard of APHIS ever showing up without the owner reporting? Recently a major chicken company in AL tested positive and the entire flock was killed, and APHIS declared the surrounding 6 miles a danger zone. APHIS then killed a backyard flock nearby but I can't figure out if that backyard owner called for a test, or if APHIS went "chicken hunting"

 

[My15Ducks]

Have you heard of APHIS ever showing up without the owner reporting? Recently a major chicken company in AL tested positive and the entire flock was killed, and APHIS declared the surrounding 6 miles a danger zone. APHIS then killed a backyard flock nearby but I can't figure out if that backyard owner called for a test, or if APHIS went "chicken hunting"

I believe sometimes they do testing within a certain area when they find a positive case, but I don’t know any details

 

[Rilowe]

Recently my partner's and I's flock has taken a hit from a mysterious disease and we're getting desperate to know what's up so we can treat it effectively. In less than a month we've had a goose and a duck die and now we have another duck down with the same thing. So far the symptoms list for the ducks are: lack of appetite even for treats, goopy/cloudy eyes, doesn't seem able to see well actually, runny nose, won't preen themselves, can't balance or walk well, they end up with their legs splayed out behind them once they get worse, losing weight rapidly, seems to be excessive thirst? And low energy. Lungs sound pretty decent, heart sounds pretty decent too, poop is kinda runnier than normal but not weird colored. No abnormal coloring in mouth or throat, nor lesions on their bodies. The goose just straight up died without showing a single sign of anything being wrong. All of these birds are under 5 and healthy, well taken care of animals. They got clean coops, clean environments, access to everything they need, specialty food just for them, and access to clean fresh water daily. Does anyone know what might be up?

Think along the lines of an antero-biological parasite? I believe that specimens of such might be able to be collected from lake frier, near Hammon Oklahoma, and possibly other nearby lakes and/or ponds. r.b 1/29/25