Free-ranging chickens go where wild birds go. Photo Credit
Over the past couple of months, I have been following a situation in the Pacific Northwest. A flock of backyard chickens was diagnosed with Avian Flu. As a backyard chicken keeper, I have always known that this could develop in backyard chickens but it is not very common. So why and how did this happen? How did this chicken keeper figure out what was going on with their flock?
In the United States, there are four main migratory flyways that birds use to travel. These are the Atlantic, Mississippi, Central and Pacific. As birds migrate, they run the risk of spreading diseases to all fellow birds. One very important thing to understand, is that some birds that travel all four of these flyways originate from a place called the Arctic refuge. Here the refuge functions like a big petri dish, where lots of these strains of flus can be shared between cohabitating birds. As the birds then fly down these flyways, the possibility exists that those disease are then spread exist.
Animated diagram courtesy of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Photo Credit.
Since the fall of 2014, three types of highly pathogenic avian flus were identified in wild birds that traveled along the Pacific Flyway and it has quickly spread to wild and domesticated birds due to migration. At the time of this publication, these three strains have been determined not to affect humans, but they could easily mutate to humans if the situation is not managed appropriately. This is where backyard chicken keepers need to be vigilant. Most likely, these backyard chicken keepers’ chickens were exposed to the secretions or dropping of migrating birds on their property and then became infected and ill. Even though they are in Washington State and Idaho right now, this does not mean that it cannot happen in your very own backyard.
Signs and Symptoms:
Death typically occurs within 24-48 hours of infection. Some ducks can be carriers but not show symptoms. The incubation period can be from a few days to a few weeks.
Blue discoloration and swelling of the comb, wattles, and head.
Red discoloration of shanks and feet.
Internal muscle and organ damage.
Bloody discharge from nose and mouth.
Greenish diarrhea.
Nervous system issues.
An enclosed and covered run offers the flock some protection. Photo Credit
Prevention:
Consider halting free-ranging until this flu dissipates.
Keep a designated pair of shoes just for use with the chickens.
Keep wild birds away out of your chicken run by covering open runs and keeping food sources away.
Consider stopping feeding wild birds and removing bird baths temporarily.
Do not use the same tools to clean bird baths or work in the garden with your flock.
Disinfect the coop and tools regularly.
Cook all poultry and eggs to proper temperatures.
Do not move or ship poultry without proper state permits or if any of the birds in your flock appear ill.
If you hunt wild game: Do not eat, drink or smoke when handling wild game. Cook it to proper temperatures and disinfect all tools used clean the game.
Diagnosis/Treatment
If you believe that your flock could possibility be infected, do not move or relocate them.
Immediately call your local state poultry inspector for further investigation and testing.
It is important to know that between 2005 and 2011 only about 10% of those wild birds that were tested for avian flus came back positive. To learn more about avian flu, click here. For a further discussion and background about the avian flu, how it is spread, and how they are classified, click here.
About the author: Melissa is a backyard chicken keeper, beekeeper,gardener, crafter and cook. She can be found sharing on her own blog,Tilly’s Nest, as well as on Country Living Magazine, HGTV, Grit, Community Chickens, and Keeping Backyard Bees. Her first book, A Kids’ Guide to Keeping Chickens, will be available March 2015 from Storey Publishing.
The photos used in this article were used under the Creative Commons licensing agreement.
9 Comments
If your flock is diagnosed with a strain of avian flu and you have indoor birds like parakeets, will your indoor by birds be euthanized along with your flock?
Last month I was notified by the USDA that my backyard chickens are under quarantine because of this bird flu. I live near a Turkey Ranch in CA. The turkey ranch had to destroy 200,000 of their birds because one of the houses was effected. Best they could figure out was a wild duck few over and a poo was able to go through the screened window, as the turkeys are housed.
Everyone within a certain mile radius of that ranch is now placed on a 4 month quarantine. The USDA is routinely testing my chickens. So far all is fine, but every time a duck flies over I have to wonder…..I have a large pond on my property and they love stopping by. I use to enjoy that also.
So, in the event that your flock became infected, and is terminated. Is the pathogen still present in the coop environs? I can clean and sanitize my coop, but what about the soil in the run and the yard. Should I presume it is contaminated, and how long does the pathogen persist in the environment?
Kimberly, the Doctors from the USDA where very informative and spent a lot of time here. They made sure I understood everything. I even learned things I was doing wrong with my normal everyday egg collecting. For instance I didn’t know we were not supposed to wash collected eggs with water.
But as to your question, I know the turkey ranch is going through a process where they are sanitizing everything. They are not allowed to have birds for 4 months. Everything must be cleaned out of the houses and sanitized. This is all supervised by the USDA. Such importance was placed on this that Jerry Brown authorized Verizon to place a new communications tower at the ranch because cell phone commutation was spotty.
In the paperwork I was given, they list disinfectants that KILL the bacteria. So run off would not be an issue. Just like when you wash your hands with sanitizers to kill germs, these are doing the same thing…killing the bacteria.
Roccal
Nolvasan
A mixture of household bleach and water.
I was told that should my backyard chickens become contaminated, the USDA would be the ones that would clean out my coup and sanitize it. I would have to wait the 4 months before I could replace my chickens. The USDA would pay to replace them…interesting huh?
Tammy,
Are you sure that the USDA said that they would clean out your coop and sanitize it? I find it hard to believe that the funds for that type of operation would be in their budget. They might help destroy your flock, but I would think that the cleaning would be up to the flock owner.
Tammy,
You said “the USDA would be the ones that would clean out my coup and sanitize it. I would have to wait the 4 months before I could replace my chickens. The USDA would pay to replace them”. Are you sure? How could this type of operation be within their budget? Are they paying for the clean-up and re-stocking of the nearby turkey farm? If not, why not? It would only be fair if they will pay for your loss.
People interested in bio-security should consider signing up for the USDA free web seminars. Very informative and they send out alerts when thier are problems.
good tips provided on safety.
Thank you so much, Melissa, for such useful information!
I just came up your blog and I am loving it ☺