Bird Flu. Feel More Informed & Less Afraid. 19 Tips To Protect Yourself & Your Flock.

Disclaimer. I’m a content creator. I’m not a veterinary professional. I’m not a medical professional. This is NOT medical advice. This is NOT veterinary advice. My content is for enrichment, entertainment, and educational purposes only. It is not meant to be a substitute for professional services of any kind. Your decisions for the care of yourself and your livestock are solely your responsibility. Please see my full content disclaimer.

Bird flu has existed for many centuries. Bird flu is a respiratory virus that primarily impacts certain wild bird populations. Songs birds typically do not carry bird flu virus and it is mostly present among wild birds categorized as water fowl (examples: ducks, geese) and raptors (examples: hawks, eagles). In wild populations the virus is often not fatal. Wild birds with healthy immune systems recover within a few weeks and unhealthy wild birds who perish from the disease are no longer part of the wild flock.

Bird flu is transmitted in the following ways: by direct bird to bird contact, by directly handling sick or deceased birds, by direct contact with infected droppings, or by contaminated equipment that has been in contact with infected droppings (examples: soiled shoes, clothing, or soiled accessories).

Bird flu virus is sorted into two categories: high pathogenicity or low pathogenicity. Whether a strain of the virus is dubbed high or low pathogenicity is determined by how lethal it is to baby chicks that are experimented on in a laboratory. When the virus kills the majority of the baby chicks exposed to the virus in the lab it is considered high-path. Any strain of the virus that proves fatal to 6 out of 10 chicks or more is considered high-path.

Bird flu virus strains get their names from the hemagglutinin (the H proteins) and the neuraminidase (the N proteins). There are 16 different H proteins and 9 different N proteins. For example, the H5N1 bird flu virus has the fifth H protein and the first N protein.

High path bird flu has been detected and eradicated in the United States in the following years 1924, 1983, and 2004 with no known human cases being reported during any of those outbreaks. Bird flu primarily only impacts birds and it is extremely unlikely for a healthy human to contract the bird flu virus. People who are more likely to be susceptible to bird flu are people with extremely suppressed immune systems (late-stage HIV/AIDS, late-stage cancer, and similar conditions). The very few confirmed cases of bird flu being detected in humans were individual people who had extensive, extreme levels of direct contact with infected birds, typically within the industrial poultry environment. The vast majority of healthy people who have been around or exposed to bird flu virus have developed natural antibodies.

Not all industrial poultry environments are created equal or evil and not all small farms are perfect and virtuous. Every farm, whether industrial or small scale, should be evaluated on their own individual merits and practices. While some industrial settings have made upgrades to provide more ethical, healthier, safer, more humane conditions to their chickens, many have not. The vast majority of the industrial poultry complex was created during the 1940s and many have not been upgraded since.

The industrial food industry has existed since there were urban environments. However, during World War II this industry grew with government partnership in order to provide highly preserved shelf stable food to soldiers who were fighting in different parts of the world. After the war, this same food was relabeled and marketed to civilian consumers as cheap, convenient, and modern.

The industrial food system is here to stay and we have all benefited from it. If you have ever used mass produced products of any kind, than you have too. Things like dog food, cat food, most fast food, and many shelf stable products come from this system. Shelf stable food isn’t bad or evil and in fact it provides food security to many people who otherwise would have none. There are many who either by limitation or by choice are entirely reliant on these products. There is a balance that has yet to be achieved between large industrial producers and smaller, locally focused food providers. There is space in this world for all types of food providers.

Poultry breeds have been shaped by the industrial poultry environment. Certain chicken breeds were developed specifically for industrial use. Many rare and heritage chicken breeds either became endangered or disappeared entirely because they were not deemed productive enough to suit the industrial environment. Chicken breeds developed specifically for high production in industrial environments have a myriad of systemic health issues and are by nature short lived.  Healthier, more diverse heritage breed and specialty chickens were considered of less or no value because they were not capable of producing the same amount of product as the modified chickens or they could not survive in the industrial chicken environment. The diversity of chicken breeds that exists today is due to the efforts of responsible hatcheries, farm heritage conservationists, chicken breeders, and dedicated backyard chicken enthusiasts.

In the industrial poultry environment, chickens are treated as commodities and not as living creatures. These environments are designed to maximize profit. In the average industrial poultry environment chickens are kept in either cramped cages with many other chickens, forced to stand on wire, with no room to move or even turn around under harsh florescent light or in large barns crowded with 1000s of other chickens with no fresh air or access to natural sunlight stifled by the ammonia as a result of wading through and spending their whole life trapped on concrete floors in their own excrement. Their beaks are painfully trimmed by a machine when they are just a few days old and often trimmed so severely they can never fully reclose their mouth. This is done so they can’t peck one another in their overcrowded conditions. The typical lifespan of a meat chicken in the industrial food environment is less than 2 months. The typical lifespan of an egg laying chicken in the industrial food environment is 2 years or less. The moment a chicken is deemed less than prime production value, they are destroyed. These conditions result in the suffering and suppressed immune system of the chicken.

When chickens within the industrial environment are destroyed because of contamination from bird flu, they are not testing individual chickens to determine if they have been exposed or if they are in fact positive for the virus. That would be very expensive. Also, the virus itself is not necessarily what is resulting in the death of those entire groups of chickens in those environments. If one chicken in an industrial environment tests positive for bird flu, or in some cases is simply SUSPECTED of symptoms or exposure, the entire flock, ALL of the chickens in that facility are destroyed without exception. It is more profitable to destroy and replace all of the chickens than it is treat them or test individually for the virus. Any infected chickens’ products are considered of zero value and unusable by the public. A vaccine for the bird flu does exist and is developed annually but like any flu vaccine its effectiveness is not guaranteed in all cases. It is only used within the United States to treat flocks prior to them being destroyed to prevent further spread and exposure, not to prevent infection. It was not just industrial farm chickens and other birds that were destroyed. Many small farm flocks were also impacted, many because of their physical proximity to other sites deemed impacted. Educational and private flocks were also impacted.

By contrast on most small farms, chickens have access to adequate space, sunshine, sanitary conditions, and fresh air. In ideal cases these small farm chickens are moved in either moveable chicken housing or in chicken tractors and allowed to access earth and graze fresh pasture. Their beaks are intact and natural. These chickens are allowed to live in a more natural setting and exhibit natural chicken behaviors like waking up and going to bed with the sun, breathing fresh air, touching the earth, scratching and pecking, and living within a true flock dynamic.

My small family homestead flock has never experienced any flock wide outbreak of a disease or ailment, bird flu or otherwise. I share all of the information on what I do to keep my flock healthy and safe on my YouTube channel. My flock has NEVER had mites, lice, or any respiratory illness whatsoever. There are several reasons for this not limited to: I adopt and raise healthy chickens, I observe an isolation plan when adding new members, I dedicate time to sanitizing their chicken facilities daily and seasonally, I use chicken safe herbs as a proactive preventative for disease, they have access to a grazing yard when weather and safety conditions permit, I provide my flock with the most complete nutrition I can, they have access to grit and oyster shell supplement, my flock has safe clean predator proof housing, and my flock is dearly loved. My flock are pieces of my heart and an extension our family, the very heart of our homestead I treat them accordingly.

To protect yourself, your family, and flock from bird flu you can try the following tips.

1. Firstly, have little or no direct contact with the industrial chicken environment.
2. Wash your hands before and after handling any chickens including your own.
3. Cook all of your poultry products either from your own flock or from your food supplier to the recommended safe food temperatures.
4. Practice good biosecurity by using dedicated livestock gear, clothing, and footwear that you only wear when working with your own flock and at no other time.
5. Use an isolation plan when incorporating new chickens into your flock. New chickens should be kept in their own separate facilities for at least 2 to 4 weeks to determine they are healthy before incorporating them into your existing flock.
6. Bolster your chickens’ natural immune system with things like: sanitary conditions, adequate space, adequate and appropriate poultry nutrition, fermenting your chicken feed, enrichment, chicken safe herbs, investing in good chicken housing and predator protection, and by minimizing stress and disruptions to your flock.
7. Sanitize any used poultry equipment you use and regularly clean your existing poultry equipment as part of your cleaning routine.
8. Never, ever mix wild bird equipment and poultry equipment.
9. If you do feed wild birds on your property do so as far away from your flock as you feasibly can and regularly clean your wild bird equipment with dish soap and diluted bleach water, allow it to dry entirely before re-hanging it.
10. Don’t wear footwear you have worn out in public or out in nature outside of your home around your flock and instead use your dedicated livestock boots.
11. If you interact with large poultry populations or show chickens professionally, or are part of an agricultural program follow the safety recommendations of your program.
12. If you have an immune system disorder or are experiencing periods of prolonged illness, follow the medical recommendations from your healthcare provider, additionally you can minimize or cease interactions with livestock environments.
13. Roof your chicken run and coop to minimize the chance for exposure to wild bird droppings.
14. Create a simple boot washing station from an upside-down tote and a pan or boot tray filled dish soap and a few drops of bleach. Step into the boot washing solution prior to entering and when leaving your chicken area. Leave the boot station covered at all times. Refresh as needed.
15. Practice safe flock confinement when wildlife populations are migrating through your area or during instances of a bird flu outbreak.
16. Don’t allow people who don’t live at your residence to tour your chicken housing and if you do, sanitize their footwear prior. You can ask everyone who has contact with your flock to wash their hands with soap before and after even if they don’t intend to handle the chickens as our hands are the one of the primary ways we as humans transfer bacteria and diseases from place to place.
17. Never directly handle dead wild animals, especially dead birds you may encounter. You can contact your local wildlife office or veterinary professional for specific local guidance regarding safe carcass removal.
18. Read a beginner chicken care guide book to learn about common poultry diseases as well as the common sense, simple, low-cost ways to keep backyard flock healthy through time-tested proven methods. You can access these resources for free at your local library. They can also be purchased at your local bookseller, your local farm box store, or at online booksellers. Be willing to learn, grow, and improve your backyard chicken care techniques to keep you, your family, and your flock safe and healthy during bird flu season and all year round.
19. Support responsible humane direct to consumer small local farms and food suppliers in your area. By supporting responsible farm practices you are ensuring they can continue and grow. Even if it is not practical to get all of your groceries this way, try to replace at least one item (or as many as you responsibly can) with locally produced goods. Support small farms and responsible farmers on your social media and with your holiday purchases.

I invite you to practice whatever level of food autonomy you can. If you can’t own a flock of chickens where you live currently, even something as simple as growing a pot of herbs or a porch tomato has a positive impact. By staying level headed, practicing common sense precautions and biosecurity, and maintaining your flock in a healthy, humane, and responsible way you’re making the world and the world of backyard chickens a better and safer place. Every small flock and small garden brings light, hope, and food to a world that needs all of these things. Victory gardens, cottage gardens, container gardens, and small family flocks boost food stability and add beauty to this world.

For more backyard chicken and homesteading content, be sure to check out Chuck’s other social media linked below.

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