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Thoughts on the Avian Flu

As a poultry farmer, I do keep up to date on the things going on around the country with poultry. Now, there are a lot of things going on! Probably the most widely broadcast news is the spread of avian influenza across the country, which is now spreading to cattle and a few people. Before you go looking for a mask and swear off all poultry, dairy, and beef products, I would love for you to do some digging (after you read the rest of this).

The main reason that this is happening is because of confined feeding operations. In the giant chicken barns, that house 10,000+ birds each, major care is taken to disinfect everyone and everything that goes into the buildings. The birds inside have lived a completely sterile life and have no sunshine to kill of pathogens or provide them with dietary and health benefits they need.

They are also getting fed the equivalent of cereal for their entire life. All the nutrients and minerals they need to grow are in pellets that are available every 5 feet. These chickens are happy! I mean who doesn’t like cereal and a comfortable home? But it’s doing them a disservice just as cereal and comfort sets us humans up for issues. Without sunshine, exercise, and variety in their diet, they are absolutely the easiest targets for bacteria and toxins that could enter the sterile barn somehow and easily spread through the large, confined population!

Generally if a chicken starts acting off or looks sick, it is removed immediately. The issue with avian flu is that a chicken can get sick and spread this fast through the house. Generally, birds are only tested for illness if there are sweeping losses in the flock. There have been producers that say one chicken out of 100 tested positive for avian flu and because of the one positive test (could’ve easily been a false positive), the entire flock has to be euthanized. The scary part of this to me is that the birds are only being tested because they are in proximity of other farms with positive cases. They test healthy birds and will destroy entire flocks based off of one positive test. I would say that the scariest thing to a producer is the government coming in and deciding what happens to your animals based on their findings. It’s meant to help, but it’s a very flawed system.

Am I worried about our chickens getting sick? A little, but I feel like we are raising them in the best way possible that they have the best chance of never getting it or never getting sick from it. It is spread by wild birds and our birds are outside with them, so we probably have a greater risk. Yet, I have not heard of any farmer raising chickens outside tell me that Avian influenza wiped out their flock so I think this is another issue with how we are raising animals and growing food rather than believing that this will kill all the chickens.

I believe that this is that same with the cattle supposedly contracting avian influenza. The cases have been on dairies, where the cows are confined and fed a diet of grain and forage instead of being out on pasture to graze an assortment of vegetation.

I worked at the poultry unit and the dairy while I was a Cal Poly student and I saw this firsthand. At the time, I didn’t see anything wrong with how they operated because I was new to everything and was happy to do what the experienced professors and older students directed me to do. This is what’s happening with employees at the dairy getting sick. Sanitation practices are great but can also be a great disservice to the people having to clean everything with antibacterial soap and bleach because it kills all the good microbes that they need to stay healthy. It’s necessary to keep up the sanitation practices because there would be a lot more people sick if they didn’t keep things as clean in this environment and with animals with little access to a rich diet, exercise, and sunshine.

Looking at this from a holistic management standpoint, I do believe that the root cause of the this and other diseases that are wiping out animals, plants, and people is poor health. If you choose to buy the cheapest food, chances are that it was raised poorly, grown with chemicals, and is not going to provide much nutrition. It’s not the farmer’s fault either. Most of them do not know any other way than what they have learned or are being told to do by the feed companies or grocery stores that make the bulk of the profit from their work.

The good news is that the word is getting out there about better ways to farm. More customers are demanding change to better farming practices. If you can’t afford better food, make sure to try and eat mostly whole foods, avoid the junk, and get as much exercise and sunshine as possible. It’s not easy, but if you want to feel empowered instead of scared the next time there is another pandemic or disease spread make sure to put your health first and help those around you do the same! We really have to all work together on this instead of pointing fingers. Stay happy and healthy and support the farmers putting the health of their soil, crops, and animals first for you!

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