Looks so far like the backyard chicken flocks in western Kentucky have been spared a recent outbreak of bird flu in that state.
I first heard about the outbreak from a friend in Kentucky. We had to dig for some coverage and thanks to the iFarmer, I was led to this story by Channel 13, WBKU in Bowling Green.
State animal health workers have tested chickens within a 2-mile radius, though it looks like they’ll keep testing a 6-mile radius.
The outbreak was discovered at farms that hatch chickens for Perdue Farms in Brownsburg.
Amazing to me that there isn’t widespread coverage of this. Does this happen more often than I think, so that this isn’t a big deal?
The reports I’ve seen identify the strain as a “non-pathogenic or low-pathogenic form of avian influenza” that doesn’t carry the same risk of death as strains in other countries.
Still, this flu outbreak isn’t something to sneeze at.
According to Brownfield Ag Network, “Perdue plans to depopulate the 20,000 chickens in two houses on the farm.”
Depopulate? Now that’s a euphemism to rival all others.
Virtual Farmgirl 