Avian flu is devastating farms in California's 'Egg Basket' as outbreaks roil poultry industry

PETALUMA, Calif. -- Last month, Mike Weber got the quality each poultry husbandman fears: His chickens tested affirmative for avian flu.

Following authorities rules, Weber's company, Sunrise Farms, had to slaughter its full flock of egg-laying hens - 550,000 birds - to forestall the illness from infecting different farms successful Sonoma County northbound of San Francisco.

"It's a trauma. We're each going done grief arsenic a effect of it," said Weber, lasting successful an bare hen house. "Petaluma is known arsenic the Egg Basket of the World. It's devastating to spot that ovum handbasket spell up successful flames."

A twelvemonth aft the vertebrate flu led to grounds ovum prices and wide shortages, the illness known arsenic highly pathogenic avian influenza is wreaking havoc successful California, which escaped the earlier question of outbreaks that devastated poultry farms successful the Midwest.

The highly contagious microorganism has ravaged Sonoma County, wherever officials person declared a authorities of emergency. During the past 2 months, astir a twelve commercialized farms person had to destruct much than 1 cardinal birds to power the outbreak, dealing an economical stroke to farmers, workers and their customers.

Merced County successful Central California besides has been deed hard, with outbreaks astatine respective ample commercialized egg-producing farms successful caller weeks.

Experts accidental vertebrate flu is dispersed by ducks, geese and different migratory birds. The waterfowl tin transportation the microorganism without getting sick and easy dispersed it done their droppings to chickenhearted and turkey farms and backyard flocks done droppings and nasal discharges.

California poultry farms are implementing strict biosecurity measures to curb the dispersed of the disease. State Veterinarian Annette Jones urged farmers to support their flocks indoors until June, including integrated chickens that are required to person outdoor access.

"We inactive person migration going for different mates of months. So we've got to beryllium arsenic vigilant arsenic imaginable to support our birds," said Bill Mattos, president of the California Poultry Federation.

The nonaccomplishment of section hens led to a spike successful ovum prices successful the San Francisco Bay Area implicit the holidays earlier supermarkets and restaurants recovered suppliers from extracurricular the region.

While vertebrate flu has been astir for decades, the existent outbreak of the microorganism that began successful aboriginal 2022 has prompted officials to slaughter astir 82 cardinal birds, mostly egg-laying chickens, successful 47 U.S. states, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Whenever the illness is recovered the full flock is slaughtered to assistance bounds the dispersed of the virus.

The terms of a twelve eggs much than doubled to $4.82 astatine its highest successful January 2023. Egg prices returned to their mean scope arsenic ovum producers built up their flocks and outbreaks were controlled. Turkey and chickenhearted prices besides spiked, partially owed to the virus.

"I deliberation this is an existential contented for the commercialized poultry industry. The microorganism is connected each continent, but for Australia astatine this point," said Maurice Pitesky, a poultry adept astatine the University of California, Davis.

Climate alteration is expanding the hazard of outbreaks arsenic changing upwind patterns disrupt the migratory patterns of chaotic birds, Pitesky said. For example, exceptional rainfall past twelvemonth created caller waterfowl situation passim California, including areas adjacent to poultry farms.

In California, the outbreak has impacted much than 7 cardinal chickens successful astir 40 commercialized flocks and 24 backyard flocks, with astir of the outbreaks occurring implicit the past 2 months connected the North Coast and Central Valley, according to the USDA.

Industry officials are disquieted astir the increasing fig of backyard chickens that could go infected and dispersed avian flu to commercialized farms.

"We person chaotic birds that are are afloat of virus. And if you exposure your birds to these chaotic birds, they mightiness get infected and ill," said Rodrigo Gallardo, a UC Davis researcher who studies avian influenza.

Gallardo advises the owners of backyard chickens to deterioration cleanable apparel and shoes to support their flocks from getting infected. If an antithetic fig of chickens die, they should beryllium tested for avian flu.

Ettamarie Peterson, a retired teacher successful Petaluma, has a flock of astir 50 chickens that nutrient eggs she sells from her backyard barn for 50 cents each.

"I'm precise acrophobic due to the fact that this avian flu is transmitted by chaotic birds, and there's nary mode I tin halt the chaotic birds from coming done and leaving the illness behind," Peterson said. "If your flock has immoderate cases of it, you person to destruct the full flock."

Sunrise Farms, which was started by Weber's great-grandparents much than a period ago, was infected contempt putting successful spot strict biosecurity measures to support the flock.

"The microorganism got to the birds truthful atrocious and truthful rapidly you walked successful and the birds were conscionable dead," Weber said. "Heartbreaking doesn't picture however you consciousness erstwhile you locomotion successful and perfectly steadfast young birds person been conscionable laid out."

After euthanizing much than fractional a cardinal chickens astatine Sunrise Farms, Weber and his employees spent the Christmas vacation discarding the carcasses. Since then, they've been cleaning retired and disinfecting the hen houses.

Weber hopes the workplace volition get support from national regulators to bring chicks backmost to the workplace this spring. Then it would instrumentality different 5 months earlier the hens are mature capable to laic eggs.

He feels fortunate that 2 farms his institution co-owns person not been infected and are inactive producing eggs for his customers. But recovering from the outbreak won't beryllium easy.

"We person a agelong roadworthy ahead," Weber said. "We're going to marque different tally of it and effort to support this household of employees unneurotic due to the fact that they've worked truthful hard to physique this into the institution that it is."