AUSTIN, Texas — While the Bird Flu outbreak continues to grow nationwide, some local backyard poultry farmers are now taking steps to ensure their flock remains healthy.
Ashley Hill, a first time chicken keeper, told KVUE she has never gone through a season of the Bird Flu and worries about the safety of her birds.
“I’m just concerned of knowing how to protect my girls, how to know when is the threat gone,” said Hill. “And how to, kind of watch out for … if there’s any precautions that I need to take here in my little backyard to make sure that they stay healthy.”
Since the recent flare-up, Hill said she has kept her chickens in their coop, and emptied out her bird feeders.
“I did have lots of birds, lots of sparrows, lots of pigeons, lots of doves and things like that in my yard before,” Hill said. “And I took those away just to try and minimize some amount of risk.”
Aside from keeping her flock safe, Hill said she takes extra precautions to make sure her children are safe as well.
Hill said she makes sure to wear different shoes when entering the coop, and checks to see if the birds look healthy before allowing her children to touch them.
Dr. Brian Bohl, Texas Animal Health Commission Director of Field Operations, said since the initial outbreak in 2022, 14 backyard flocks have tested positive in Texas, including two this year.
Bohl said there is always a risk with migratory fowl flying over the state, but there can be added risk if farmers have standing water nearby.
“Some of these backyard flocks have had a pond or something, a tank. And they had, you know, migratory birds coming in there, Bohl said. “And the chickens were going around them and they got infected through either direct or indirect contact.”
Bohl said the warmest time of summer, like June, July and August, are the safest time of year for a flock to be out because there are fewer wild birds in the air.
Bohl said backyard chicken farmers can start by protecting feed so it’s not exposed to wild birds. He said it’s also important to buy livestock from reputable people who test their flocks for disease. Lastly, he said it’s best to keep birds inside their coop and not let them roam around.
If there is high suspicion for bird flu, the Texas Animal Health Commission said it will send a foreign analysis diagnostician to test for it. Those birds would then be put under movement restriction, until the test results come back.
Bohl said if most of your birds are getting sick, and a good percentage of them are dying, report it to the Texas Animal Health Commission.