Concerns about the bird flu are ramping up as the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports workers have detected the disease in commercial turkey flocks in South Dakota in the past month, leading to the killing of more than 400,000 birds.
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Protection Service’s website shows eight confirmed flocks of birds in South Dakota and one backyard flock affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI. A total of 437,650 birds have been culled.
Other outbreaks during the past month have been detected in North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan and Montana.
The outbreak in South Dakota has so far been contained to eastern counties, and news reports show the South Dakota state veterinarian has linked the disease’s origins to the blue-winged teal, a native North American bird related to ducks and geese.
A call to the state veterinarian’s office was not returned by the time this story was published.
Wyoming Assistant State Veterinarian Rose Digianantonio said the outbreak is on the Wyoming Livestock Board’s radar, but the state does not have any commercial poultry producers, just backyard flocks.
She said the office is connecting with state poultry owners and has made a webpage with tips on biosecurity for backyard poultry. Digianantonio said the spread of the bird flu is predictable because birds are starting to migrate south.
State poultry owners should try and keep their flocks away from wild birds, she said.
A USDA website shows the bird flu situation over the past 30 days nationally. 
Turkeys at Albany County’s Schadey’s Acres go free range. (Courtesy Schadey’s Acres) 
More than 420,000 turkeys have been destroyed so far in South Dakota as bird flu moves west. Officials say South Dakota is the national epicenter of this season’s outbreak. (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
No Mingling
“Trying to keep them from mingling is the big thing,” Digianantonio said. “Also, trying to pretty much keep things clean. Keep your coop clean, keep feed (troughs) clean.”
Digianantonio said those with poultry should wear the same shoes when feeding and caring for the birds and make sure they are not in contact with other flocks. She said the H5N1 strain is the same one circulating in past years.
“It can pass to humans, but it is extremely rare,” she said. “It only typically occurs if you are dealing with sick birds. If you are immunocompromised, we do not recommend handling them.”
Detecting the disease typically means finding dead birds.
Sometimes chickens, turkeys or ducks may show signs of breathing difficulties or have abnormal nasal drops, indicating a possible infection. The main sign is the death of a bird or two within a day of each other, Digianantonio said.
Poultry owners with deaths in their backyard flocks should notify the Livestock Board immediately, she said.
A.J. Granelli, owner of Home Grown Pork and Poultry on the Pine Ridge Reservation in southwestern South Dakota, said he is aware of the issue, but his flock has not been infected.
“We’re just a small operation, just a few thousand birds at a time,” he said. "Right now, we just have some turkeys left, we do run chickens as well."
Granelli said he has participated in some of the USDA webinars related to preventing the disease and understands the main goal is to maintain a healthy flock. All of his turkeys are free range out on the pasture.
“Ultimately, the bird flu is traveling with wild birds, so you are kind of at the mercy of nature,” he said.
In the spring, Granelli delayed getting his birds until after the spring migration to avoid any mingling with wild birds.
He said his operation is closing down for the year and on his “last batch” of birds because the cold is starting to hit.
Most of his turkeys will probably end up on Thanksgiving tables in the region, andhe also has several customers on the reservation, he said.
Albany County’s Schadey’s Acres
At Schadey’s Acres farm in Albany County, Wyoming, Corinna Schade said she and her husband Patrick have about 120 heritage turkeys that they also allow to free range on their farm.
They sell them whole off the farm fresh or frozen, with many headed for Thanksgiving tables. They also are looking at selling more smoked turkeys.
Schade said her flock is thriving outdoors.
“They don’t like shelter. The only time they like shelter is when it is pouring rain outside,” she said. “They are just very resilient birds.
"I am very aware of the bird flu stuff, and we do have ponds on our property that draws in migratory waterfowl. We do have cormorants and herons and actually have two ducks that come visit us every year.”
Schade said they are keeping an eye on the birds as the migratory season gets in gear, but the flock appears healthy.
There has been an issue with predation, but they increased their number of guardian dogs to three and that has been solved.
“We haven’t seen any problems and there has been no indication they have been infected at all,” she said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advise wild game bird hunters to take precautions when processing a bird and not to handle wild birds that are obviously sick or have just been found dead.
Birds should be handled wearing gloves and utensils, and work surfaces and utensils used to process birds should be disinfected.
More information about the bird flu can be found at the CDC website.
More information about poultry outbreaks can be found at the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection website.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
