Avian Influenza and Small Flock Biosecurity

Whether we belong to 4 Chesapeake Hens, Hampton Roads Hens, or some other group, regional chicken keepers want to keep our backyard micro-flocks healthy. My husband, Don, and I attended a presentation in Suffolk on Wednesday with information on how to do that. The presenter was Dr. Tom Ray, DVM, MPH, VMO/Epidemiology, a veterinarian  who specializes in livestock. Aaron Miller, an AHT veterinary technician from Virginia Beach, assisted him. Both work with the USDA, a government agency, to raise public awareness to prevent the spread of communicable diseases in poultry and livestock.

A major concern right now is Avian Influenza or Bird Flu. It thrives in cooler temperatures and in humid environments and survives freezing. Wild birds carry it, particularly waterfowl, often without showing symptoms. It then gets spread by people and equipment, particularly on shoes and vehicles. There are two kinds: "low path," and "high path," depending on how pathogenic  the disease is. Low path is common, and an owner might not know their bird(s) have it unless they are tested, but the viruses mutate easily and can mutate into the high path type.

High path spreads rapidly, has a high mortality rate, and has a severe impact on trade, pets, backyard flocks, and exhibition birds. A recent outbreak of high path avian influenza was first detected in the U.S. in December of 2014 and ended in June of 2015. It affected 211 commercial flocks, 21 backyard flocks, 5 captive wild-bird facilities, and 100 wild birds in 21 states, mostly in the Mid-West, and cost over one billion dollars plus the lives of almost fifty million turkeys and chickens. Egg prices spiked last spring because of a resulting national shortage of commercial eggs.

Dr. Ray showed slides of turkeys infected with the disease. They suffered terribly, and all died within 24 hours of contracting the disease. The birds practically liquify; he says they are all feather and bones and liquid after 24 hours. (Eww!)

The scary part is there's a possibility the disease could hit the East Coast as waterfowl migrate this year. Officials are testing waterfowl like crazy and so far have only found low path, but flocksters need to keep in mind that can change.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The official term for prevention is "biosecurity." The main ideas are to keep a line of separation between your flock and possible vectors of disease, prevent contamination, and maintain cleanliness. The USDA has a fantastic website with all the details for backyard poultry keepers, so I won't repeat it here, but I urge readers to visit the site for more details.

Dr. Ray recommended cleaning all hard surfaces like shoes to remove mud or organic debris and then using a bleach solution or even Lysol to disinfect. Follow the recommendations on the Lysol can and read labels carefully: some types of Lysol work faster than others. A separate set of clothes and boots for visiting the hen house is also a good habit.

The USDA urges us to report sick birds. Due to the threat of high-path bird flu, the agency is taking calls of a dead chicken or two even more seriously than in the past. Please realize that pathologists prefer freshly dead or almost dead animals for necropsy and testing. Symptoms of avian influenza include swollen and purple-looking wattles and combs. Other symptoms are almost identical to Exotic Newcastle Disease. Watch for:

• a sudden increase in deaths in a flock;
• sneezing, gasping, coughing, and nasal discharge; 
• watery and green diarrhea; lack of energy and poor appetite; 
• a drop in egg production or soft- or thin-shelled, misshapen eggs. 

Report sick birds to:

1. Your local Cooperative Extension Office,
2.  Your local veterinarian or State Veterinarian, or
3. The USDA Hotline at 866-536-7593. The USDA will come out for free and test your birds and take information from you to keep in a government database in case of future outbreaks.

 Speaking of the government, here is what the investigators will do if they first find a confirmed positive case of high-path avian influenza on a farm or other premises:

1. Set up a control zone for a ten-mile radius and a buffer zone outside of the control zone.
2. Set up movement restrictions into and out of the control zone with extra biosecurity measures
3.  Test everything within it. 
4. Depopulate infected flocks; see below.

 In the buffer zone, the government will test birds for free with your permission, but within the control zone, the government will test birds (again for free) with or without the owners' permission. This is allowed under Virginia state law.  Inspectors will go door-to-door looking for flocks. If a bird turns up positive for high path, they will "depopulate," meaning kill, the flock using fast and humane methods. Large factory-farms and large backyard flocks are suffocated en mass using a foam; backyard micro-flocks of five to ten birds are preferably wrapped in a towel to keep them calm and gassed with CO2 for ten to fifteen minutes. The incubation period for the disease is five days, so the last 5-10 day's worth of eggs must also be sought out and destroyed.

I know this idea is stressful for those of us who love our birds, but please realize the flock will NOT survive the high-path virus, the birds will suffer terribly dying, and while they die they will shed massive amounts of the virus. They will increase the risk of contaminating other flocks the longer they live. What seems cruel is actually an act of mercy and a prudent course of action. The government tries to depopulate the flock within 24 hours of receiving a positive result to minimize both suffering and the spread of disease. There is an indemnity process through which the government will pay for the death of live animals. The best way to avoid this awful scenario is to practice good biosecurity. Read these 6 Simple Steps we all can follow to keep our birds safe and healthy.

 We asked about the safest way to dispose of a dead chicken in general. Dr. Ray said the virus and other chicken diseases do not survive heat very well, so he recommends disposing of them in a burn barrel.

We should all follow good biosecurity practices. Even if we trust that nature and good care will protect our flocks, we should have a plan to "step up to" if high-path avian influenza is reported on the East Coast in the coming months.  As a public service, Wendy Camacho of Hampton Roads Hens has promised to make USDA-approved materials available at workshops and other events in coming months.

Thank you, Carol Bartram of PeCK, for organizing this important presentation for us.

FRESH Food at a Local Restaurant: the Cutting Edge Cafe

Medi-Veggie Sandwich and Side: MMMMM!!!

One of my favorite restaurants in Chesapeake, VA, is the Cutting Edge Cafe. It is located near Walmart off of Route 64 and Battlefield Blvd, in a plaza right behind a car wash. Melanie and her husband, Matt, own the restaurant and run it. They are active in Hampton Roads' "Buy Fresh, Buy Local" movement. Their food reflects their passion for fresh, local food. I'm a vegetarian, so I haven't tried everything on their menu, but their "Medi-Veggie" sandwich, made with fresh cheeses, fresh bread, and grilled vegetables, is to die for! I like their sweet potato fries, their hummus side-order, their sesame noodles, their salads and salad dressings, their rich and flavorful soups...

Basically, everything I've tried there has been superior to anything else I've had in town. Did I mention that Melanie bakes the bread they use? It's so good, I'm planning to buy my bread from her instead of the store. Their restaurant is not a bakery, but their bread is just as good.

Matt and Melanie's passion for local food is how I found this gem of an eatery. It's close to where I live. So when it became a pick-up point for the Coastal Farms Online Food Co-op, I arranged to pick up my weekly orders there. Until that point, I'd never really noticed the place, even though I'd driven by there dozens of times. Originally, I stopped just for the convenient location to pick up my local food orders, but once I tried one of their entrees, I was hooked! I order there at least once a week now.

I also recently found out that the Cutting Edge will soon become a pick-up point for CSA orders from Mattawoman Creek Farms, an organic farm in this area. CSA stands for  "Community Supported Agriculture." A good explanation of how this works can be found at LocalHarvest.org. The basic idea is that residents can pay a local farmer in advance for a share of the season's crops, delivered each week. The food is fresher than what residents can find in grocery stores, and the farmer makes a fair living for his (or her) hard work. This system helps to keep smaller farmers in business! Don and I are adventurous cooks and eaters, so we're looking forward to whatever comes our way in our farm share order each week.

Our first farm share order should arrive in a week or two, depending on the weather. We can't wait! Thanks, Matt and Melanie, for making these opportunities available to us, and for running a fantastic restaurant!

Oh: one caveat: their hours are a little different. They started as a lunch place (open until 4:00) but have extended into some evening hours on Wednesday through Fridays. They're closed Saturday. Keep in mind their schedule before heading over.

The Horse Rescuer

A horse in need of rescue

In an earlier post I wrote about my positive experiences as a volunteer at a local horse show. The proceeds benefited the United States Equine Rescue League. According to its mission statement, U.S.E.R.L. is a:

...non-profit organization dedicated to the compassionate care of equines. 

Our mission is to save, protect, and rehabilitate equines in need. We rescue 

 abused, neglected, or abandoned equines; provide them with care and 

 rehabilitation; and finally find them a compatible, loving home. 

We believe that education is the long-term solution 

to improving the lives of equines.

I have often been amazed and inspired by what a dedicated group of volunteers can do for animals in need, and U.S.E.R.L. is perhaps the best example I know. My good friend and U.S.E.R.L. volunteer, Amy Woodard, is deeply involved in this organization and an important part of its success. She is currently the Regional Director of the Northeastern North Carolina region and of the Tidewater, Virginia region. She is Co-director of the Richmond, Virginia region, too. In other words, Amy is in charge of directing U.S.E.R.L.'s work in ten counties in Eastern North Carolina and all parts of Virginia south of Williamsburg and east of Glouster, all the way to the Virginia border. She's a member U.S.E.R.L.'s National Board of Directors as well.

Amy takes on many different roles in her work for horses, from hands-on rescue work, to fostering, to fundraising, to media relations and more. She is even a Lead Investigator in her regions of North Carolina and Virginia in the investigation and prosecution of neglect and cruelty cases related to equines. As part of this work she must appear as a witness in these cases in court. How Amy works at all this so energetically and tirelessly, year after year, without any financial compensation, I will never know. And she does this while working full-time as an elementary school teacher to support herself, her family, her own horses, and her rescue work.

Speaking of her teaching experience, she even wrote and illustrated a children's book, The Day the Teacher Rode a Horse to School, to raise money for horses in need. Her teaching experience certainly also comes in handy as she carries out some of the educational portions of the Rescue League's mission. On October 1st she even taught a group of twenty-nine Animal Control Officers about equine cruelty investigations at a Basic Animal Control Officer's Academy in Virginia. 

Recently I asked her how she got started with her work with U.S.E.R.L. Here is what she told me:

Amy used to have a horse that she used for giving lessons in Elizabeth City, Pasquotank County, North Carolina. We'll call him "Ace"--not his real name. A former student of hers was looking for a horse, but she couldn't find a horse that she liked as much as Ace. Amy sold Ace to the student, who later resold him. The horse may have been resold more than once thereafter.

A few years later, in 2001, Amy learned that Ace was once again for sale because he was old: about 27 years by this point. So she went to visit her old equine friend.

She was horrified by what she saw. The horse was not only old, but skinny, injured, and lame. Lethargic, with his head held low, Ace was picking at a bowl of oats covered with chicken feces. His pasture had little grass and was full of weeds. It even looked dangerous, strewn with debris and rusted-out farm implements, perhaps the source of his injuries. A cut on his front knee, left untreated, was swollen with a softball-sized calcium deposit. This resulted in stiffness in the joint and lameness.

Amy was at a point in her life when she had little extra money. She talked to the owner to see what it would take to buy Ace. But the owner had paid $1,000.00 for him when he had been in better condition and would take nothing less for him. He then said words that were so greedy and heartless, they changed Amy's life and the lives of many horses forever:

"I know you can't stand to look at him like that, so just write the check and let's get this over with," the man sneered.

Up to that point, Amy had been considering coming up with the money to make some kind offer the man could accept. But right then and there she decided she wouldn't pay this person for Ace if she had all the money in the world. Nobody should profit from cruelty and neglect. She turned around, left the man behind, found Ace, and hugged her old horse. Crying, she told him she was sorry, but she couldn't help him.

She went home angry. She called Pasquotank County Animal Control but learned that it could not help with "livestock animals." The department did not have the resources for the investigation of equine cases nor the facilities to impound horses. If a horse was so abused or neglected that it died, then the department could investigate for possible cruelty charges, but otherwise its hands were tied.

Horrified, Amy searched online to see what she could do to change this terrible situation. She found U.S.E.R.L., at that time called The North Carolina Equine Rescue League. Based in the Winston-Salem and Raleigh areas far west of where she lived, the organization was willing to expand. She began to volunteer for the group in the area surrounding Elizabeth City. But back then she just wanted to  raise funds and to educate people. "I didn't want to be in charge; I just wanted to help horses," she says. She certainly never wanted to see other skinny horses in terrible condition like Ace had been. Ironically, she now sees them all the time (see photos on this page).

Same horse as top photo, close-up to show body condition.

So why does she do it? 

Her life's mission is to prevent any other horse-lovers from feeling as helpless as she did when she found out about Ace. "I feel that every skinny, neglected animal, once had somebody that loved it," she says.While she never obtained resources in time to help him--she would later discover he'd been sold at auction for a fraction of the money the owner had demanded--she works tirelessly so others will have the resources they need to help abused, neglected, or abandoned horses.

With the help of Amy and countless other supporters and volunteers, U.S.E.R.L. has produced considerable results for horses and other equines. According to its website, the League has rescued on average over 200 horses per year since its incorporation in 1997. Under Amy's efforts as Lead Investigator, the organization has been involved in the prosecution of several high-profile cases in Southeastern Virginia. One hundred and twenty-five horses were seized in four different cases alone. This workload comes on top of numerous smaller cases involving five or fewer horses at a time. The largest seizure with her involvement to date has been the Dinwiddy, Virginia, case: fifty-seven horses seized at one time.

Same horse on the mend under U.S.E.R.L.'s care, 10/3/12. Photos courtesy of U.S.E.R.L.

With the assistance of her volunteer network, Amy has fostered out about seventy-five to one hundred horses out of her own barn since she started in 2001. She quickly fosters out the easier cases, but she winds up fostering many of the sickest horses, or the ones with the most difficult behavior problems, herself. She envisions herself working as a horse rescue volunteer for as long as she's able to or until there is enough change in the community that there's no more need for her efforts. 

Unfortunately, she does not foresee that day coming anytime soon. She gets new calls about cases every week, and she needs all the volunteers, donations, and other support she can get. Any reader who is interested in learning more about U.S.E.R.L.'s work in Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina should check out the organization's website or the regional chapters' Facebook page for more information.

Update on 12/8/12: USERL has released this beautiful Christmas video with rescued horses, just in time for the holidays. Take a few minutes to watch these inspiring animals and the volunteers who help them!

Burial in an Eco-Eternity Forest

Mother Earth News gets me into all kinds of trouble. After reading an article about green burials several years ago, I decided that a green burial sounded right for me. When I pass away, I want to have a minimal impact on the environment as well as my survivors' wallets.

So back in 2008 I did some sleuthing on the internet and found the Eco-Eternity Forest at Makemie Woods, a campground and woods owned by the Presbyterian Church. The Eco-Eternity Forest is an alternative to traditional burials.

I like the spot for several reasons. It is less than a 2-hour drive from home. To help preserve the forest, you lease a tree. A forester has picked certain trees that are likely to be around a while: the lease of the tree is for 99 years. According to the brochure, the "ashes of the deceased are laid to rest at the roots of a tree in the mature woodlands...Over time, the tree will absorb the nutrients of the ashes converting the tree into a living memorial." This is life-affirming to me.

I also like the flexibility and affordability of leasing a tree. The Eco-Eternity Forest welcomes pets, and not just when visiting the grounds. You can have the cremains of your pets actually buried with you. You can either lease an individual plot--very inexpensively!-- under a "community tree," or you can lease a "family tree." And the person who leases the latter gets to decide what "family" means. "Family" could include extended family members, friends, or even pets! And while leasing a tree costs $4,500 or more, you can bury up to 15 family members there, and the cost of the biodegradable urns is even included.

Mike Burcher, the Director of Makemie Woods, gave us a tour. The grounds are rustic and campground-like, not much like a park. There's a chapel on-site for Christian services. The setting will appeal to those who love hiking, nature, camping, and the woods. I honestly don't like camping very much, but I do love all the rest. And the specific spot we went to is really beautiful, surrounded on three sides by water from a reservoir.

Most of the trees available to lease in that part of the forest are beech trees. But today I decided to lease a black oak near the waterfront. Don and I have a love of trees and especially oak trees. There is a huge one ( a different species) in our front yard. It's home and food for all kinds of animals and is a sturdy and long-lived tree. There will be a little memorial plaque on the tree (instead of a tombstone) to help friends an family find it, and the grounds can be available for picnics, etc.

Don isn't sure how he feels about all this, but he and Aqua came along for a ride today and enjoyed the grounds. Mike took a picture of all three of us in front of my tree:

Don, Aqua, and I at my newly-selected black oak tree at Makemie Woods

Matthew, my son, seems OK with the idea. I hope the rest of the family is as understanding. Time will tell!

**Update on 7/30/14: The family so far has been fine with the idea. The dear old dog in the picture, recently died of a combination of old age, kidney failure, and snake bite. We had her cremated, found our tree, and put our ashes there. We strongly suggest getting a good GPS coordinate on your tree, if you choose to lease one, to make it easier to find the spot again. R.I.P., sweet Aquaphilia!

City Chicks Revisited

 As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am spearheading a group of residents who are working to change the zoning laws in the City of Chesapeake, Virginia. The current zoning law states that residents must live in agricultural zones or on "residential estates" of three acres or more in order to keep laying hens. We would like to see micro-flocks of 2-6 hens allowed in most residential areas. Minutes of our most recent meeting are available online.

The city's initial response to our group's request was so weakly written and pathetic, I was actually saddened to read it. The response is available at the link to our minutes, above. It is not the well-informed, well-researched, and thoughtful response that our tax dollars deserve. Here are the main "impacts" against more residents keeping hens. I quote:

Chickens/hens...

• Can be loud, especially when laying eggs.
• Can produce large amounts of waste, resulting in obnoxious odors.
• Waste can be an attractant for rodents.
• Containment can sometimes be difficult.
• Can be targeted as prey by other domesticated animals, such as dogs and cats.

That's it?  

Residents can legally keep prey animals like rabbits; they can keep household waste and birdseed, which attract rodents; they can keep dogs and parrots, which are noisy...but they can't legally keep 2-6 hens penned in their own backyards to turn their kitchen scraps into eggs? It's so ridiculous I feel like we are truly dealing with the fictitious bureaucrat on the XtraNormal satire that we've posted on Youtube.

If you feel as we do, there are ways you can help. Sign our online petition. If you are a Chesapeake resident, read our minutes, like our Facebook page, and get involved. By working together we will get the City Council's attention and, eventually, change.


For other responses to the City of Chesapeake's position, visit this followup post. For information on our speeches to the City Council on July 24 and the television and newspaper publicity we've been generating for our cause, read this post.

**Update 8/25/12: "4 Chesapeake Hens" and Councilman Robert Ike have convinced the City Council to send the  hen issue to Planning. We are inviting Pat Foreman, the author of City Chicks, to Chesapeake on October 9 for educational and awareness purposes. Click here for more information.

**Update 11/20/12: Chesapeake City Council approved a law that will allow up to six hens, no roosters, in a pen in residential backyards. There is a 1-year sunset clause on the ordinance.

Urban Chicken Activists, Unite!

There have been some exciting developments in Chesapeake regarding urban chickens. As I explained in an earlier post, a group of residents has been organizing to get the zoning laws changed in Chesapeake, Virginia, for reasons I outlined in other posts. Our online petition now has more than 330 signatures. We also have petitions in local feed stores and other places. Our petition at Southern States on Military Highway has 24 signatures on it as of the morning of June 9.

Member Andrea Ball Margrave has been organizing our political strategy for City Council. Last night she and many members of the Facebook fan page, 4 Chesapeake Hens, and the group, Backyard Chickens for Chesapeake, met at an informal local political event called a "Town Meeting." Unfortunately, I had another commitment and could not attend. Here is what Andrea had to report, in her own words:

"Very excited tonight! Got a wonderful reception at the Town Meeting, which was packed because of some other issues going on, so I had a larger than usual audience, plus the entire council was present, including the mayor and the interim city manager, plus at least one of the new upcoming council members that I could see, Robert Ike. 

"I was able to put copies of the flyer in the hands of all but two of them as they entered, and handed out over 30 more to attendees. I met at least 4 or 5 members of this group there, but now I see there were more that I didn't meet that were in attendance! WOW! Sorry to miss some of y'all. I of course didn't get to say all that I wanted to say, forgot some of it, but one other gentleman came with his daughter, a Mr. Tims? and spoke up in support of chickens, very funny guy! Thankfully I was able to speak first, because of all the controversy over the other issues there, but I kept it positive and respectful, and I feel they were pretty receptive. 

"As the meeting adjourned my daughter and I stood outside the doors asking for people to sign the petitions, and we got 10 signatures and had some great conversations. A bunch of folks promised to sign online after they got home, using the link on the flyer. Some of the members were in a hurry to leave after the rough questioning of the evening, so I didn't get to speak individually to them all, but those I did speak with had nice things to say about our efforts. One even asked to learn more about it, and I told him I would come to his office to answer whatever questions they had. Overall a successful evening, and a great opening salvo in our quest to secure the changes we seek."

Thanks, Andrea! Great things are happening. All because a group of people got together and decided to give a cluck. ;0)