A rooster in Redwood City (the Bay Area of California) has tested positive for Newcastle disease. The virus is deadly and known to kill chickens by the flock, disrupting the food supply which is already perched precariously in this volatile economy.
This outbreak is so worrisome that the San Mateo County Fair canceled its upcoming poultry show out of an abundance of caution. Usually, about 250 people show chickens at the June event and it’s popular with children who participate in 4-H activities.
Newcastle disease has been devastating to poultry farmers in Southern California but this is the first time a case has been confirmed in the northern part of the state, according to a report by a CBS local affiliate in San Francisco. Last year, an outbreak killed tens of thousands of chickens in Southern California. Back in 2002, an 11-month-long outbreak killed 3.1 million birds and cost around $161 million. “The worry is it would get into the California poultry industry; California has a very large poultry industry,” veterinarian Tina Peak said.
Peak is one of the very few veterinarians still seeing chickens in Redwood City after the confirmed case. She’s only treating them in the parking lot as a precaution as of right now. “It spreads rapidly and it’s very, very deadly,” Peak said of Newcastle disease. Peak sees many clients who simply own a few chickens in their yards, not just farmers with a large flock of birds, so closing the practice is impractical.
According to a CBS local affiliate in San Francisco, owning your own chickens has become increasingly “trendy,” (very fashionable or in style). Peak warns California’s trend-setting chicken owners not to move their birds and to clean up after handling them in the aftermath of this viral outbreak news. Hilary Yoffe-Sharp owns about a dozen chickens, all of which were rescued from the humane society. She just learned about Newcastle disease and says she’s very concerned. “We’ll definitely be monitoring the situation to make sure our birds stay healthy and safe,” Yoffe-Sharp said.
Chicken is food? Ha
Funny they show a picture of “free range” chickens. Maybe that is where the problem lies. Lack of food safety.
chicken isnt food? ha.
Funny how you imply “free range” chickens are less healthy than cooped up megafarm poultry.
Btw, Mac uses stock photos.
Chicken Wars – Another False Flag to destroy a competitors chicken flock.
Funny how you imply “free range” chickens are less healthy than cooped up megafarm poultry.
WITH GMO feed and other crap that doesn’t happen to free range.
No, but eating cow shit and that of other farm animals does happen.
Yes they do. When I let mine out the first place they go is under the wild bird feeders to clean up those spills. The second place they go is into the horse pens to eat the un or partially digested grain in the manure. They eat insects, mice and other vermin (you should see them tear up baby mice) and will pick your left over cooked chicken carcasses clean. Some will eat their own eggs. These are not starving birds either – they have ample feed and all kinds of goodies to get out in the yard.
This is nature – accept it or die….
Probably contracted from Democrats.
Rooster Tests POSITIVE For Deadly Contagious Disease In Northern California
Liberalism?
yep.
GET THOSE COCKS VACCINATED!
Never say ‘chicken isn’t food’ to a Southerner. I grew up on chicken and other types of meat. A rooster in Cali has disease? No surprise there. Cali is disaster-prone territory anyway.
Remember – that disease will cause cancer in California.
Diseases do not appear by magic. And they are very easy to plant. Maybe try testing the feed. Don’t pretend it won’t cross state lines. There is some reason the disease occurs every year???
“There is some reason the disease occurs every year???”
Nowhere in the article does it say it occurs every year.
Dr. Peak gives some good advice. Birds spread disease. Keep your flock away from other people’s birds and don’t let anyone into your chicken pen. They could have bird poop from another flock on their shoes. Never accept orphan birds. Incubate and hatch your own. It’s not hard. Keep an ornamental owl or scarecrow by your coop to chase off wild birds. Besides being predators, wild birds carry these diseases.
Who takes their chickens to the vet? lol. City folks.
Gee, I was hope’n fur sum Mc Nuggets fur lunch! Jeet Yet?
Pasture raised eggs are all I buy. The trendiness of keeping backyard chickens is a good thing. Isolation protects them. Garlic in their drinking water helps.
.
So does a few ounces a day of Braggs apple cider(contains the mother) in their water font. Never had a sick one.
Braggs Organic Apple Cider vinegar I meant to say.
Over 4 decades ago we bought a trio of bantam chickens. and our current flock are decendants of those first three birds. We ocassionaly buy a speckled rooster or two. and our chickrns are hardy. we let them free range during the day. and fasten them in a varmit proof coop at night. I had 6 bantam eggs and sausage for breakfast today.
OG,
I have Cuckoo Marans, 14 of them, we free range them by day and lock them up at night also. I get about 8 large brown eggs per day, but haven’t seen any chicks yet. Brought in a Banny hen as they sit better, to hopefully get some chicks. Only had the birds two years now, so we are just starting out. Don’t get me wrong I’ve been raising chickens off and on for 50 years. Life happens and you move, generally you can’t take the flock with you.
The reason for the disease is all the diseased people coming into civilized America. We need to build the wall and tell China they can no longer sale food or medicine to Americans.
I think that science has bred the hardiness out of the birds. They are genetically selected and bred for fast growth and maximum weight gain…same as the hog producers do. In 1957 a broiler was ready for market at 56 days and weighed about 2 3/4 lbs. In 2010 a broiler was ready for market at 47 days and weighed about 5 1/4 lbs.
It’s possible with birds like Old Guy has…banties and guineas, that they are hardier since they have never been bred for market and are still pretty much wild birds.
They’ve also bread the broodiness out of the hens. A lot of hens won’t set on eggs like they used to. The banties have kept a lot of the broodiness and will set on just about any chicken egg. Trouble is the banty is small and can’t spread herself out over a large clutch of eggs to incubate them all.
Bred the broodiness….sheesh
Why am I not surprised this started in California? It seems every disease known to man starts there. My girls are just fine,and I do give them ACV in their water. Never thought of putting a ceramic owl out,though. Probably scare the cats ?
Don’t know if the owl would work as we have some whopping big redtail hawks as well as eagles. One day coming home from work I had to stop in the middle of my road as a Big redtail hawk was perched on a roadkill rabbit and just several feet from him was an eagle staring him down. It was something to see who was gonna give ground. The eagle finally won.
Newcastle in humans
https://image.slidesharecdn.com/newcastledisease-photosession-141127102828-conversion-gate01/95/newcastle-disease-photo-session-13-638.jpg?cb=1452512456