With bird flu being on the rise in my area, and now animal to human transmission I have not been putting seed and suet out this year. My feeders are at the end of my deck so I am more concerned about the poop that shows up around the feeder. I guess I could wear disposable vinyl gloves when refilling feeders but being a senior citizen with several risk factors I have chosen to not touch the feeders so far. I do miss watching the song birds and woodpeckers visiting though. Anyone else taking this precaution? Am I being over reactive?

I think you may need to turn off your TV for a while...

First off, I find your reply to be irrelevant to my inquiry. I wasn't asking for smart a$$ remarks. This forum in the past has always been a generally good place to get truthful information. Not so much in recent months.

Our local news, not fake national news, has reported several confirmed cases of transmission to pets in my immediate area and we have had quite a few flocks of laying chickens destroyed in my state due to infection. You may have noticed the price increase of eggs. So yes there are reasons that I asked for advice.

If you are over 50, you should be taking vitamin D3. I take 10K units a day.

Also Dr. William Li's book, "Eat to Beat Disease" tells you what foods to eat to live longer.




Sambucol has been tested against the bird flu and is available at Walmart for $10:

https://www.cfhu.org/news/stud...e-against-avian-flu/

quote:

Originally posted by bettysnephew:
First off, I find your reply to be irrelevant to my inquiry. I wasn't asking for smart a$$ remarks. This forum in the past has always been a generally good place to get truthful information. Not so much in recent months.

Our local news, not fake national news, has reported several confirmed cases of transmission to pets in my immediate area and we have had quite a few flocks of laying chickens destroyed in my state due to infection. You may have noticed the price increase of eggs. So yes there are reasons that I asked for advice.

Sorry, my apologies here.

I do think it's being way overhyped here.

It's always been good SOP to not touch bird crap.

Practicing good hand hygiene, whether you wear gloves or not, whether it's flu or cold, is number one.

Thank you PASig! Apology accepted.

Iowa is an agricultural state, so we may be far more susceptible to infestations. Literally millions of chickens here have been destroyed due to it being rampant in the flocks. Even though most of the chickens are kept largely indoors, it is difficult to keep smaller birds out of the buildings and during warmer weather many of the farmers do allow access to the outdoors for the birds. Once one bird tests positive the entire flock is destroyed.

@41 My cardiologist also has me on a 10,000 unit regimen. I will look into that book. Thank you for the advice.

Can Bird Flu withstand cold temperatures? 16 degrees at my feeder now.

IMO, the odds that you'll pick up bird flu from a few wild birds are slim to none. You aren't even near them, let alone handling them. All these outbreaks I'm hearing about come from poultry processors, who have tens or hundreds of thousands of birds in close proximity to both each other and human handlers. It would be sensible to wash your hands after filling the feeder.

quote:

Originally posted by bettysnephew:
Anyone else taking this precaution? Am I being over reactive?

Yes and no.

I raise quail for meat and eggs and follow NPIP guidelines to fend off bird flu from killing my flock. That includes removing feeders or anything else that attracts wild birds. I step into a tub of sanitizer before entering the quail room and sanitize my hands at the door. All openings have been screened to prevent wild birds from entering. Dog is not allowed in anymore (he's really upset he can't swipe eggs when he wants). Bird flu is real and will wipe out a flock if allowed in. Since I handle my quail, I would rather not find out how easily or not it jumps from quail to human.

So, yes, I'm taking yours and many other precautions, and no, you're not being over reactive.

That said, unless you're handling poultry or birds or their poop every day, there is little risk. Washing your hands and not touching your face will work wonders against contracting bird or any other kind of flu.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
...All these outbreaks I'm hearing about come from poultry processors, who have tens or hundreds of thousands of birds in close proximity to both each other and human handlers. ...

The density is astounding in commercial egg laying chicken operations. The good ones who are certified humane are giving the birds 1 sq ft to 1.5 sq ft depending on coop design. In a 43'x500' commercial coop that is a 14,300 to 21,500 chickens. A density like that makes it easy for a disease to transfer quickly.

Broadcast mine in the grass. We live out and the raccoons demolish the bird feeders. I stopped putting suet out as they didn’t eat it anyway. It’s safer for the birds. Three years ago we had a pair of Cooper’s Hawks move in. Now we have 6 of them. As I said I broadcast the feed under the trees. The birds drop down,eat and go back up in the trees.

I’ve been around and doing various types birdfeeding since the 70’s. That includes myself as a kid, also visiting the grandparents growing up.

First off, I’m not in the medical field, but I think the chance of catching it from wild songbirds is low. If desired, use precautions servicing feeders, being mindful of any dead birds would mitigate.

I don’t feed as much as I used to, then back off to zero as warm weather comes in.

Another, somewhat related issue, songbird populations have changed drastically over recent decades. This is from my observation, talking to others, and then a little googling. Many types are much lower in numbers.

One reason often mentioned is widespread pesticide use, I think there’s some level of validity. Some populations naturally vary, predators play a role. Look at snow goose numbers the last 20 years, breeding themselves out of habitat up North.

20+ years ago I had a micro example of pesticides. It was early Spring, I was doing firewood, one log had a bunch of ants inside. I decided to spray them with Raid rather than letting them dissipate. A few days later not far away lay a dead robin or two. I believe they enjoyed a bunch of the dead ants as a last meal.

There really is a spike in egg prices now. I haven’t seen much in the news of people catching the flu from birds.

The strain loose at the moment has been around for a very long time. The only “death” attributed to it in the US involved an already unhealthy person. There have been 66 cases reported in the US. Since 2022. That doesn’t make me at all nervous even if I had comorbidity. Simply washing ones hands after handling bird feeding items would be plenty.

quote:

Originally posted by Imabmwnut:
Broadcast mine in the grass. We live out and the raccoons demolish the bird feeders.

I add flaming squirrel hot oil to my bird seed to keep away the ground animals including raccoons. Birds don't have capsaicin receptors so they don't notice but it burns like a MFer to anyone else.

I use to feed the doves chick cracked corn. In the winter time, there would be 100 doves setting in the trees waiting to feed.

One winter, I noticed about 20+ cardinals taking turns feeding. I have never seen that many at one time.

Then one summer I heard shots close by and went upstairs to look out the window. Across Centreville Road was a field with an old dead tree. With binoculars, I could a person with a shotgun shooting doves out of the tree. A call to the police resulted in an Officer arriving and the person arrested. Shot had to be raining down on the houses near by.

A lot of the birds around here were killed by the West Nile virus.

I put up several suet feeders in the woods on the back half of the property. I filled them before the snow storm. I don't think about the bird flu when I'm out and I always wash my hands when I return to the house because of the suet ingredients and habit.

I don't put feeders around the house because of house sparrows crapping everywhere. Nasty birds.

I usually put loose bird seed on the deck rails every morning . I don't see any poop and I wouldn't touch it anyway .

quote:

The density is astounding in commercial egg laying chicken operations.

Any slip-up anywhere along the line is a recipe for bird flu.