HPAI or avian flu never left the United States in 2022 like it did in 2015. So it’s likely that by the end of March, Minnesota will again start to see the virus affect chickens, turkeys and wild waterfowl.
Our guidelines to reduce avian flu for backyard flock and commercial flock owners remains the same as in 2022:
- Minimize, prevent and eliminate any contact you or your birds have with wild waterfowl.
- Report sick or unusually high deaths of flocks to the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.
- Report dead waterfowl to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (5 or more birds in one place) at 888-646-6367.
- Report injured or sick raptors to the University of Minnesota Raptor Center.
- Feeding birds in feeders is okay! Song birds still are not known to be reservoirs of avian influenza.
Report sick or dead domestic or wild birds to the Minnesota Board of Animal Health. They will make sure that the appropriate agency responds. You can do this by calling the Minnesota Avian Influenza Hotline at 833-454-0156 or submit a report online.
There are 131 known cases of mammals contracting HPAI, likely from eating infected birds. All of these mammals have been wild animals. Minnesota has had nine cases reported, with eight being red fox in multiple counties and one skunk. These are significant new findings that didn’t exist in the 2015 outbreak.
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Avian influenza basics for urban and backyard poultry owners
