{"id":41054,"date":"2022-04-22T01:55:28","date_gmt":"2022-04-22T07:55:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/avian-influenza-discovered-in-backyard-poultry-operation-in-la-plata-county\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:58:51","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:58:51","slug":"avian-influenza-discovered-in-backyard-poultry-operation-in-la-plata-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/avian-influenza-discovered-in-backyard-poultry-operation-in-la-plata-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Avian influenza discovered in backyard poultry operation in La Plata County"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"A
A Cornish Rock chicken at James Ranch in 2013. The Colorado Department of Agriculture announced Thursday that avian influenza has been detected in La Plata County. La Plata County is now the third county in Colorado, after Pitkin and Montrose counties, with an outbreak of Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza virus. The easily transmissible disease can decimate entire flocks of poultry. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The Colorado Department of Agriculture announced Thursday that avian influenza has been detected in La Plata County.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed the Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza virus in a mixed species backyard poultry operation Wednesday after tests at Colorado State University.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely something we\u2019ve expected to see in Colorado,\u201d said Olga Robak, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Agriculture. \u201cIt\u2019s divided between the Continental Divide. East of the Divide, we\u2019ve had only confirmed cases in wild birds. West of the Divide, we have had confirmed cases in domestic birds.\u201d<\/p>\n

La Plata County becomes the third county in Colorado after Pitkin and Montrose counties, to have an outbreak in poultry.<\/p>\n

The owner of the backyard operation informed the Colorado State Veterinarian\u2019s Office of an outbreak in the flock on April 14, according to a Colorado Department of Agriculture news release.<\/p>\n

A Durango veterinarian took samples of two sick birds and submitted them to CSU\u2019s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. The National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed the diagnosis on April 20, three days after the flock\u2019s 40 birds were euthanized, according to USDA data.<\/p>\n

The Colorado Department of Agriculture does not share more specific information, Robak said.<\/p>\n

HPAI is a highly transmissible and deadly virus transmitted between birds. Wild birds typically spread the disease to poultry, but domesticated flocks can also spread the disease between each other.<\/p>\n

\"Rachel
Rachel Huber, owner of Grace Gardens, gathers eggs from her chickens at Heartwood Cohousing near Bayfield in 2015. Avian flu has a 90% to 100% mortality rate within 24 to 48 hours, forcing farmers to euthanize entire flocks. So far, avian flu has affected more than 31 million domesticated birds across the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThis is a natural virus for (wild birds). They can carry it and can have no signs of illness,\u201d Robak said. \u201cWhen those wild birds come in contact with domestic birds, that\u2019s when the virus can really cause a lot of destruction in domestic poultry because poultry does not have the built resistance to this virus.\u201d<\/p>\n

HPAI has a 90% to 100% mortality rate within 24 to 48 hours, so farmers euthanize their entire flock once birds test positive, said Amy Reid, owner of Jakes Farm, a poultry, pork and produce farm, in Hesperus. There is no cure and no vaccine.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank God, it wasn\u2019t us, but I feel bad for whoever it was,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been dreading this day.\u201d<\/p>\n

As of Thursday, nearly 31 million birds have been affected this year by the virus, either dying from the virus or being euthanized, according to the USDA. Nationally, 29 states and 221 producers have experienced outbreaks.<\/p>\n

The USDA first reported a case of HPAI in a wild American wigeon in South Carolina on Jan. 14. It marked the first time since 2016 that a wild bird had been confirmed positive for the disease in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Since then, avian influenza has spread across the country. It was first detected in a commercial flock in an Indiana turkey farm on Feb. 9, moving to Kentucky, New York and Maine next.<\/p>\n

The Colorado Department of Agriculture announced the first cases of HPAI in Colorado in Pitkin County on April 9. Of the 36 animals in the flock, 35 died of the virus. The flock had been exposed to sick waterfowl in previous days. Tests confirmed avian influenza on April 8.<\/p>\n

More than 60,000 birds at a commercial facility were euthanized after positive cases in Montrose County a little more than a week later.<\/p>\n

Reid, who has anywhere from 1,000 to 1,200 birds on her farm at any one time, has been watching HPAI move steadily across the country and preparing for the possible arrival of the disease in La Plata County.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew it was coming. We just kept seeing it go state to state,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen I saw that it hit Texas, I was like, \u2018Oh, no,\u2019 because those birds are migrating up. It was just a matter of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

In recent years, Reid has been transitioning her flock to free-range grazing. However, that exposes them to wild birds where they are at risk of catching avian flu. The disease can be transmitted to domesticated birds through direct contact or through fecal matter. It can be as simple as a wild bird and poultry eating the same feed.<\/p>\n

But it can also be tracked and spread through equipment, vehicles and even shoes and clothes.<\/p>\n

To prepare, Reid has moved feed inside and had to find a balance between outdoor exposure where her poultry can come into contact with wild birds and indoor spaces where disease can spread rapidly. Jakes Farm already employs a closed water system so birds don\u2019t come into contact with standing water.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re using as much of the resources that we have to keep everybody covered without having to enclose them in barns,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to work in the middle as best we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Canada
Canada geese and other wild birds can spread avian flu to poultry through shared food and water as well as fecal matter. Humans can also spread the disease to domesticated flocks, so the Colorado Department of Agriculture and Amy Reid, the owner of Jakes Farm, a poultry, pork and produce farm, in Hesperus are asking people to take precautions. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

While avian flu is not a food safety risk (poultry and eggs can be safely eaten when cooked properly) and no cases have been detected in people in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, humans can serve as an important vector for the disease.<\/p>\n

There are several steps producers and the public can take to limit the spread of avian disease, including moving food and water indoors and suspending farm tours and visits, Reid said.<\/p>\n

But arguably the most important precaution is changing shoes. Reid has been in touch with the Durango Farmers Market to ask that any vendors not wear their farm boots to the market and any customers who have potentially been exposed to wild birds not wear those shoes to avoid spreading avian flu.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe shoes is the easiest thing that we can ask people to do at this point, just pay attention to not tracking stuff with your shoes,\u201d Reid said.<\/p>\n

For farmers who lose their flocks to HPAI, the USDA offers financial assistance. Robak said Colorado Crisis Services and the Colorado Agricultural Addiction and Mental Health Program can also help bird owners who are struggling with mental health because of HPAI.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is really hard for people, especially when they have backyard flocks. Those animals become part of the family, and we know that this is really taxing on people emotionally,\u201d Robak said. \u201cThere are definitely resources available for people who are struggling with anxiety or stress around HPAI.\u201d<\/p>\n

Community awareness is critical to prevent the spread of disease and limit the impacts on farmers, Reid said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of people don\u2019t realize what\u2019s going on,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve talked to a lot of farmers, who are like, \u2018Oh, we don\u2019t have poultry, so it\u2019s not a concern.\u2019 But you could still track it. We need the community to try to practice safety and the biosecurity for us. It\u2019s a big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

ahannon@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Precautions urged to prevent spread of highly deadly disease<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41055,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[281,1587,28,475,1398],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-41054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-agriculture","tag-farms","tag-headlines","tag-la-plata-county-colorado","tag-livestock-farming"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41054"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84841,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41054\/revisions\/84841"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41054"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=41054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}