Chicago | Reuters — Faced with a deadly bird flu outbreak that has infected millions of chickens and turkeys, the U.S. Agriculture Department could turn to what it has always seen as a last resort: readying and deploying a vaccine to fight the disease. Up to now, USDA has said it would prefer not to […] Read more

U.S. could use vaccines being developed to fight bird flu in poultry

Iowa reports biggest single U.S. outbreak of bird flu
Chicago | Reuters –– Iowa, the top U.S. egg-producing state, found a lethal strain of bird flu in millions of hens at an egg-laying facility on Monday, the worst case so far in a national outbreak that prompted Wisconsin to declare a state of emergency. The infected Iowa birds were being raised near the city […] Read more

Ont. chicken farm’s avian flu confirmed as high-path H5N2
The avian flu that swept a broiler breeder chicken operation in southwestern Ontario’s Oxford County has been confirmed as highly pathogenic H5N2. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said Sunday its lab tests in Winnipeg have confirmed the virus’ pathogenicity and subtype. The farm, southwest of Kitchener, was quarantined Saturday after preliminary tests confirmed a […] Read more

SW Ont. broiler farm quarantined with avian flu
A second poultry farm in southwestern Ontario’s Oxford County is now under federal quarantine with what tests show to be avian flu. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Saturday it had placed the farm — a broiler breeder chicken operation west of Ayr, Ont., south of Kitchener — under quarantine after preliminary tests Friday at […] Read more

Canada blocks poultry, eggs from N.D., Wisconsin, Iowa
The list of U.S. jurisdictions from which travellers can’t bring live poultry, eggs or raw poultry products into Canada is now three states longer. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Tuesday announced new restrictions on such products from North Dakota, Wisconsin and Iowa, following confirmed cases of H5N2 avian flu this week at commercial poultry […] Read more

More U.S. turkey flocks hit with bird flu
Reuters — The number of U.S. poultry flocks infected with a deadly strain of bird flu rose on Tuesday as Iowa identified its first case and Minnesota confirmed eight more cases, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Iowa became the 12th state this year to find poultry infected with the H5N2 flu, which can […] Read more

Zone coverage set up around SW Ont. avian flu site
The only farm in Canada now in the midst of an avian flu cleanup is the centre of a new control zone, meant to limit the flu’s spread and keep Canada’s trading partners at ease. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on Sunday announced it has set up an avian flu control zone, which so […] Read more

U.S. cuts poultry export forecast as avian flu spreads
Chicago | Reuters –– The U.S. government on Thursday reduced its forecasts for poultry exports by nearly six per cent from last month due partly to an accelerating outbreak of bird flu that has triggered wider-than-expected trade restrictions. The steep cuts came as the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed a second commercial flock of turkeys […] Read more

Ont. turkey farm’s avian flu confirmed as H5N2
A quarantined southwestern Ontario turkey farm has been confirmed with the same strain of highly pathogenic H5N2 avian flu seen on farms in British Columbia and several U.S. states. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Wednesday that samples tested at its National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease in Winnipeg have confirmed the virus’ subtype and […] Read more

Chicken feed doesn’t describe this system
Some broiler breeders gobble more than their fair share of feed, but a new Alberta-designed system has a fix for that
Reading Time: 3 minutes University of Alberta researchers are only halfway through a precision feeding trial for broiler breeders — but the early results are promising. “The system has done a great job at growing birds to the right weight,” said Martin Zuidhof, an associate professor at the University of Alberta. Along with a team of electrical and mechanical […] Read more