Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I've been thinking about this lately as I've been reading about the bird flu. I think I'll let the seed I have in my feeders now get used up, then leave them empty for a while.
Why experts say you should immediately stop filling birdfeeders
avian influenza. it's in at least 27 states now.
Quote:
Experts are issuing unusual advice – quit filling your bird feeders.
The reason, according to Dr. Victoria Hall with the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota, is an “unprecedented outbreak” of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, strain H5N1 in wild birds.
“In areas with HPAI transmission in any avian species, consider pausing the use of bird feeders and baths for the next couple of months until the rate of virus transmission in wild birds dramatically decreases,” Hall said. “Not only will this action help to protect those beautiful feathered creatures that visit your yard, but will also help all wild bird species that are already having it hard this spring because of HPAI.”
Sincerely asking...how is ME not filling a bird feeder going to stop the spread? It doesn't stop birds from coming in my yard, or building nests and so forth. I guess I could see the point if it keeps birds from congregating...but many of the birds I see in MY yard and neighbors yards congregate without bird feeders already.
I guess I'm not seeing how my actions make a difference one way or another. Wild birds don't seem to succumb, most of the time, to the disease. It's pretty much all domestic birds that are susseptible to dying from the disease. So yeah, if you keep chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese...take precautions. But I don't understand, regarding the wild birds.
And sometimes has negative effects as harsh as death. My husband stopped to help a man who had a turkey smashed in the windshield this morning. Someone feeds them corn to keep them around. There's one less crossing the road now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Deserterer
Feeding wildlife rarely has a positive effect on anything but feelings of self-gratification.
Well, I've read articles ASKING people to stock bird feeders, in previous years because migratory song birds weren't getting enough food from their usual sources, do to cleared fields and forests, etc. So...I'll keep doing what I'm doing until someone can tell me why NOT filling bird feeders is bad. And this article isn't making it clear to me why I should stop.
Sincerely asking...how is ME not filling a bird feeder going to stop the spread? It doesn't stop birds from coming in my yard, or building nests and so forth. I guess I could see the point if it keeps birds from congregating...but many of the birds I see in MY yard and neighbors yards congregate without bird feeders already.
I guess I'm not seeing how my actions make a difference one way or another. Wild birds don't seem to succumb, most of the time, to the disease. It's pretty much all domestic birds that are susseptible to dying from the disease. So yeah, if you keep chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese...take precautions. But I don't understand, regarding the wild birds.
shared feeders serve as a source of inoculum:
Quote:
Infected birds can shed the virus through their saliva and feces, leaving shared surfaces contaminated for other birds to pickup and further spread the virus.
OTOH, i've read other other sources claiming songbirds aren't a greatly affected as waterfowl and predatory birds like owls, eagles, etc.
The songbirds that are infected can spread it around. There is a huge risk to commercial poultry flocks. This virus is so contagious that if even one bird is confirmed to have it, the whole flock has to be destroyed. It's already spread to >31 states, and is hitting poultry flocks in the midwest very hard. 22M birds have already had to be euthanized. When this happened in 2015, it cost the country half a billion dollars.
Why risk another disruption to our food supply chain if not filling your feeders may help?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Why experts say you should immediately stop filling birdfeeders
