Southern Illinois poultry farmer talks about bird flu and concerns for small flocks

CARBONDALE, Ill., (KBSI) – As the avian flu continues to spread, people are watching their flocks for signs of illness.

At The Moat House Family farm, Michelle Conway raises chickens and Muscovy ducks.

“I like to feed them by hand. It makes them more personable and easier to gather when you need any veterinary care,” she said. “They will be used to just coming directly up to you without much fear.”

Conway breeds and sells Muscovy ducks.

The chickens provide eggs which she sells or sometimes simply gives away to community members in need.

“They are beautiful pets that give me lovely gifts from time to time and feed my family,” she said.

However, Conway may soon be getting out of the duck breeding business. She recently learned she’s allergic to duck eggs, and with waterfowls being considered reservoirs, or hosts, for avian influenza A viruses the ducks pose a risk for her chickens.

“With the bird flu in our area – more and more reports of it – even though they are the hardier of ducks, they’re still ducks, and therefore they’re still susceptible,” Conway said. “If they do get the bird flu, then my chickens – which I can eat their eggs and the chickens, too – we don’t want them to be at risk because of the ducks.”

When Conway hand-feeds the birds, she also checks for signs of illness like sneezing or mucous around their eyes and nostrils.

“As you’re feeding them, you can check for things like any chest congestion or head congestion,” she said. “Now with the ducks, they constantly are blowing out their nostrils, but if it becomes more mucous-y then that’s something that you need to be alerted about.”

Across the state of Illinois, the H5N1 avian flu virus has been detected in commercial and backyard flocks.

The continued spread of the virus prompted the Illinois Department of Agriculture to issue a thirty-day suspension on poultry exhibition and sale events. The suspension went into effect, Tuesday, February 11, 2025.

IDOA State Veterinarian Dr. Mark Ernst said, with the disease being so prevalent throughout the country right now, the suspension is an attempt to decrease the co-mingling of birds from different flocks.

Ernst said the virus causes severe disease and progresses quickly.

“There’s really no good treatment at all for it,” he said. “That disease is going to kill those birds once they start showing signs.”

According to Ernst, most of the flock will die of the disease before there’s a chance to depopulate the flock – depopulate meaning, the mass killing of birds in an emergency situation.

He said focusing on prevention is the best thing people can do. Ernst recommends practicing good bio-security – including things such as avoiding contact with wild waterfowl and not going around other bird owners to prevent bringing something back to your own flock.