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FOR THE BIRDS<br />
swaps. A spike in bird flu cases across<br />
Iowa shut down the swaps during the<br />
early part of the year.<br />
“We usually have a lot more birds<br />
right now, but they were hard to come<br />
by,” he said in May.<br />
A spring beginning<br />
Avian influenza started in Iowa in<br />
early March, and more than 13 million<br />
commercial and backyard birds have<br />
died or been killed to stop the disease<br />
from spreading. Experts believe that the<br />
disease spread through the migratory<br />
bird flocks that pass through Iowa each<br />
year, according to the Iowa Department<br />
of Agriculture.<br />
A similar situation took place in 2015,<br />
when Iowa farmers were hit with the<br />
largest poultry death loss on record, the<br />
department said.<br />
“Avian influenza is spread in respiratory<br />
secretions and feces,” said Dr. Katie<br />
Rumsey, assistant state veterinarian.<br />
EASTERN IOWA FARMER PHOTO / JACKIE MILLER<br />
Beck sources most of his poultry from local bird swaps and area hatcheries. The bird swaps were<br />
closed for part of the spring making sourcing difficult. Those birds that were purchased from a<br />
hatchery were done so at a premium price.<br />
We take<br />
care of the<br />
DIRTY WORK<br />
SERVICES WE OFFER:<br />
• Septic pumping<br />
• Unplug inlet & outlet lines<br />
• Sewer line jetting<br />
• Dye test inspection<br />
• Sewer line cleaning & repair<br />
20 EASTERN IOWA FARMER | FALL 2022 eifarmer.com
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