Marcus McCauley figures his farm’s chickens only have to fear eagles, hawks and owls and not the deadly avian flu that has now spread to a Colorado man.
“Our birds are pasteurized and outside most of their life,” McCauley, farm manager for McCauley Family Farms, said. The Longmont farm — certified organic — has about 1,000 chickens and are kept away from other birds and guarded by large dogs that fend off predators, McCauley said.
“Our main thing is that we try to take a holistic approach and make sure our birds are healthy,” he said. “We want healthy birds so they can fight off anything floating around in the air.”
The biggest threat to McCauley’s birds are sharp clawed predator birds that can come from the skies. “Everybody wants a free lunch so we keep an eye on them.”
Besides predators, people also aren’t allowed close to McCauleys’ chickens. “We won’t let people get close to them. It’s just safer that way,” he said.
The first identified human case in the United States of the H5NA virus known as the avian flu was found this week in a Colorado man who works on a Western Slope poultry farm, according to the Denver Post.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has been monitoring and testing people exposed to poultry and wild birds infected with avian flu, according to a news release.
A test revealed the presence of the influenza virus in a single nasal specimen of a man who was working on a farm with infected poultry, the news release states. On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the test. Repeat testing on the man, however, has been negative, according to the Post.
Flu outbreaks have been linked to large indoor chicken operations. But those operations do not exist in Boulder County, at least on county-owned properties, said Vivienne Jannatpour spokeswoman for Boulder County Parks & Open Space.
