Would you get rid of your pets? bird flu question

[Cindyluwho]

All this talk about the bird flu and now they have some suspected cases in Canada! I have a flock of about a dozen chickens. We practice safe handling techniques, being in 4H they really focus on that. Would you consider getting rid of your pets because of a suspected outbreak? Would you do it now or wait until you knew for sure that it was getting close to your area? What if it was dogs or cats that spread a disease, would you even consider getting rid of your pets? I only add that last question because to us, our chickens are pets as much as our dogs and cats.

 

[Cindyluwho]

I guess I was just one step ahead of the 4H leaders, this just came to my email:

Hello 4-H poultry project members,
In light of recent outbreak of the bird flu in Asia and Europe, I encourage you to be informed and respond cautiously when discussing this topic with our 4-H club members. We want to avoid hysteria and rumors that could lead to confusion. We want our poultry project members to start off the 4-H year with a positive attitude and confidence. I encourage every poultry owning family create a written bio-security plan as well as practice proper hand hygiene. One of the best ways to protect your backyard flocks from disease is to keep them away from all sources of wild birds, which means using bird netting and/or hardware cloth over your current pen designs and no pasturing or free-ranging of poultry.

WSU Extension recommends developing these hand-washing habits for good health in 30 seconds:
1 Wet hands using running water (warm if available).
2 Use soap and scrub for 20 seconds. Practice by singing Row, Row, Row Your Boat twice!
3 Rinse with running water (again, warm if available).
4 Dry with a paper towel.
5 Use the towel to turn off the faucet and open the bathroom door.

 

[Sparx]

Suspected outbreak? No way.
Outbreak? no
If they are sick? yes.

 

[Kermit]

Dogs and cats are different. At least, they're different if you keep them indoors. It would take a lot for me to get rid of my dog who spends a grand total of about 10 minutes outside using the potty each day. He goes out a little longer if we walk him, but he'd rather we play an indoor game of fetch for exercise.

If I had animals that lived outside, I might consider it if there were a credible threat. It would have to be somewhat close to me, though, and I'd have to think there was really a way my animals could catch the disease.

 

[Beth76]

You consider your chickens to be pets?

 

[Cindyluwho]

You consider your chickens to be pets?

I'm sure you're just joshing, right? Of course they're our pets. They all have names, they have a gorgeous coop with a view of the lake, they all come when called and the "fit and show" ones even know how to "stand" and "stay". They're very well trained, better than some dogs I know. Even smarter than some dogs I know. (I'm talking about my chihuahua, ChootChoot, here). I love them as much as I love my dogs and cats. I'm sure other folks with parrots, etc would say the same thing.

 

[simba928]

Absolutely not. No way would I get rid of my dog and cat. Would you get rid of your kids if they got sick? No, I do not think so. Go ahead and flame away, but my dog and cat are my babies. The only way I would get rid of them is if they were severely sick and there would be no way that they could get better, I would probably "put them to sleep". If one of them got sick and it was contagious to the other, but they would eventually get better, I would figure out a way to keep them seperate. But I would NEVER get rid of my furbabies.

 

[Sparx]

Absolutely not. No way would I get rid of my dog and cat. Would you get rid of your kids if they got sick? No, I do not think so. Go ahead and flame away, but my dog and cat are my babies. The only way I would get rid of them is if they were severely sick and there would be no way that they could get better, I would probably "put them to sleep". If one of them got sick and it was contagious to the other, but they would eventually get better, I would figure out a way to keep them seperate. But I would NEVER get rid of my furbabies.

ita. if one was a danger to another, I would put it down, because its easier to lose one than to lose them all, but I know it wouldn't be my first reaction to it.

 

[crazee4mickey]

Can I ask where people are hearing Canada has a suspected case? I live here and we haven't heard anything and believe me they don't try to keep anything quiet here.

 

[Cindyluwho]

Can I ask where people are hearing Canada has a suspected case? I live here and we haven't heard anything and believe me they don't try to keep anything quiet here.

Manitoba & BC, I think. It was on the NBC Seattle news tonight.

 

[Beth76]

I'm sure you're just joshing, right? Of course they're our pets.

No I'm not "joshing". I've never heard of anyone having chickens as pets. I don't get it. What do you do with them?

 

[crazee4mickey]

Here I thought you were talking about bird flu in humans...they are saying right now it has been found in wild ducks but none were sick or died from it. They are saying that not all H5N1's are the same--these ducks had the "strain" but were not showing any symptoms, none were sick or died from it.
Currently they are saying "the evidence we've observed strongly indicates that these healthy birds were not infected with the same virus that is currently present in Asia." results should be back by end of week---but I'm not going to panic, would be pretty senseless at this point!
The ducks were migrating so that means they have travelled to more places then Canada who knows exactly where it came from...unless there was a "real" threat I wouldn't do anything to your pet birds. As for cats and dogs, they can't carry the virus...at least that's what I thought

 

[crazee4mickey]

Manitoba & BC, I think. It was on the NBC Seattle news tonight.

Manitoba and Quebec.........I think the governments around the world have hyped up the bird flu so much that everyone is paranoid but until there is a real reason for concern why add the extra stress to your life

 

[minkydog]

Absolutely not. No way would I get rid of my dog and cat. Would you get rid of your kids if they got sick? No, I do not think so. Go ahead and flame away, but my dog and cat are my babies. The only way I would get rid of them is if they were severely sick and there would be no way that they could get better, I would probably "put them to sleep". If one of them got sick and it was contagious to the other, but they would eventually get better, I would figure out a way to keep them seperate. But I would NEVER get rid of my furbabies.

Not even if one of them was suspected of making a family member deathly ill? I ask because that's what happened to us. We had two lovely parakeets who gave us much joy. Then my DH got sick with a lung disease that we couldn't seem to diagnose. As one thing and another was ruled out, it started to look like the birds had given him something(psittacosis). I moved the birds to the basement(it's where my office is) and took over their care. DH was forbidden to have anything to do with teh birds. Two weeks later, DH was still very sick and getting worse. We had to find another home for those birds.

As it turned out, it wasn't the birds that made him sick(he has stage 4 sarcoidosis).Unfortunately, by the time we learned his diagnosis(3-4 months) DH had undergone a lung biopsy and was near death. It has been a 2-1/2 yr struggle for him and we can never again own birds due to his fragile lungs.

I miss Tenshi and Lily. They were wonderful, friendly little birds.

 

[Disney Doll]

Someone would have to prove to me that my particular pet was a danger before I would get rid of it.

Obviously, if it were a danger to a loved one's health, I would find it a good home. I would be heartbroken, of course, but my human loved one would have to come first. But I would make sure I could go visit my pet.

I wouldn't get rid of my pet chickens because of the possibility of bird flu. But then again, I tend to not be an alarmist. I am also the kook who isn't getting a flu shot this year, because I don't like them.

 

[minnie56]

I am sure I couldn't bear to..

My furbabies are family

 

[twojo21]

we wouldnt get rid of our pets if there was a outbreak, theyre indoor pets (2 dogs & 2 ferrets) & theyre part of the family.

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

this question is actually more timely than many realize. I was just reading an article on the dog flu. Turns out that dog flu arose from feeding track greyhounds raw horse meat, and the horse flu came from... bird flu! Tracks were closed down this spring due to what was believed to be Kennel Cough, but turned out to be dog flu.

Now, I am not trying to be alarmist, there may be little chance dog flu can mutate to humans - who knows, but I DO want dog owners to be aware that dog flu is a possibility for their dogs - and if you suspect Kennel Cough you should be sure it is not dog flu. From what I am reading - it can be spread from clothing, etc. It is believed to have been carried home by kennel/vet workers to their own pets.

 

[Cindyluwho]

No I'm not "joshing". I've never heard of anyone having chickens as pets. I don't get it. What do you do with them?

What do we do with them? Well....let's see. We hold them, pet them, talk to them, run around the yard with them, they really like it when I'm gardening-they go crazy when I'm turning anything over in the garden! Wheee free bugs!! I guess they're pretty much the same as dogs really. They just follow you around anytime you're outside. You just hang out with them. Not in the house of course, but yeah, just hang out with them. Our cats and dogs get along fine with them, except this one chicken that likes to chase our chihuahua. What do you think you can do with a cat or a dog that you couldn't do with a chicken? Except you can't get your breakfast (eggs) from your dog or cat.

 

[kilee]

I guess it's hard to understand- because in the norm chickens and such aren't usually pets. However, if you feel that way about them, nothing wrong with it.

The media is definetly going overboard w/ this. Remember SARS? My mom called me tonight- and I'm serious- asked if we should cancel our January WDW trip because she just heard tonight 1/3 of the population is going to die from the Bird Flu.

Now, I'm thinking maybe she heard 1/3 of the "bird" population. I don't know for sure what she heard- but they've got her in a panic.

Anyhow- back to your question. I love my dog- he is my baby. HOWEVER, I do not know 100% how I'd react if someone came to me and said you'll have a 97% chance of contracting a deadly virus from him. I don't know that I'd put me and my son at that risk. I know this isn't what they're saying about the bird flu- I think I'd just have to monitor it for awhile.