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3mo ago

Bird Flu Outbreak Decimates Family-Owned Kakadoodle Chicken Farm in Illinois

The farm lost nearly 3,000 hens to the highly contagious H5N1 virus, prompting a 150-day quarantine and a fundraising effort to rebuild.

Casim Abbas, a mathematics professor at Michigan State University, shows the result of his morning's egg collection at his small egg farm at his home in Williamston, Michigan, on February 8, 2023.

Overview

  • Kakadoodle Farm in Matteson, Illinois, lost its entire flock of nearly 3,000 hens after a bird flu outbreak was confirmed by the USDA.
  • The infection, likely spread by wild birds contaminating chicken feed, wiped out the flock within days, devastating the farm’s egg production of 2,000 eggs per week.
  • The farm has been placed under a mandatory 150-day quarantine, during which no new hens can be raised, and sanitation efforts are underway.
  • A GoFundMe campaign has raised over $17,000 to support employees, rebuild the flock, and construct a new high-tunnel coop to improve biosecurity.
  • The outbreak highlights the ongoing threat of H5N1 bird flu, which has killed millions of birds globally and raised concerns about potential human transmission.