Poultry farms across the state, including those in Butler County, have implemented biosecurity plans to help prevent the spread of avian flu.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission reports the disease likely is being spread statewide by wild birds, considering the confirmed cases have been found in counties that aren’t adjacent to each other.

The commission and the Department of Agriculture have confirmed cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza in three commercial chicken farms in Lancaster County in April, an eagle that was found dead in Chester County in March, five ducks found near Kahle Lake at the border of Clarion and Venagano counties in March, and a duck found in Crawford County last month.

All chickens at the impacted farms in Lancaster County have been euthanized under department directives, but the commission can’t euthanize all wild birds, which are natural carriers of the disease. The commission has no way to prevent or control wild birds from continuing the spread.

“It’s so widespread it’s safe to say it’s widespread throughout Pennsylvania,” said Andrew Di Salvo, the commission’s wildlife veterinarian. “It's not a contained situation like it is on a commercial poultry operation. We deal with free-ranging wildlife. We can’t depopulate.”

He said it would be surprising if the disease had been detected in one area of the state. At least 27 other states have confirmed cases.

The threat to poultry comes indirectly.

Waterfowl, like ducks and geese, can spread the disease through their droppings. When raptors, like eagles, eat waterfowl and songbirds, which can also carry the disease, they can spread the disease through their droppings, Di Salvo said.

Dave Jones, owner of Jones Turkey Farm in Cabot, said he uses precautions to protect his turkeys and chickens and has never had a case of avian influenza in the 30 years he has been in business.

He has now implemented extreme precautions to keep his history of safe poultry intact.

“I’ve never had a case here, but we take precautions every year,” Jones said. “We always took precautions, but this year we’re taking extreme measures like never before.”

He allows himself and only two workers to have access to his birds, and they are following a new routine.

When they arrive in the morning, they dip their shoes in a tray containing a sanitizing liquid, then they remove those shoes and put on boots. Booties are put on over the boots before workers begin to feed the birds.

Jones bought three new pairs of boots for himself and his workers. One pair is worn while feeding turkeys, another is worn when feeding chickens and the third pair is worn while doing other work, he said.

They wear white protective coveralls when feeding the birds, he said. The coveralls are stored in the butcher shop when not in use. The coveralls and booties are discarded after a few uses, he said.

Sawdust is no longer being used for bedding because the wood it came from might have been exposed to wild birds, he said. Instead, he has been buying bedding that is manufactured indoors, and keeps it covered until it is used.

The corn and soybeans Jones grows for feed are stored indoors and covered with tarps.

Shovels, pitchforks and brooms are kept in the coops in which they are used and not used in other coops, he said.

A special food for young birds that contains a vitamin and mineral mix is delivered in bags, but if a bag is torn or has a broken seal, he said he won’t accept it. All deliveries are made to an off-site location to minimize the number of people who come to the farm, he added.

“I’m not letting anyone in the pens,” Jones said. “All it takes is one viral germ to get in there, and it can wipe them all out.”

The new protocols he has put in place are contained in his biosecurity plan, which he developed with the assistance of a veterinarian. Jones said the veterinarian also keeps him updated on the spread of the disease.

“I pray every morning with the turkeys. If they die, I would probably go bankrupt,” Jones said. “People ask why I continue. People have to eat. If I stopped for one year, I’d have to start all over again to regain clients.”

He said his birds are free-roaming, which means they have space inside and outside, but he’s keeping them inside at present to avoid exposing them to wild birds.

He said he doesn’t know how free-range poultry producers, who give their birds access to fields, are managing.

“If one wild bird does its business in a free-range field, it can kill all of them,” Jones said.

Gary Costel of Penn Township is the leader of the Butler County 4-H Poultry Club, whose 25 members, including his son, Timothy, also are implementing biosecurity plans to raise their birds mostly in backyard flocks during the outbreak.

He said many members of the club are limiting human access to their properties and raising their birds in small fenced enclosures with a covering across the top to keep wild birds and their droppings out. Most of the enclosures are no larger than 4-feet by 6-feet, he said.

In an effort to protect Pennsylvania's $7.1 billion poultry industry, the Department of Agriculture has banned poultry exhibits through early June. The Butler Farm Show, which is scheduled Aug. 8 to 13, as of now still is planning to hold its poultry show, but Costel said he suspects the poultry show will be canceled.

“All members in the club have birds, and they‘re going to raise their birds one way or the other. They already have them,” Costel said.

Students in the club keep their show birds year-round, and obtain meat chickens in June to raise them for the show, he said. Some club members have incubators and breed their own chickens, he added.

“Until we’re told otherwise, we’re moving forward as if we were going to have a poultry show this year,” Costel said.

Di Salvo of the commission said he is concerned about the potential impact the disease could have on wild poultry such as turkeys and grouse, and on the pheasants the commission raises at its game farms. The commission stocks more than 220,000 pheasants every year.

“We are worried about that,” Di Salvo said about the pheasants. “We have biosecurity in place on those farms. It could potentially impact our stocking. Close to a quarter of a million birds are stocked. We’re keeping a close eye on it.”

Songbirds usually have the low pathogenic version of avian influenza and are not considered major drivers of the highly pathogenic version because they don’t feed on waterfowl, he said.

Historically, avian influenza outbreaks fizzle out by late summer when waterfowl begin migrating south for the winter, and the disease is likely to appear in overwintering locations, he added.

“It’s a density-driven disease,” Di Salvo said.