Until further notice, all poultry shows and public sales of poultry are suspended until further notice because of the ongoing threat of avian influenza, according to state veterinarian Mike Martin. This includes all exhibitions, farm tours, shows, sales, flea markets, auction markets, swaps and meets pertaining to poultry and other feathered fowl in North Carolina, according to a press statement issued Tuesday by the N.C. Department of Agriculture.

Jonas Asbill, a poultry extension agent for a 20-county area that includes Vance, joined Paul McKenzie and Wayne Rowland on Wednesday’s The Local Skinny! segment to provide details about the seasonal influenza that is transmitted from wild waterfowl to domesticated and commercial poultry.

Several sites in Johnston County already have had to euthanize thousands of turkeys after finding the avian flu among the stock.

Asbill urges all poultry owners – even if you have a few layer hens in the backyard – to use strict biosecurity measures to make sure your animals stay safe. Asbill recommends that poultry stay in coops or otherwise contained and that they not come into contact with wild migratory waterfowl.

Migratory waterfowl are asymptomatic carriers of the influenza and shed the disease in their feces. Think about the Canada geese or seagulls that make stopovers at area ponds, parking lots and golf courses in the area. Local poultry owners could potentially bring back remnants of contaminated fecal matter on the bottoms of shoes and then unknowingly introduce it to their own poultry.

It’s just better to keep them contained during the annual migration times, and to keep them away from where migratory waterfowl may congregate.

“We’re a heavy ag state,” Asbill said, “and a big part is poultry.” Once a case is detected, the whole population has to be destroyed; the turkeys or broilers do not continue into the food supply chain.

While the CDC considers transmission to humans a very low risk, Asbill said there have been rare cases of the avian flu being found in other species.

“We do not make this decision lightly. HPAI is a serious threat to our poultry industry and this is a precaution to help limit the introduction of the virus to backyard and commercial flocks,” Martin said in a press statement.

North Carolina joins several other states, including Georgia, that have also cancelled or altered poultry events due to HPAI. Poultry owners across the state need to practice strict biosecurity. This includes keeping flocks indoors without access to outside and reporting sick birds to your local veterinarian, the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Veterinary Division, 919.707.3250, or the N.C. Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory System 919.733.3986.

To learn the signs of avian influenza, biosecurity tips and more information go to www.ncagr.gov/avianflu.

On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.

• Mowing season is here. Always check your lawn for objects that can become projectiles before mowing. Please No Extra Riders On Mowers. One Seat Means One Person On the Mower!
• Check mowing height, but it’s too late for seeding, fertilizer and weed killers.
• Vegetables you can now plant: Arugula,,Snap beans,beets,broccoli,cabbage,kale,leeks,bulb onions, Irish potatoes,turnips.
• Avoid insecticide applications to lawns unless there is a specific identified problem.
• Purchase healthy transplants, good color, not pot bound
• Hold off on planting frost sensitive plants, including warm season vegetables and flowers.

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