Bird flu update
Lee Aurich
“Can you do one on avian flu? Nobody is reporting on it well. NJ is having a lot of dead birds, and people are blaming road salt and cold weather.”
Bird flu (avian flu or H5N1) is still active!
In the past 30 days, a total of 9.42 million birds nationwide have been affected. (In contrast, 1.4 million birds nationwide were affected by avian flu over the three months of September, October, and November of 2025.)
The high numbers are mainly due to a big outbreak in Pennsylvania. More than seven million birds (mostly commercial poultry and backyard flocks) have tested positive in recent weeks in the South and Central regions of the state. The state is now requiring 214 nearby dairy farms to test bulk milk tanks to make sure the virus isn’t spreading among cows again. Colorado also has a large outbreak, with more than 1 million birds affected at one facility.
In New Jersey, USDA has not detected any commercial flocks impacted by bird flu in the past 30 days. But New Jersey is in the migration path of Pennsylvania, so it could be (and likely is) circulating among wild birds, which may explain the dead birds you’re seeing.
What this means for you: So far, not too much unless you own birds in your backyards. (Here is what you should do with backyard flocks.) Also, egg prices haven’t changed yet, but many are keeping an eye on this.
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barbara....@comcast.net
Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2026 7:49 AM
To: Tuesday4BirdsFriends <tuesda...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [Tues4Birds] Bird flu update
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Sue Morgan
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