This post is going to be about my personal experience with the AF as well as giving you information I gathered from other people around me, that experience this nasty disease. I am going to help you tell if your bird might be affected, and hope that by writing this, it will help a lot of people who’s birds are might be affected. While there is no cure for it, there are tips that can prevent it and ways to save some birds if they already have it. I hope that my knowledge and experience can help you. Feel free to spread the word as much as you can so we can all help each other.

Until 2020, I had never heard of the Avian Flu. I was living in Wyoming at the time and had several geese and ducks. My birds there were never affected by the AF. Fast forward a couple months later, I moved to Alaska. Alaska being the last place one would ever think of having the AF. The truth is, anywhere that there are migratory birds, especially seagulls, ducks, geese, the flu will be also, especially with wild Mallards ducks. They are the most common carriers, yet show no symptoms at all, and carry the disease from one to another. They are the least suceptible to succomb to the flu, yet are the most prone to get it.

Extremely Contagious Virus

The AF is airborne and it is extremely contagious, so contagious that it can wipe an entire flock of birds within a matter of 12 to 48 hours. I moved to Alaska, not really thinking about the flu. Months later we moved to the mainland, and then settled down in one of Alaska’s bigger cities. It all started in the fall of 2022. At the time, I had Kiwi, my Chinese gander, and Leo that I bought from Metzer farm. The first year was fine, because we lived in a house on 1 acre. We never had wild waterfowl visiting us, until the next year. We bought Juno, Nina and Nikki from a different hatchery, in 2023.

That summer, the three girls we got for the boys, were still very young. We noticed a wild female mallard coming into our backyard to feed and drink. She came everyday. I assume she noticed our house on her way to a lake and saw that we had ducks and stopped here.

How it’s spread

It’s not uncommon for wild ducks to stop where they see other ducks, then notice food and water. We knew she was probably sitting on eggs, as she came back every day for about a month. Then we didn’t see her for a while. After a few months she came back with full grown babies.

At the end of summer, we had even more wild ducks coming to visit us. I guess they do spread the word where there is food and water available. That November, we got over 40 wild ducks coming for food and water. It never occurred to us that being in Alaska, we would get AF. We never even thought about the disease as we didn’t know much about it anyway.

At the time the wild ducks came, we had over 30 ducks and 5 geese. Leo and Kiwi were our oldest. In the beginning of December 2023, that’s when it hit us, really bad. Our call duck named Mom, had laid over 13 eggs, so we moved her inside. We wanted her to be safe with her duckling, away from the other birds. Unfortunately, a few passed away.

Neurological Problems Started

As the ducklings were getting older, we started noticing that some of them started having neurological problems. We couldn’t figure out why, or what was causing it. Out of the blue, they would start spinning in circles uncontrollably. We thought that maybe they had a genetic disease that made them prone to it. We knew they couldn’t be saved so we decided to humanely put them to sleep. When neurological problems starts like this, there is nothing you can do.

A few days later, my older, jumbo pekin duck I had brought back from Wyoming, started having pneumonia, out of the blue. She distanced herself from the other birds and was panting heavily with a fever. We didn’t know what we were dealing with at all. I never had any health problems with any of my birds.

She passed away the same day we noticed she was sick. Then another followed. We noticed that some of them looked kind of sleepy, squinting and closing their eyes a lot, not eating but drinking a lot. They would lay down a lot too. We lost more birds. I started spending hours on the internet looking for answers and trying to figure out what was going on.

Metal poisoning crossed my mind, so we changed all the water well filters inside our house. One hadn’t been changed for a long time and in Alaska, Iron in the groundwater is a big issue here. We thought we found the problem with the neurological issues, but that didn’t explain the pneumonia. We then lost 3 of our geese. Leo, Nina and Lily. They were all younger except Leo.

Causes Permanenet Blindless

My gander Kiwi did make it, but has permanent blindness in one eye and issue with his neck. Chloe, my goose, was also exposed to it, she got a cloudy eye, but she made it. I believe that they were exposed to the Low pathogenic strain. At the time our birds started passing we were wondering if they were exposed to different illnesses until we realized that wild birds can carry both strain. Low and High which would explain why some of our birds were hit with different symptoms.

They looked like they were sleepy at first, they wouldn’t move much, but no neurological issues. Then our duck Mom, who hatched those 13 babies, her mate passed away all of sudden, followed by half of the rest of my birds, one after another. All displaying almost the same symptoms. I was unaware that Baicalin could go bad. After giving my new birds Sam, Juno and Nina Baicalin, they passed away. Not because they had Baicalin and still passed but because I firmly believe that I received a very poor product from Amazon.

Bad Product

The Baicalin I received was dark brown as opposed to a bright yellow, almost white. I believe the powder I got from Amazon had oxidized after being exposed to bright light from the warehouse. It was not properly packaged either. It was in a clear plastic pouch. After some time, Baicalin will oxidize and lose its antioxidant property. The crucial antioxidant, which allows the bird to fight off the virus.

After realizing this, i bought my product elsewhere.

I started asking around. Then I matched a lot of the symptoms with Mycoplasma… but that wasn’t it. The incubation period didn’t match the time my birds started getting sick. Those symptoms matched almost exactly the AF as well as the incubation period of the virus. I started realizing that indeed, AF had just hit us. Those wild mallards that came to visit us were carriers, but showed no symptoms of even being sick. I asked a sanctuary and rescue for help. The person told me that since all my birds didn’t die from it, I wasn’t hit with the AF which I now know is false.

AF is very contagious and very deadly to poultry and young geese who have not yet, time to build a strong immune system. Just like humans, the very young and older birds are more affected by it than younger ones. (Between ages 2-4 don’t seem as susceptible for waterfowl). I then found a site, where I found all my answers and found something that would help me help my birds.

Waterfowl Sanctuary in England

The waterfowl sanctuary, in England, UK where they lost a lot of waterfowl to the Avian Flu. He looked deep into the AF, researched it and offered a solution. I contacted him once and he is a very nice gentlemen who helped me with my birds and has great knowledge of the virus.

As mentioned in his article :“The H5N1 virion requires sialic acid receptors with a2,3 and so without this important value the virion will simply remain unattached and incapable of infection. Contrary to what is believed amongst the general public, not all birds are susceptible to avian flu. This is due to the cells within specific birds having compatible cells that the H5N1 virion requires.”

“Swans, geese, ducks and many seabirds have a2,3 receptors in abundance and so are highly susceptible to the virus. Pigeons for example have very few a2,3 receptors and so the virus can only infect what is available within the bird. Such birds may just feel slightly sick but fortunately for them their immune system stands a chance to fight back. It make the bird resistant should it come in contact with it again.

A common symptom is for the birds to become blind and this is due to the epithelial cells on the surface of the cornea, also having sialic acid a2,3 receptors. These cells become influenza producing cells, and are no longer transparent. So the surface of the eye becomes cloudy, with a blue tinge. This is called Corneal Opacity.”

“One such disruptive approach is to prevent the neuraminidase from releasing the newly formed virion. Neuraminidase Inhibitors nullify the neuraminidase protein and are very effective at essentially pressing pause on the virus. If it can be paused then no further host cells get compromised and the immune system should prevail. So long as the infection is caught before the bird is too sick then they’re quite capable of recovery – and often in just a few days.”

His site is a must to be bookmarked https://www.thewaterfowlsanctuary.co.uk/articles/ai.htm

Understanding the virus

I realized that there are two strand of the Avian Flu, which explained why my birds were not all affected in the same way and showed different symptoms, from mild to severe.

Avian influenza (bird flu) strains are Influenza :

• Low Pathogenic (LPAI)
• Highly Pathogenic (HPAI) based on their severity in poultry. The most concerning current strain is H5N1 HPAI, which is causing widespread outbreaks in wild birds, poultry, and expanding to mammals, including dairy cows. While the public health risk is low, H5, H7, and H9 subtypes pose the highest risks for rare, sporadic human infections. That one is absolutely devastating.

The Low Pathogenic (LPAI) strain is the milder one, that give the birds a fever, lack of appetite, lack of exercise. These birds will often keep drinking a lot of water, but won’t be willing to eat much, which leads to starvation and that’s how the bird die. The key with these birds, is to bring them inside, separate them from the flock. Keep them warm, and give them electrolytes, extra vitamins and minerals. If they are still not eating and losing too much weight, then it’s time to start tube feeding, which is fairly easier than it looks. I learned myself to save my birds.

The Highly Pathogenic (HPAI) will cause neurological problems, loss of appetite, loss of coordination, hence the bird not being able to drink and eat. They also can have pneumonia. That strain is the worst and is the one that usually takes a bird’s life within 12 to 48 hours. When a bird starts showing signs of neurological problems, it usually is unfortunately too late.

Not every bird die from it

Some other birds CAN survive, but with permanent health problems, like cloudy eyes, neck problems, coordination problems. Seizures can also occur in the bird. My goose Chloe had repeated seizures until I turned off the light, it stopped completely and she managed to recuperate as long as I kept her in a dark, warm room and i mean, completely dark. It seemed the light was triggering her seizures, even the slightest amount of light that would go through a window.

Keep in mind that if you love your birds as much as most of us do, the vet won’t help you especially if they suspect that you might be dealing with AF. There is no cure for AF. The vet won’t do much for you except keep your birds in quarantine, run an AF test. If the bird test positive, they will put it to sleep as well as the rest of your flock. Most birds that are struck with the Low pathogenic strain survive, will have the antibodies and pass it on to their babies. Some birds are just plain resistant to it. My goose Nikki never ever got sick and she has been exposed to it several times.

A lot of people unfortunately think that putting the whole flock down is the answer to this virus but it is not, on the contrary. Culling the healthy birds as well that present a resistance to the virus, is not the way to handle this situation. Since birds are considered livestock, it is cheaper for large breeders to put down the whole flock and get compensation for the losses. It is less problematic for them and less time consuming than using a more humane way.

Most vulnerable time

Avian influenza usually spreads over winter time. The reason is the migratory birds that carry the virus asymptomatically, especially in wild ducks, being present. Wild ducks are less susceptible to succumb to the disease and are very hardy birds during the winter. Thus won’t migrate as do other migratory birds and, as they are looking for feeding source near other birds while food is scarce for them, might expose your birds as well to the virus, as early as September until mid-March.

Wild ducks and Canada geese often mingle together to get food in the wild, so you might see a lot of Canada geese getting infected from the ducks and passing away from the AF that was passed on to them, especially the younger, more susceptible geese.

The more susceptible

Natural recovery amongst the susceptible relies on the immune system alone to defend and hopefully cure the bird. Young swans and geese appear to have a poor immune response although geese cope better from a year old where as swans struggle especially in their first years but will also battle with the virus as adults. Wild ducks are mostly resistant (or not susceptible.)

The main source of contagion is through birds feces and saliva, but can also be produced through sneezing. Most birds, especially Mallards, won’t show any symptoms of being sick and simply carry the virus until it runs its course. They DO NOT remain carriers for life, that is a myth.

I’ve hatched 3 call ducks from ebay, and bought 1 duckling from a breeder and those birds, though exposed to wild mallard this year, didn’t get sick. Even one that we knew for a fact was sick, that slept in our garage with our birds, and as we lost one of our duck to it, never got sick from the AF. We know that the rest of our flock that was exposed to it last year, didn’t make any of those ebay hatched duckling sick either. So depending on the strain, your birds might not get it.

There is no known cure

If you are looking for a cure, there is none, but there is something you can use that is highly effective in disrupting the virus and it’s called Baicalin Aka chinese skullcap (Scutellaria Baicalensis). It’s becoming more well known as we hear more about it and it does work. The key with this antioxidant is to PREVENT the disease before its protein starts disrupting the bird’s gastrointestinal tract. Where the AF virus starves the bird from absorbing any food.

The incubation period for avian flu is just a few days but data varies from 2-5 days to 1-14. It’s important to get Baicalin into those that are susceptible when it becomes apparent that the birds are becoming lethargic, disinterested in food, blue eyes, necks drooping etc. These are the early symptoms. It’s fair to assume that all susceptible birds in that area will have ingested the virus, but may not be showing symptoms yet.

When it’s too late

Once a bird is spinning in circles or doing erratic body movements then it’s often too late and they are likely to die soon, which is what happened to a few of my birds. I spread a good amount of the supplement starting in September, in their food. If the bird has the High pathogenic strain, you might have to tube feed the bird and give them the supplement in, mixed to the formula, that way. If caught early, you can also prevent the cloudy eyes or blindness from becoming worse. You can put some of the supplement mixed with water into their eye – No it won’t hurt them.

Baicalin doesn’t kill the virus – it stalls the spread within them, so the immune system kills the virus – and the immune system has memory – and will know how to do it next time!

Traumatic experience

When I went through this during my second winter in 2023. I just collapsed down to my knees, crying and wondering what happened. What I could have done to save my birds. Unfortunately at the time I was unaware of the AF. Now I know and I will gladly help others who are willing to listen, by sharing our experience and knowledge. To us pet owners, they are not livestock, meat birds, money, they are our family members, our pets, our companions. Waterfowls are intelligent, sensitive, loyal, sentient, that feel pain, loneliness, depression and are very social animals.

Here is where you can get Baicalin. I would purchase a few bags in August to make sure that you have some on hands before the migration starts.

https://damkidsranch.com/collections/suppliments

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to leave a comment, thank you ! I hope this will help.

~Nadia Marie