The Indiana Board of Animal Health’s ban on bird shows at county fairs this summer to halt the spread of avian influenza hit the Kosciusko County 4-H especially hard.
With 230 kids enrolled, poultry is the largest project in Kosciusko 4-H clubs, according to Kelly Heckaman, Purdue Extension educator. While the kids will still be raising chickens, turkeys and other birds at home and selling them at auction, they’ll be limited to showing presentations in the poultry barn at the fairgrounds instead of actual birds.
“This is a huge poultry county and we felt an obligation to support that,” Heckaman remarked. “Our hands are tied, but we recognized how valuable poultry is for the county.”
She said the 4-H poultry and auction committees decided to let members do two of five activities to show in the poultry barn during fair week in lieu of live animals. Those include videos and other presentations on poultry and avian flu, which has caused tens of millions of bird deaths in 16 states in recent months.
Animal health officials in about 10 states, including Indiana, have banned bird showing at county fairs after the appearance of two strains of avian influenza. The H5N2 strain has not been seen in Indiana but has spread through much of the Midwest; the H5N8 strain, first seen in California, was recently found on a farm in Whitley County, prompting the euthanization of 80 birds, the Indy Star reports. The ban does not cover private sales between individuals.
The presentations will count toward the members’ workshop requirement, Heckaman said. Only kids who complete the requirements will be eligible to auction their birds.
Breakfast hosted at the poultry barn is still planned for Sunday from 6 to 10 a.m., she added, but another event may be found instead of the poultry, pigeon and waterfowl show scheduled for 8 a.m. Tuesday in the show arena.
(Story By The Times Union)
