Bird Flu Closures in the US

Coelacanth18 said:
Could be. Could be that some enclosures are deemed higher risk than others too, or that there is limited bts holding space for all of the birds and so they prioritized. What's confusing about any of that?
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Maybe every zoo has a different strain of the virus? - this could explain why they all treat the same birds so differently. Your reply doesn't. In the UK almost all outbreaks in captive birds have been in those kept indoors. Those deaths outdoors such as at Jersey and Pensthorpe appear to be just isolated cases. So, here at least, it seems that putting them inside increases the risk.
 
Zoo2022 said:
This is all very confusing...
Does putting SOME birds off-exhibit mean that in the USA the decision has been made that some birds are more susceptible (or maybe somehow more 'important') than others and need treating differently?
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It's a combination of two things:
1. Some birds are more susceptible to the virus than others, hence more caution taken with those birds.

2. The virus is not airborne, it's transmitted from bird to bird. Hence, if an exhibit doesn't allow wild birds to enter, it shouldn't be necessary to remove the birds from exhibit. For example, I know one zoo that pretty much only removed the birds from open-topped exhibits from display, as those can let wild birds into the exhibit.
 
Neil chace said:
It's a combination of two things:
1. Some birds are more susceptible to the virus than others, hence more caution taken with those birds.
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Then, the same species should be indoors/outdoors/on-exhibit/off-exhibit, across the country - not the widely varying situation reported.

Neil chace said:
2. The virus is not airborne, it's transmitted from bird to bird. Hence, if an exhibit doesn't allow wild birds to enter, it shouldn't be necessary to remove the birds from exhibit. For example, I know one zoo that pretty much only removed the birds from open-topped exhibits from display, as those can let wild birds into the exhibit.
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Birds can and do still have contact with others through mesh, so not allowing wild birds in does not remove this risk. This is why agricultural birds in the UK have had to be housed indoors, where having done so, the outbreaks of disease have been greater - presumably due to breakdowns in bio-security and closed environments..
Whatever has been said above, the situation IS still confusing...
 
Zoo2022 said:
Maybe every zoo has a different strain of the virus? - this could explain why they all treat the same birds so differently. Your reply doesn't. In the UK almost all outbreaks in captive birds have been in those kept indoors. Those deaths outdoors such as at Jersey and Pensthorpe appear to be just isolated cases. So, here at least, it seems that putting them inside increases the risk.
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How does there being hundreds of unique strains of a virus make for a better explanation than what I said? :p

I can't speak with authority on what the outbreaks in the UK have looked like or the details of how birds got infected. The virus is incredibly contagious, so it stands to reason that if even one bird had undetected avian flu and was then placed inside with a bunch of other birds the virus could spread through the population very quickly. It's also possible for wild birds to get into some indoor habitats. I don't see any of that to mean leaving the birds outside is the correct solution; maybe in the future the data will show otherwise, but at the moment I don't think there's been enough cases in zoos here to form a large enough data pool for confident conclusions like that.

Zoo2022 said:
Then, the same species should be indoors/outdoors/on-exhibit/off-exhibit, across the country - not the widely varying situation reported.
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Zoo2022 said:
Whatever has been said above, the situation IS still confusing...
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It's not confusing if you trusted my initial reply, which explains exactly why there would be a widely varying situation. Nearby flu prevalence and case loads, exhibit types, institutional priorities, and available bts space all vary by facility. I don't see reason to believe zoos are just choosing birds at random to put on and off exhibit. There's factors at play that are specific to each facility, and so different decisions are getting made.
 
Sheather said:
Lincoln Park zoo has puerto rican parrots, ostrich, african spoonbill, guineafowl, and white stork back on exhibit now. The bird house remains closed and there are no penguins.
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Sheather said:
There may be more exhibits opened since I was there a few days ago.
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Bird House is open, all birds in indoor exhibits are on show, predatory birds on show in outdoor aviaries, as of Thursday. I didn't see any penguins, flamingoes or waterfowl when I was there.
 
Coelacanth18 said:
How does there being hundreds of unique strains of a virus make for a better explanation than what I said? :p

I can't speak with authority on what the outbreaks in the UK have looked like or the details of how birds got infected. The virus is incredibly contagious, so it stands to reason that if even one bird had undetected avian flu and was then placed inside with a bunch of other birds the virus could spread through the population very quickly. It's also possible for wild birds to get into some indoor habitats. I don't see any of that to mean leaving the birds outside is the correct solution; maybe in the future the data will show otherwise, but at the moment I don't think there's been enough cases in zoos here to form a large enough data pool for confident conclusions like that.




It's not confusing if you trusted my initial reply, which explains exactly why there would be a widely varying situation. Nearby flu prevalence and case loads, exhibit types, institutional priorities, and available bts space all vary by facility. I don't see reason to believe zoos are just choosing birds at random to put on and off exhibit. There's factors at play that are specific to each facility, and so different decisions are getting made.
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Thank you - the long lists of variation detailed above and your responses simply show how confused the situation is, in the USA at least.
 
Zoo2022 said:
Then, the same species should be indoors/outdoors/on-exhibit/off-exhibit, across the country - not the widely varying situation reported.


Birds can and do still have contact with others through mesh, so not allowing wild birds in does not remove this risk. This is why agricultural birds in the UK have had to be housed indoors, where having done so, the outbreaks of disease have been greater - presumably due to breakdowns in bio-security and closed environments..
Whatever has been said above, the situation IS still confusing...
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The flu has mainly been traveling with migrating waterfowl, so it hasn't spread evenly across the country. The reported cases can be clearly followed along migration routes. Many of the zoo decisions have been based on closing off exhibits once a case appears in that state (or a nearby county, depending on state size) and then putting them back out once cases stop appearing.
 
Neil chace said:
Roger Williams Park Zoo has eased up some of their restrictions. Yesterday, I saw the red-crowned cranes and wild turkeys both on exhibit- species previously held off exhibit due to avian flu. I don't believe every bird is out yet, but at least we're moving in the right direction.
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What is still off exhibit? Going there next week.
 
TinoPup said:
What is still off exhibit? Going there next week.
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The chickens are still off exhibit, along with the free-roaming peafowl. The Piping Guan and Whistling Duck have been moved to a separate exhibit (greenhouse near big backyard) where they are more protected but still viewable. I haven't seen the eagles yet, but they *should* be back on exhibit now. Unrelated, but the Giant Otters are also off exhibit due to some exhibit repairs.
The Snowy Owl has also been replaced by an American Black Vulture.
 
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