4-H members can't show their live chickens at the state fair this year

[July 09, 2022]  By Zeta Cross | The Center Square contributor

(The Center Square) – Three thousand Illinois 4-H members and backyard chicken producers got the word at the end of June: no live poultry competitions and exhibits at the Illinois State Fair this year.

The junior and open live shows have been canceled by the Illinois Department of Agriculture to prevent the spread of a highly infectious strain of avian flu that has caused 40 million chickens and turkeys in the United States to be destroyed so far this year.

Dr. Ken Koelkebeck, professor of animal sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, looks forward to the poultry house exhibit at the state fair every year. He told The Center Square that it is a real shame that the live birds won’t be on display this year.

“I feel bad for the kids,” Koelkebeck said. “They’re always so excited about showing off their chickens because they have spent the whole year taking care of them.”

4-H students will be able to compete by submitting virtual posters of their birds.

“We want to keep the kids engaged,” he said.

Illinois has a fairly small commercial poultry industry, Koelkebeck said. So far this year, Illinois commercial producers have been lucky. In February, the Illinois Department of Agriculture advised producers to house their birds inside. To date, none of Illinois' commercial poultry operations have been affected by Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.

Photograph courtesy of the American Egg Board

Three backyard flocks in Illinois were affected this spring. The affected flocks were located in different parts of the state. Those flocks were destroyed. There is no cure for the disease.

If people with backyard chickens notice that their birds have stopped eating or drinking, or if their hens stop laying eggs, they should contact the animal health division of the Illinois Department of Agriculture to get their birds tested, Koelkebeck said.

“High Path AI is a reportable disease,” he said. “Someone will come out and test the birds.”

To prevent infection, keep poultry away from ponds and lakes and places where migrating waterfowl congregate.

“Be aware of sparrows and other types of birds that try to come around chickens,” Koelkebeck said. “And keep an eye on the health of the chickens.”

The avian flu is spread by droppings from waterfowl that are flying overhead during migration. People accidentally walk in the infectious material and get it on their shoes or their clothes, which can then spread to poultry.

The last devastating avian flu epidemic in the United States was in 2015, when 50 million birds were destroyed.