A family-run farm in south suburban Matteson was left grappling after a hen flu outbreak worn out its whole flock.
Kakadoodle Farm is now trying into methods to get again and working after dropping its flock of practically 3,000 hens.
Homeowners MariKate and Marty Thomas had been first tipped off final week once they walked into their coop and found that about 30 hens had died with out signs. The couple initially thought that freezing temperatures had been accountable — till the following day, when the variety of deaths tripled.
After speaking to their native veterinarian, the U.S. Division of Agriculture was known as in. USDA officers arrived on the farm Friday and later that day confirmed that the birds had hen flu.
By then, solely about 500 of their hens had been nonetheless alive.
USDA officers instructed the couple their flock was seemingly contaminated by wild birds entering into the hen feed.
Kakadoodle Farm is an internet farmers market that has been delivering natural, chemical-free produce to houses within the space since 2020.
Marty Thomas mentioned he was conscious of the uptick in hen flu circumstances however by no means imagined it will hit their farm.
“Our birds are pasture raised, so that they dwell out within the atmosphere, and this can be a pure consequence of that,” Marty Thomas mentioned. “Folks often you don’t lose the whole lot, however once they’re out within the pure world, it’s type of the environmental tax that you simply pay.”
The flock produced about 2,000 eggs every week for the web market and has resulted in an enormous monetary loss, Marty Thomas mentioned.
Now the farm is beneath a 150-day quarantine, and the homeowners are seeking help to maintain their farm working till they will start promoting once more in June.
After the quarantine, the homeowners hope to construct up the flock and assemble a new-and-improved hen coop that can assist shield from any future outbreaks.
“Folks that undergo laborious instances, they will both ask, ‘Why me?’ or they will ask ‘What’s subsequent?’” Marty Thomas mentioned. “We’re selecting to ask what’s subsequent.”
