ducks

Avian influenza or "bird flu" has just destroyed 14000 turkeys in a building in Pope county just north of us.  This time the standard news story seems to be that the perpetrator of the crime was the wild duck population.  We breathe a sigh of relief that for a change, our small farm flock of laying hens are not the culprit in the massive losses incurred by big poultry.  A few years ago at first outbreak, small flock owners were the villains of the piece, spreading poultry death (and human illness and death) about indiscriminately. 

No one-in the news business at least-seems to have thought to ask why, if bird flu is so deadly to confined turkeys, do we still have wild ducks flying around?  Shouldn't it have been deadly to them too, since they are supposedly the vectors of infection?  Those questions might lead to more questions about agricultural production practices and eventually to some real answers!

Jim