“It’s devastating,” said Heidi Diestel, whose family has operated the Diestel Family Turkey Ranch in Sonora, Calif., for four generations. The ranch lost more than 150,000 turkeys in August after avian influenza infected one of its flocks.
Although they still have several other healthy flocks of turkeys on separate farms, Diestel said certain turkey varieties they have been accustomed to selling, such as their “petite” brand that are only six to 10 pounds, were pretty much wiped out.
“It was really a sad time to see that many birds pass to something that was that aggressive and that uncontrollable,” Diestel said. “It definitely did impact our availability and supply, and we won’t have everything for everyone like we normally do; we just won’t.”
Diestel’s story is far from unique in California or the nation as farmers and wildlife specialists confront what is shaping up as the deadliest avian flu outbreak in the nation’s history. In California alone, seven turkey farms have been hit, resulting in some 485,000 birds killed by the virus or subsequently killed to stem the spread.
The virus largely originates with wild birds, which can infect all kinds of poultry via their droppings when they fly over farms. But turkeys seem uniquely vulnerable, according to California State Veterinarian Annette Jones. As hundreds of millions of wild birds migrate southward across North America in the fall, broilers and laying hens can be stowed indoors in barns out of harm’s way. Many turkeys are pasture raised, without indoor accommodations for all those big birds; it could also be that the virus has mutated in such a way that turkeys are a better host, Jones said.
Bill Mattos, president of the California Poultry Federation, said there has already been a run on turkeys, with California sellers committing all available product to supermarkets or other customers.