Webinars Available About Avian Flu

LITTLE ROCK — Three webinars remain in a series that aims to help poultry owners protect their birds from the H5N1 strain of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, also called “bird flu,” which continues to infect poultry in Arkansas and across the country.There was a confirmed case of avian flu in December a commercial poultry farm in Cleveland County.Dr. Dustan Clark, extension poultry health veterinarian for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and associate director of the university’s Center of Excellence for Poultry Science, will lead the sessions.Registration is now open now for the online training. More online and in-person trainings will be scheduled through February. The presentations are free, but registration is required:•    Jan. 20 — Sick Birds? There’s a Test for That! Diagnostic Testing at the Arkansas Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for the Backyard Flock Owner, 6 p.m. Register: https://uada.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5zy7Ojz9Q5WeWaPHrwgPrA•    Jan. 21 — Rodent Control as Part of Biosecurity Program, 10-11 a.m. Register: https://uada.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DSRRbSllRN-_s3kCIQwgjQ•    Jan. 22 — Biosecurity Practices for Poultry Diseases Control in Backyard/Hobby Flocks, 6-7 p.m. Register: https://uada.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_17F9qLdmRBKWmf3XPxyeMAHPAI is an airborne respiratory virus that spreads easily among chickens through nasal and eye secretions and manure. The virus can be spread from flock to flock, including by wild birds, through contact with infected poultry, by equipment, and on caretakers’ clothing and shoes.Backyard flocks are at higher ...