Bird flu hits Valley egg ranch

USDA has reported that a laying hen flock in Stanislaus County, has been hit by a new case of bird flu resulting in the loss of 1.3 million hens.This is the first detection of bird flu in a commercial poultry flock in California so far this fall and the largest in over a year. USDA’s APHIS department notes that the virus was confirmed in three backyard flocks in the state earlier in October. However, HPAI (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza) infections in backyard poultry operations should not affect international trade, per World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) rules.

Earlier in 2026, HPAI struck a commercial raised-for-release upland game bird flock in Butte County, California, in January and a commercial broiler flock in Sonoma County in February affecting some 86,000 birds. 

The new California discovery reported Oct 28 coincides with the annual wild bird migration that picks up each fall.The name of the ranch has not been made public.

In the US some 210 million birds in commercial stocks have been culled or died due to avian influenza since 2022. In California, the outbreak has impacted more than 17 million chickens  many of them in the Central Valley, sending egg prices skyward in 2024/25.

The only way to control the spread of the highly contagious  virus is to cull the birds resulting in a devastating loss to the farmer.

Most recently  a famed bald eagle, Jackie that lived near  Big Bear Lake was watched in her nest by millions of TV viewers and recently a new report confirms she died from avian flu.

Bird flu is affecting other animals yielding dairy cows with new finds reported in Washington State  and Colorado in the past week.