Our birds are clean

Health Risks

• Michael Cahill, director of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources’ Animal Health Division, says, “There really aren’t significant public health risks associated with small-scale egg production or back yard birds, as long as there is an adequate manure management plan in place and the birds are contained to the owner’s property.”
• Dr. Greg Mertz, D.V.M. certified that the birds are in good health and free of infectious disease on Jan. 30, 2010.
• Cambridge Animal Control Officer Correia visited our yard on January 19th for a surprise inspection and found the birds to be healthy and their environment to be clean.
• Because our birds are kept in a small group isolated from other domestic birds, it is impossible for them to introduce the H5N1 (“bird flue”) virus to our community. As with any virus, H5N1 requires a carrier to be transmitted and does not spontaneously generate.

Smell

• During the summer, we had a problem with our compost. We fixed it and haven’t smelled it since.
• The compost bin has been moved to an area against the back of our house, at least 20 feet away from any property line.
• The pool has been removed. In the future it will be drained or covered at night and it will be kept at least 20 feet from any property line.
• We change the birds’ straw frequently and use hydrated lime to control smell.