'Emotional time' for B.C. poultry farmers who have to cull thousands of birds

Mark Siemens from Abbotsford, B.C., pictured in this undated photo. Siemens says he had to cull his entire flock of about 45,000 birds after his farm fell victim to an outbreak of avian influenza earlier this month. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO Mark Siemens

Mark Siemens is a third-generation egg farmer in B.C.'s Fraser Valley and he recalls his grandfather sharing a story about fighting an unknown disease that raced through the farm decades ago, forcing him to cull the entire flock.

Siemens didn't expect to be facing a similar fight so many years later.

He noticed some birds seemed agitated a few weeks ago, showing symptoms of itchy eyes, and said he immediately called the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

The verdict was in by the end of the day: his chickens were infected with the highly pathogenic H5N1 variant of avian influenza.

"It's super sad, and it's a tough thing to go through when you know you care about these animals and you do everything you can to keep them healthy and make sure they're looked after," Siemens said in an interview.

His business is one of about four dozen flocks, most of them commercial, that have been infected with avian flu in British Columbia this fall. Infections flair during migratory seasons, as wild birds are considered the chief cause of infections.

Almost seven million birds have been culled at B.C. farms since the spring of 2022.

There were 45,000 birds on Siemens' farm, including 30,000 egg-laying hens and 15,000 chicks.

"It's a very emotional and stressful time,” said Siemens, whose barns are now “fully empty.”

"And you just feel like you have this daunting, overwhelming task of trying to get everything started again that really took years of building up," he said.

They are now working to clean and disinfect, in collaboration with the inspection agency, to ensure that the barns are sanitized from "ceiling to floor."

B.C.'s poultry industry raised its biosecurity level to red last month, the highest level.

Shawn Hall, a spokesman with the B.C. Poultry Association, said the current outbreak is very concerning for poultry and egg farmers, many of whom run family operations and the farm is their only livelihood.

Agriculture Minister Lana Popham said in a statement that the avian flu is taking a "heavy emotional toll" on poultry producers.

"B.C. poultry farmers are incredibly resilient, and I have seen firsthand how they come together to support each other during these challenging times.”

Derek Janzen has a poultry farm in Langley, B.C., and said he's "very concerned" as the avian flu races through farms "like a wildfire" this year.

Janzen said he's still haunted by having to cull his entire flock of 236,000 birds in December 2022, and has implemented a lockdown on his farm, keeping gates closed and minimizing any traffic.

“We basically have feed trucks that come to the yard to deliver the feed and an egg truck that comes on to pick up the eggs. And other than that, we don't have too much traffic.”

He and his workers use personal-protective coveralls, boots, gloves, and proper N95-type masks while on the farm, Janzen said.

Siemens, too, said protective gear is standard on his farm.

When avian flu infections began in the area, they became vigilant, limiting the number of workers on site and doing everything they could to keep the virus out of the barns, Siemens said. But his chickens still became infected.

Siemens said he let all his workers take two weeks off during this "high-risk time," while a third-party contractor came in to do the cleaning process, costing him several hundred thousand dollars.

“I didn't want to put my workers through the emotional strain of that, but also to just not have them worried about getting sick,” said Siemens.

A teenager is in hospital with the H5N1 variant of avian flu, but health officials have said the teen had no connection to any poultry farms and it's unclear how that person contracted the disease.

Siemens said after suffering from the loss, he didn't even have the energy to worry about his health being at risk.

"As farmers, we will typically run ourselves into the ground to try to make sure our animals stay healthy," said Siemens.

Janzen said he understands the pain that Siemens has been through, recalling the day trucks filled with CO2 arrived to euthanize the birds, and the supervisor asked him if he could turn off the fans to allow the carbon dioxide to do the work.

“And at that point, I kind of lost it. I broke down and then turned the fans off, and I walked out of the barn, and this is unbelievable, and within a couple of minutes, they were all gone."

Hall said the association is working with health authorities to minimize the risks to farmers and their workers while actively monitoring for sick animals.

"The poultry and eggs that British Columbians buy in the grocery store are raised by farms in their region, and we're committed to continuing to provide local food," said Hall.

Siemens has had some promising news of sourcing some chicks for January.

"We're looking forward to placing some chicks in the new year and after that we'll start having eggs again, which will be a really exciting day here."

But there's still the compensation process to get through with the government, which will help to pay some of the bills, he said.

He said his grandfather, who came to Canada long ago as a Russian refugee and is now in his mid-90s, gives him hope and strength.

Siemens said the history of his grandfather's trouble with his flock is a good reminder about resilience.

"We've been here before as a family, and we'll get through it again," said Siemens.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2024.