Attention to all the D'tails

07/03/2025

Join the movement to protect America's wild horses and burros. Advocate for humane, in-the-wild conservation to ensure these majestic animals roam free on our public lands. Get involved today and help keep wild horses wild.

07/03/2025

28/02/2025

Here at the Carolina Waterfowl Rescue we began taking precautions against highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in 2020. Being primarily a waterfowl focused rescue, we are definitely at a higher risk. We are always vigilant for any type of disease and have different levels of biosecurity, depending on the threat.

At the clinic, we follow strict biosecurity protocols, including patient isolation, continual disinfection and use of PPE.

In 2022 after seeing massive die off in the Charlotte region we changed our protocols for avian influenza. We start preparing before flu season and start integrating the use of Scutellaria baicalensis using well established guidelines from the Waterfowl Sanctuary in the United Kingdom. They use these guidelines to save many of the swans after the avian influenza hit there.

I could go on, but there is most of the information on this link if you are interested in reading more about how the Scutellaria baicalensis called Baicalin or as we refer to it as Chinese skullcap works. Since integrating the skull cap, we have not had any cases of avian influenza at our sanctuary.

https://www.thewaterfowlsanctuary.co.uk/articles/ai.htm

We have gotten set up as a wholesale distributor for the skull cap, and we'll soon be offering it for sale in our store. We will make the announcement as soon as it's ready. Many of you have contacted us because you cannot find it at a reasonable price.

HPAI, or avian influenza H5N1, is highly contagious among and deadly to chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese and others. It’s also been found in dairy cows. In the wild, HPAI primarily affects aquatic birds (geese, swans, ducks, shorebirds, gulls) and raptors, as well as some corvids (crows, ravens). And it has been found in some wild mammals.

Common songbirds and pigeons are still deemed low risk.

At this time, the CDC classifies the health risk to the general public as low, but there have been 68 cases in the U.S. We encourage you to visit the CDC website for the latest information on human risk and prevention measures (links below).

To date, the USDA has tracked 18 outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in commercial and backyard flocks in North Carolina since 2022, affecting over 3.8 million birds.

# If you see a sick or injured bird please text us at 704 286 6330

# If you handle *any* sick or injured birds, please wear gloves and a mask, and thoroughly disinfect everything afterwards, including any surfaces the bird touched.

# Keep your dogs leashed and your cats inside. Do not let pets interact with or roam near domestic or wild birds.

HELPFUL LINKS:

CDC avian flu prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/prevention/index.html

University of minnesota has a live tracking dashboard for avian influenza outbreaks

https://cahfs.umn.edu/dashfluboard-avian-influenza-tracker

Avian flu and bird feeders (Cornell Lab): https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/avian-influenza-outbreak-should-you-take-down-your-bird-feeders/

Thank you for your continued support

As someone pointed out, the virus has mutated in the symptoms have changed over time. Each year I find that the cases we get in with avian influenza have different symptoms. So, while this is an example of some earlier symptoms, the later cases are not really presenting this way, and it's more of a neurological problem. Just be vigilant with any sign of illness in your birds. Stay safe, everyone!

28/02/2025

Be on the lookout for imposter Duravet Iver-mectin through online retailers👀 The notice we received did not indicate what online distributors may have received fraudulent product. From the sounds of it, there have not been adverse events, but it may not be effective. If you receive potentially fraudulent product, please contact Duravet to help them track down the source.

13/02/2025

Please note, there are updates on this post on our page. If you would like the whole picture, the first addresses folks questions and the second is the amazing response from Farm Innovators. Worth the time to read.

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So scary!

The ups and downs and daily challenges of life on a working farm certainly keep us on our toes.

It goes without saying that there are daily twists and turns when it comes to running a sanctuary, especially in Winter, but the other morning we certainly did not expect to find this. Oh boy! We are sooooo lucky!

Frigid Northern New England temperatures mean frozen water buckets even in the barn (an absolute no for animal health) and so, like so many other farms, we have long used heated flatback buckets to provide our Rescues the “warm” water the need to stay hydrated. We have never had even the hint of a problem, even in my many years of farm chores long before Tomten - that is until this.

Known for keeping water ice-free during below zero conditions, these buckets have a built in thermostat, a hidden heater (it is in the walls of the bucket) and a storage area for the cord (we run the cord out of the stall through a hole to a plug that sits directly on the other side of the wall).

Of course, we are well aware they are plugged in and we check the plugs constantly as well as handle and get our eyes on the buckets regularly when anyone is in the stalls. These buckets are dumped daily, not to mention they are topped off several times a day and if anything looks off they are immediately replaced. But in this case, there was nothing to see until morning when we walked in the barn. Thankfully, the bucket had been topped at night check and we suspect the water is what led to a charred wall and not a full out barn fire. Thank goodness! Likewise our outlet did its job and shut itself off as well as flipping the circuit breaker for the entire aisle. Phew.

Wren, who was in that stall is thankfully fine although I am certain, a little leary of her bucket now and as for us, we’ll we are just sighing with relief and we are all so ready for Spring.

Update- our electrician has been here and our outlets are fine, up to code and worked as they should.

13/02/2025

The animals, which are part of a herd that has been around since the 1950s, are somewhat elusive.

13/02/2025

After a microchip company abruptly shut down, animal shelters and related organizations have started to warn pet owners to re-register their animals with a different service. https://nbc4i.co/4aR5hmF

13/02/2025

There’s some beautiful flowers at the stores right now but a lot of the mixed boquets have lilies. Be cautious if you are getting them for yourself or someone else if there’s a cat in the household. They’re extremely toxic to cats and a very small amount will cause acute kidney failure. Have a safe and happy Valentine’s Day 💕