Farmers and the Turkey industry have been working through the issue for months, which still persists as Thanksgiving approaches, with rising demand.
Turkey farmers say avian flu, or bird flu, has taken a major hit on the industry in the months and weeks in the run up to the Thanksgiving holiday when demand soars.WWNYTV reported earlier this month that there were about half the turkeys on average at farms because of bird flu affected the birds.
Cathy Cabalo, of Cabalo Orchard and Gardens, said, “We started off the year as normal with 600 birds. They had not even left the rooting barn, but the bird flu came into the area.”“We locked them inside, 600 turkeys, the bread and butter to the season. We didn’t dare let them outside,” Cabalo said. “It’s their natural behavior to cuddle very closely, and when they huddle closely they create a pile and unfortunately when they are small they will suffocate,” Cabalo said. “We lost almost half of our birds to a piling incident in the barn because they couldn’t go outside.”Thomas Bennett of Bennett Farms in Michigan said the bird flu that spread in the spring started the shortage issue that's being seen now.
"If I had 300 more turkeys right now, I could sell them. I just don't have them," said Bennett."I joke with my costumers because they'll email me, 'Do you have a turkey hidden somewhere?' It's like no, I don't even know if I'm getting a turkey."State and federal officials hope the issue won't be as widespread as it was during a 2015 outbreak that killed around 50 million chickens and turkeys and causing prices to soar.
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