Bird Flu

Bird Flu. As a farm with many thousands of pastured chickens immersed in a wildlife-friendly ecology of fields, forest, and ponds, we're watching every development in this global issue.  What we see is concerning.

We are in this together, you and us.  

The chicken and eggs you enjoy from Polyface are not on a planetary island immune from legal, social, and microbial interactions.  We are a network of people, places, perceptions, and protocols; together, our chickens and your table are a vast unseen world of bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Truly beyond comprehension.

Let's scratch and peck on this issue to get clarity. Ready to know our stance and plans?

Here we go.

First, we have agreed to not ride the price roller coaster.  

We have been in business long enough to see cycles of bird flu, drought-induced feed spikes, and other anomalies that send supermarket groceries soaring.  

Because of our production practices, we have always been spared the bluntest edge of these crises.

Here's what I mean: we don't import animal feed. We're purchasing it from local non-GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) and glyphosate (Roundup) free sources.  Our suppliers are not nearly as vulnerable to global anomalies, and that provides insulation for us as well.  

Our birds are healthy because they're happy and clean; without sounding arrogant, we don't expect bird flu because we have faith in our model.

We've decided to stay on an even keel.  We're in for the long haul and balanced consistency.

Second, the mainstream narrative you're hearing about bird flu omits important aspects and exaggerates others.  

Let's look at some examples.  

"Bird flu has caused the sickness and death of 166 million chickens and turkeys in the last 24 months."  

Not true.  

Only a small percentage were actually sick.  All the rest either never got sick or had been sick and gotten over it.  The lion's share of the dead birds were not sick but were exterminated in the USDA draconian "stamp out" program, whereby all chickens in proximity to sick ones are killed "to prevent spread."

"Vaccination is the best remedy."  

President Biden, two days before leaving office, gave $500 million to Moderna to develop a bird flu vaccine, and that's just one piece of the research monies given to drug companies.  

Again, the vaccination remedy is false.  

In fact, hypochlorous and CDS, along with some homeopathic remedies, have been shown to be highly effective.  These anti-viral microbials are safe enough for humans to drink.  But the USDA refuses to even run a trial.

Third, any livestock farmer knows that if you want to get ahead of an epizootic, especially if it becomes endemic, the last thing you want to do is kill the survivors.  

Not one single flock in the world, even at the most rampant infestation, has suffered 100 percent sickness to death.  Not one has suffered more than 90 percent loss, which means 10 percent survived.  In most cases, much higher percentages survived.

The "control by killing survivors" remedy is not only mentally sick, it's certifiably insane.  

As Dr. Zach Bush explains eloquently, every being, microbe, and virus on the planet is adapting to its surroundings.  That's the difference between living and non-living things.  A rock does not morph due to its surroundings.  Neither does a car.  But living things, including fungi, communicate and respond.  Living things are dynamic, and each one tries to become stronger to live another day.

We've heard a lot about bird flu mutating.  In fact, early bird flu vaccinations in Egypt indicate that vaccines make the bird flu stronger.  That stands to reason.  The virus feels attacked, so it morphs and changes to protect itself and become stronger.  But dear folks, all life does that.  

To listen to USDA agents, you'd think chickens are completely helpless in the face of this relentless viral adaptability.  But chickens, as beings, are not stupid; they're trying to survive, too.  When the viruses mutate, chickens mutate too.  Their immunological function develops antigens that protect them from future attacks.

What could be more ridiculous than killing the chickens showing immunity, either by never getting it or getting it and getting over it?  

The right policy, which more and more alternative scientists are preaching, is to save the survivors, breed them, and quickly let natural immunity develop a more robust chicken.  

This year, government agents are visiting farms, both big and small, without warrants, taking samples looking for bird flu.  

Here's the problem with that (besides that it's illegal): 

These agents are using the highly unreliable PCR test. The official USDA magnification is 45 cycles (think microscope power from 10th-grade biology class).  Massachusetts (the first state agency to accuse the USDA investigative protocols as fraudulent) says anything above 30 cycles is fraudulent because it can find bird flu detritus anywhere - on your table, in the air, your underwear and hair.  Anywhere. In other words, if you look for it hard enough, you can find it.

Polyface has spent 10 years breeding a special line of incredibly robust, drug-free laying hens. And they enjoy amazing health - both because of this special breeding and because of our practices.

Those chickens out in our pastures are ours to love, honor, protect, and respect. 

When civilizations come to a crossroads like this, courage demands standing in the gap. Take a stand against the mainstream narrative. Like the Biblical Esther, perhaps we've been born "for such a time as this."  

Now you know our heart and our mind to stand into the storm. 

We move forward in faith.

Blessings,

Joel