In the last decade or so, raising backyard chickens has become a popular hobby. Maybe it’s due to a receession-era homesteading impulse, or people prioritizing really local food. However, live chickens and ducks have been linked to almost 1,000 known cases of Salmonella, which have sent hundreds of people to the hospital and killed one person. About one-third of those cases were in children under age 5. [More]
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U.S. Poultry Industry Facing New Bird Flu Strain Currently Wreaking Havoc Overseas
By 1.27.17
A very familiar threat could be winging its way toward U.S. poultry farms, and it’s got the industry more than a little bit worried: there’s a new strain of avian flu speeding across Europe and Asia, forcing farmers to destroy tens of millions of infected birds. [More]
50 Ducks Walked Into A CVS… There’s No Punchline, Just 50 Ducks In A CVS
By 10.28.13
Do ducks prepare for the winter by gathering supplies from nearby retail outlets? No, they don’t, so it’s not really clear why about fifty ducks reportedly wandered into a CVS drugstore in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and wouldn’t leave until an employee coaxed them out with popcorn. [More]
Excreted Tamiflu Found In Rivers; Flu-Resistant Superbirds Coming Soon
By 10.2.09
You know all that delicious Tamiflu we humans have been taking in order to reduce our suffering as various strains of regular, swine, and bird flu fly around the globe? Yeah, um, turns out that it doesn’t break down in our bodies and can’t be removed by water treatment plants. The combination of Tamiflu-polluted waters and wild birds may result in resistant strains of avian flu.
Will Anyone Buy My 1300 Chinese Pope Hats?
By 9.14.09
One of the fun side-effects of Craigslist is that the lack of an editorial gatekeeper means it lets the crazy blossom. The newspaper Telegraph has assembled 20 of what they consider the wackiest Craigslist ads, including over 1300 Pope hats (sorry, they’re just replicas), diapers for incontinent dogs, and 300 stuffed penguins. Naturally we assume every one of them is really about sex, but maybe we’re being too jaded about Craigslisters.
Cuddly Banker Makes Way for Ducklings
By 5.21.09
Bankers have an bad rap these days, don’t they? Joel Armstrong of Spokane, Washington was nice enough to initiate an intensive bailout of his neighbors, who could no longer stay in their home. His neighbors: a family of ducks.
