05/14/2026
I know people want to save every bird. I understand that feeling deeply. But as someone who has spent years raising poultry, this situation honestly breaks my heart.
Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) is highly contagious and can spread through direct contact, contaminated equipment, and even wild birds. Sending exposed birds out across the state through adoptions is not just risky for those individual birds — it puts countless healthy flocks at risk too.
MG is not just “a little cold.” It can mean chronic respiratory disease, stress, reduced quality of life, a slow project death and repeated antibiotic use for the rest of a bird’s life.
I understand the desire to help, but organizations moving exposed birds into new homes need to understand the level of biosecurity risk they are creating for backyard flocks, small farms, and poultry communities across the state.
Sometimes the hardest choice is also the kindest and most responsible one. Humane euthanasia to prevent suffering and stop disease spread is not cruelty. It is stewardship.
Please think carefully about biosecurity, quarantining new birds, and the long-term impact our choices have on the poultry community as a whole. Please do not adopt these birds.
