Bird flu: Wait! Wait! What about feeding my wild birds?
We searched for you, and there's very little about this, but articles mention the Louisiana man who died was feeding songbirds. Here's a deep dive if you love feeding wild birds.
UPDATE 2/13/2025: Scientists now suspect a new variant of bird flu is being spread through the wind from infected birds; I’m not finding that reassuring about backyard feeders and the dogs and cats (mammals, like us) who spend a lot of time around them. Also see both the repost from Katelyn Jetelina, PhD, a commonsense-speaking epidemiologist, and my other update on bird flu generally.
This post is specifically on everything I could find from multiple sources on whether there is any risk in feeding wild birds—something many of us love to do, particularly in the winter. There’s nothing like a gorgeous cardinal feeding against a background of snow to make my morning.
As you read this, pay attention to the italics I’ve added to sourced information below. In healthcare, we’re good at subtle disclaimers—often just a couple words—that are overlooked by ‘normal’ people. These are actually important clues, which is why I’ve italicized them.
First the data, then my own opinion on what I’m doing. Data:
While the CDC has found bird flu in wild birds in 51 jurisdictions , testing so far shows low (3%) incidence in wild songbirds. Songbirds can carry and transmit avian flu without having symptoms. What we don’t yet know is whether mutations or increased prevalence of the disease will change incidence or recommendations.
If you do not keep domestic poultry, there is no official recommendation to take down feeders at this time. Translation: we don’t have enough data yet to make a firm recommendation.
If you do keep domestic poultry (like the man who died in Louisiana), scientists recommend you avoid attracting wild birds. In regular English, that means feeders are a bad idea if you’re also raising poultry of any type.
Wild waterfowl such as ducks and geese are natural carriers of the virus and can spread it to other bird species. Unfortunately, waterfowl are often without symptoms, so there’s no way your tail-wagging retriever might be forewarned. Here are recommendations for hunters.
Bird feeders attract raptors. Whether or not you see them, unless you live in Antarctica, you have raptors. Bird flu is “highly pathogenic”—capable of causing disease—in raptors. Unlike birds but like chickens, raptors get severely sick quickly and rapidly die—more temptations for pets on the hunt.
I couldn’t find anything specific to pets—cats and dogs, but they are mammals, and all mammals seem to be catching this. So I’m inferring on nibbling tasty dead wild birds could infect cats and dogs. We do know for sure that cats have been infected (and died) from eating raw (meat) cat food. (See more below.)
The USDA is largely in charge on this issue through its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Cornell [University] Labs All About Birds is a wonderful wild bird resource, and they’re terrific at translating science into commonsense English. (If you love birds, their free Merlin Bird ID app is A+, and helps Cornell monitor bird health and movement.) Cornell has a web page dedicated to bird flu. The USDA APHIS, Cornell and CDC sites are being frequently updated. Locally, also keep an eye on your state health and/or agriculture department recommendations.
That’s the data. Here’s what I’m doing: I feed wild birds, but don’t keep poultry. We have raptors—hawks—where I live. I have indoor-only cats, but their screened-in porch is close to a bird feeder; it’s possible they could inhale droplets. Our dog loves sniffing around the bird feeders and snarfing up dropped seed or suet. While I am in standard higher risk categories, I also have a master’s degree in nursing, and, to me, all those italicized words above scream “from what we know as of ten minutes ago.” It takes paid staff, a deep commitment to public health, and consistent reporting to yield enough data to analyze and change recommendations. Unfortunately, some or all of those vectors took a beating during COVID in many states.
Bottom line: I’m a better-safe-than-sorry person, so for me:
1. I’m quitting seed feeders but will toss the same amount of birdseed out on the ground away from the house in a wilder, pet-free area. Some people use their driveways.
2. It’s bitter cold here, so I’ll keep feeding suet this month. But I’m moving those feeders where pets (and stray rodents attractive to pets—squirrels, mice, rats, chipmunks) can’t get near them, which is often hard to do. (Remember, rodents are mammals, too.) Anytime I have to touch the suet feeders, I’m wearing gloves. Suet feeders generally require some handling, so depending on how much you have to wrangle yours when you refill them, you may also want to wear a mask to prevent inhaling any dust or respiratory droplets.
If I had outdoor cats, I’d be far more concerned. There’s no way to prevent them from eating what they’ve caught when they’re out, and you sure don’t want those treats brought into the house right now. Raw meat (and raw milk) can both harbor high viral loads, which is why you also want to avoid feeding either raw meat or milk to your pets right now. Note the raw cat food recalls and cat deaths—here and here—were of raw food that had been frozen, a tip that freezing alone didn’t kill the virus in the meat. I’d apply that consideration now to how you handle raw meat in your kitchen as well. Don’t wait for some agency to finally spell it out.
Here are more generic recommendations about wild birds:
Avoid contact with birds that appear sick or have died. Translation: just don’t.
Avoid contact with surfaces that have bird feces (which are, of course, all over and around feeders).
More specifically, do not touch sick or dead animals or their droppings and don’t bring sick wild birds or animals into your home. Check locally to see if there’s a rehab group near you for sick birds, and talk to them or your state wildlife resources commission before you do anything, including disposing of dead birds/animals they may want to test.
If you must touch sick or dead birds:
Wear gloves and a face mask
Place dead birds in a double-bagged garbage bag
Throw away your gloves and facemask after use
Wash your hands well with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.
Note all of the above also refers to rodents—chipmunks, squirrels, mice and rats—which are also mammals, and are attracted to bird seed and suet, and often chased and eaten by pets.
Avoid poultry farms and bird markets; if you must go, wear a well-fitting face mask when visiting poultry farms and bird markets and don’t touch any poultry unless you’re wearing gloves you will throw away after touching poultry. the same rules apply to preparing poultry or meat in your kitchen, and be extremely carefully right now to avoid cross contamination.
FWIW, according to some, I overdid it during the pandemic, too. But despite frequent travel I couldn’t avoid, I never caught it.
They did.