In the news: What's the poop on 200,000 chickens?

*Source:  Estimating Manure Production, Storage Size, and Land Application Area.  (The Ohio State University)
 
Chickens at egg-laying facility infected with bird flu in southeast Wisconsin, state says. (Madison.com, 4/13/2015)

180,000 of the 200,000 chickens to be euthanized  

Experts suspect that migrating waterfowl like geese or ducks that are resistant to the disease are transmitting the disease through either direct contact with turkeys and chickens or indirect contact where a person can step in manure from an infected bird in a park or backyard and then walk into a factory and spread it via his or her shoes, Cook said.

The egg-laying facility in southeast Wisconsin housed all its chickens inside buildings so the most likely scenario is indirect contact, which is why poultry experts are most concerned about people who own backyard flocks of three or four chickens -- a common site in Madison -- transmitting the disease, Cook said.

Source:  Bird Flu Book

On the other hand, 1 broiler chicken produces just 0.14 pounds of poop per day*.


Related articles:
Chicken Manure: Collateral Damagefrom the Chicken Factory Farm.  (Factory Farming)
Chicken Manure Management.  (Hencam)
Maryland Has a Plan to Turn Chicken Poop into Energy.  (Think Progress, 3/25/2015)

Related posts:
In the News: Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO).  (9/17/2014)
Missouri voters enshrine ALEC's "Right to Farm" idea within its state constitution.  (8/6/2015)