How to help stop bird flu and salmonella spreading at feeders, backyard poultry cages

Wintering birds, including the celebrated snow geese, return to Shasta County and other North State counties in January. The down side is migrating birds can help spread H5N1 bird flu and other diseases among other bird species, animals and occasionally people.

In winter and spring, “birds are migrating, so they’re going from place to place. The water birds have been spreading (bird flu) the most as they go from pond to pond, looking for food,” said Shasta Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Karlene Stoker.

Adding to the spread of disease, people create places for birds to gather, or keep birds, but don’t clean them regularly. Feeders, bird baths and backyard poultry enclosures can be sources of salmonella and bird flu (avian influenza), public health experts said.

But people can reduce spread to birds and other animals — and to humans.

Good practices include disinfecting places birds frequent, removing feeders during spikes in outbreaks and practicing good hygiene habits, health and wildlife experts said.

Here’s how bird diseases can spread and how to help protect ourselves, other animals and our feathered friends.

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How infected wild birds spread illnesses

When one infected bird leaves fecal matter, snot or saliva on a feeder or other surface, another bird, animal or person who touches the infected spots — in some cases, breathing dried feces — can get sick, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Other birds touch the surface and become infected themselves,” Stoker said.

How people and animals get salmonella from birds

Domestic animals can catch diseases like salmonella from wild birds, then pass it to humans, according to the FDA.

Even a clean and healthy-looking bird can carry salmonella bacteria, the CDC said.

The number of humans getting salmonella from birds is rising, at least in part because keeping backyard poultry is becoming more popular, according to the California Department of Public Health.

From January to September 2024, the CDC reported 470 confirmed salmonella cases in people who touched or cared for backyard poultry. That number is likely much higher, the CDC said, because people don’t always report cases or get tested for salmonella when they do get medical attention.

About a quarter of poultry-to-human cases reported in the spring of 2024 were bad enough to put the sick person in the hospital, and 43% were in children ages 4 and younger, the CDC said.

Can humans get bird flu?

While rare, bird flu can sicken — occasionally kill — people as well as birds, cattle and other animals, according to the CDC.

In the United States, public health officials confirmed 66 cases of the H5N1 bird flu in humans between Jan. 1, 2024 and Jan. 6, 2025, most in people who work with poultry. One was fatal, the CDC reported.

While human mortality rates are low in the U.S., about half of bird flu cases in humans worldwide were fatal, according to the World Health Organization.

“Most cases are mild, and the risk to the general public currently remains low,” according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University, but a boost in the number of fatal cases in other animals is a “red flag” that the bird flu could be mutating into something that could more easily infect people.

How humans can help

People can prevent the spread of many diseases with good hygiene, Stoker said: Always wash your hands with soap after touching an animal other than an indoor pet and before handing food or rubbing your eyes.

There are no exceptions, according to Stoker. For example, people who pet livestock or other animals at the Shasta District Fair should use handwashing stations installed near exhibits before they grab a hotdog, she said.

Slow bird flu and salmonella spread at feeders, bird houses and bird baths

Health experts recommend cleaning feeders and bird baths at least once every two weeks and taking them down during outbreaks.

Wash out any old feed or water, then use a bleach solution or other disinfectant to clean any surface touched by birds, the CDC said. A good bleach solution is one part bleach to nine parts water, said Stoker, who cares for injured and orphaned birds at the wildlife center in Anderson.

Wear a mask while you clean so you don’t breath in feed and poop dust, Stoker added, then make sure to wash off all disinfectant and leave feeders to dry completely before refilling them.

Slow spread of bird disease in backyard poultry

Public health branches offer tips to slow the spread of bird diseases and salmonella for people who keep outdoor chickens and other poultry.

Wear a mask and shoes that are used only for walking in and around bird enclosures. Shasta Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation volunteers dip the soles of their shoes in disinfectant solution before moving from one bird care room to another, or to other parts of the center, Stoker said.

Clean enclosures with bottled dish soap and commercial disinfectant. Follow label instructions, said the CDC, which lists enclosure cleaning steps at cdc.gov/healthy-pets/about/backyard-poultry.

Other public health tips include:

• Keep birds and enclosures away from places you eat or prepare food.

• Wash hands thoroughly with soap and running water after touching a bird or areas birds visit.

• Be aware that eggshells can have salmonella or become contaminated by a sick bird’s feces.

• Never to let kids kiss or rub their faces on poultry.

• Get medical attention for bird bites or scratches, “especially if the bird appears sick or is acting unusually; the wound…is serious (or) becomes red, painful, warm, or swollen; or you haven’t had a tetanus shot in 5 or more years.”

Go to the CDC’s healthy pets and backyard-poultry website for more information and signs of illness.

Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: How to avoid spreading bird flu or salmonella to animals and people