A beloved bird from social media has come down with a case of bird flu amid a deadly outbreak.
TikTok star Emmanuel the Emu was sickened with avian influenza by wild Egyptian geese flying into his farm in southern Florida and is currently receiving treatment, according to farmer Taylor Blake.
“We lost every single chicken and duck on our farm. We lost all of our geese. We lost our 2 female black swans. We lost both of our turkeys,” Blake wrote on Twitter on Saturday. “We lost 50+ birds in 3 days.”
COLORADO MAN BECOMES FIRST HUMAN CASE OF BIRD FLU IN US
Emmanuel’s Knuckle Bump Farm is one of several affected by the flu, which has infected 47,447,334 birds since January, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only two birds, including Emmanuel, are left on the farm, with Emmanuel suffering nerve damage in one leg that requires a sling, per Blake.
“I will do anything and go into any amount of debt to save his life,” Blake said of Emmanuel. “My vet came out and was able to sedate and stabilize him until I could find an avian specialist. I have been treating him around the clock since Wednesday.”
I will do anything and go into any amount of debt to save his life. My vet came out and was able to sedate and stabilize him until I could find an avian specialist. I have been treating him around the clock since Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/ajlvQq2L5U
— eco sister (@hiitaylorblake) October 15, 2022
A family farm in Del Norte, California, similarly had to depopulate its flock of 43,000 chickens this week. A zoo in Omaha, Nebraska, closed its aviary Friday when one of its pelicans died of the bird flu and another was subsequently euthanized.
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There have been a total of 532 outbreaks across 42 states, the CDC reported as of Sunday.
