The owners of an antique farmhouse and small animal sanctuary at 56 Tsienneto Road in Derry say five of their turkeys dropped dead from avian flu and now the state has decided to euthanize the rest.
“Our family is devastated by this,” said homeowner Brendena Fleming.
After a visit by the State Veterinarian and police Thursday afternoon, Fleming said they returned Friday morning at 8 a.m. to begin the euthanizations. In all, Fleming estimates she has about 80 poultry birds on the farm, mostly rescues.
Fleming said her 11-year-old son first discovered their beloved black turkey named Dandelion dead on Sunday. Over the next two days, Flemming found four more turkeys had died.
Fleming called the office of the State Veterinarian. She said Assistant State Veterinarian Nathan Harvey came to retrieve the bodies and tested them at a University of New Hampshire lab, where results came back positive for avian flu.
That’s when Harvey told Fleming they would need to euthanize her remaining flock of poultry, which include two remaining turkeys, several chickens, ducks and geese.
“This is going to be and is such a traumatic experience for all of us,” Fleming said in a written statement Thursday.
Fleming said she was notified of the positive avian flu results Wednesday night at about 9 p.m. and was asked by the State Vet how the family would prefer the rest of their birds be killed. They were given until noon Thursday to decide, Fleming said. She said if it had to happen, she would prefer it be done humanely at an off-site facility.
However, on Thursday she was informed that the birds would be euthanized on-site.
Fleming said as word has circulated, the community has showed compassion for her doomed flock.
“A couple people stopped by tonight with, muffins, flowers, a sign and ribbons. I hugged everyone and said my goodbyes, and thank-yous, and prayed for them. Everyone has a story of where they came from. I reached out to as many of the prior owners as I could and apologized,” Fleming said Thursday.
She said her farm is a 501(c)3 nonprofit called Pumpkin Wall Farm Animal Sanctuary. Its mission is to take in agricultural birds and other animals who need a forever home and give them plenty of space to live.
They also invite children and adults to interact with some of the animals for animal therapy. The Flemings have four children, ages 7 to 11.
“Driving away from my home this morning with my four children seeing so much life I’m leaving knowing none of them will be there when we return is tearing my insides out,” Fleming posted on the Pumpkin Wall Farm Animal Sanctuary Facebook page Friday morning.
Officials at the State Veterinarian’s office, which is part of the Department of Agriculture, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
“There is nothing I did wrong or anything I could have done differently to prevent this,” Fleming said.
For the first time since 2016 the avian flu has been found in wild birds in the United States, and the first time ever it’s been detected north of Delaware. The Eurasian H5 strain of avian flu was detected in wild birds in Rockingham County in February, according to New Hampshire Fish and Game.
It is believed the disease was transmitted by wild ducks who frequent a pond next to the Derry farm. Fleming said the situation was not preventable, and suspects other farms won’t report suspicious poultry deaths to the state for fear of wholesale euthanization.
“So many people won’t report deaths because they don’t want to have done to them what they are doing to me,” Fleming said. “Which contributes to the problem.”
She said she thinks the euthanization will do little to stop the spread since the wild ducks are continuing to spread it unimpeded. And the remaining birds have not exhibited any signs of sickness, according to Fleming.
Fleming said she has reached out to attorneys to try to fight this, but so far hadn’t found anyone to take the case.
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