Bird Flu outbreak will not severely impact 4-H programs

Grant County Purdue Extension is on track to allow birds to come to the 4-H fair in June. 

Khris Goff, Grant County 4-H Youth Extension Educator, said “We haven’t received any official notice from Purdue telling us we need to look at different options for the fair. Our 4-H superintendent of the Poultry show has already thought of some ideas if it does happen, but as of today, everything is going as planned. 

The CDC reports that, as of March 24, cases of the H5N1 bird flu have been found in 1,231 U.S. counties. The Indiana State Board of Animal Health says 13 Indiana counties in 2025 have reported bird flu cases. 

Goff said a decision would likely be made for the entire state whether birds were allowed on the fairgrounds for the 4-H Fair. 

The bird flu has made headlines before. The last time a large number of cases were reported in Indiana was 2022. If there are still bird flu cases close to fair time, Goff said they have precautions planned. 

“The last time we had something like this happen, we made sure we had plenty of hand sanitizer, a lot of signs up telling people to please wash your hands after coming through and don’t touch the animals,” Goff said. 

Grant County Emergency Management Director Bob Jackson said the 4-H animals always get checked for viruses every year and have a pretty good safeguard. 

Large poultry farms have been hit hardest by the bird flu. Grant County does not have any major poultry farms, but there are a lot of small family farms with hobby flocks, Jackson said. 

“We want people here in Grant county to be aware and watch your flock in the backyard,” Jackson said. “Look for the signs and notify the state when they see that occurring that way we can get a better idea of where spreading might be taking place and take efforts to contain that.” 

The bird flu signs to look for in your poultry include: sudden death without clinical signs, lack of energy or appetite, decreased egg production, thin shield, soft shield or misshapen eggs, swelling of the head and eyelids, purple discoloration in the legs, particularly the lower part of the legs, nasal discharge, coughing and diarrhea. 

Bird owners can report sick birds by calling the U.S. Department of Agriculture at 1-866-536-7593.