- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Commercial and backyard poultry owners are asked to be attentive to their animals' health to help prevent the spread of the lethal and contagious virulent Newcastle disease now raging in Southern California, reported Bob Rodriguez in the Fresno Bee.
Symptoms of the disease include sneezing, coughing, green watery diarrhea, neck twisting, paralysis, decreased egg production and swelling around the eyes and neck, according to Maurice Pitesky, UC Cooperative Extension poultry specialist.
He said the popularity of backyard chickens is one of the challenges to controlling the disease. He...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Even though backyard chickens are illegal in some Bay Area communities, their popularity continues to grow, reported Rebecca Parr in the Contra Costa Times.
The story was centered in Hayward, a community that is the latest to deal with local interest in very small-scale poultry husbandry. San Jose, Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco do not require a permit or fee. Some communities require permits to slaughter animals for food. In Palo Alto, chicken permits are $60.
Parr spoke to UC Agriculture and Natural Resources poultry expert