Chicken breeders in Iowa have gone to unusual lengths to
protect their grandparent lines from avian influenza.
Some have shipped birds to Brazil.
The owner of Murray McMurray Hatchery packed up 3,500 chicks
and drove all night to Texas “just to have them in a safe place” after the
first outbreak there.
More than 48 million birds have died of the flu in the
United States this year, prompting egg prices to more than double and some to
question whether there will be an adequate supply of turkeys for Thanksgiving
and Christmas.
Hy-Line International, the world's biggest genetics
company for egg-laying chickens, moved part of its breeding stock from Iowa to
several other states within the last few months, said Tom Jorgensen, general
counsel for the company. Before the outbreak, Hy-Line kept portions of its
flock in just one other state as a precaution, he said.
The best genetic lines for egg quantity and quality
can be used to breed hens year after year.
Jorgensen declined to reveal where Hy-Line had shipped
its breeder birds, citing "security."
The company, which is owned by
the EW Group GmbH in Germany, is preparing to move more birds out of Iowa as a
precaution, he said.
