Ducklings hatch from Long Island farm almost wiped out by bird flu outbreak
Long Island's only remaining duck farm is raising a new generation of ducklings nearly four months after a bird flu outbreak forced it to euthanize an entire flock.
New York state and federal agricultural workers euthanized 100,000 ducks at Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue, New York during the height of the avian flu emergency in Suffolk County.
Long Island duck farm's eggs hatch weeks after entire flock euthanized
In January, Doug Corwin said he had to lay off 55 workers, including some who were there for decades, when the highly infectious H5N1 bird flu shuttered his family's centuries-old farm and 700 others farms across the U.S.
"At that time, I didn't know if we'd ever be allowed to come back again," he said. "Laying the people off on that first day had to be the saddest thing that I've ever done."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture allowed Corwin to salvage some of his valuable duck eggs, that hatched nine weeks ago.
Crescent Duck Farm was under quarantine, so East End-friendly farmers, like Moloski's Poultry Farm, lent a hand with the hatchlings.
"Coming back into production is gonna be a two generation process for me," Corwin said when asked how long it will be before the ducks can return. "But we don't have a vaccine. We still don't have protection."
Farmer advocates for bird flu vaccine
In order to successfully raise a new flock, Corwin said the ducks will require protection from wild birds carrying and spreading the avian flu to livestock and poultry farms.
"They can't fly away from any predators," he said.
Corwin reached out to local and federal lawmakers, including Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, a former Long Island congressman, to advocate for a commercially-available bird flu vaccine.
"The cost to the American consumer right now is astronomical," he said.
Savored by chefs for the mild flavor and tender meat, the ducks Corwin has raised were vital to many livelihoods, he said.
"We supplied most of the better restaurants in the Northeast," he said. "A bit of sadness, a lot of sadness. But by the same token, a challenge to be reborn again."
