Ducks Are Back on This Long Island Farm—And It’s a Big Deal
You know how bad the bird flu’s been, right? For almost two years now, poultry farms across the country have been getting hammered. That nasty H5N1 strain—first spotted back in 2022—wiped out nearly 175 million birds nationwide. And one family-run duck farm on Long Island? They lost everything. Every single duck. But here’s the crazy part: after all that, the ducks are finally back. And man, you should’ve seen the owners’ faces when those first ducklings arrived.
When Bird Flu Hits Home
How This Whole Mess Started
It began quietly—isn’t that always how these things go? Some wild birds carrying the virus in early 2022, then boom—commercial poultry got hit hard. By last summer, the USDA was tracking over 1,700 outbreaks. And this virus? It doesn’t mess around. Kills birds fast, spreads faster. Farmers had to cull entire flocks just to contain it. Brutal stuff.
The Day Everything Changed
For the Reyes family—they’ve been running this duck farm for three generations—it happened overnight. One week they’ve got 100,000 healthy ducks supplying meat and eggs to local shops. Next week? Gone. “It wasn’t just about the money,” Michael Reyes told me, rubbing his forehead like he was reliving it. “We raised these birds. You get attached.” The worst part? Nobody knew if they’d ever come back from this.
Starting Over From Scratch
Cleaning Like Their Lives Depended On It
Before they could even think about new ducks, they had to nuke the place—figuratively speaking. Every inch of those barns got scrubbed down with industrial cleaners. They installed foot baths with disinfectant, put up “No Visitors” signs everywhere. “We couldn’t half-ass this,” Reyes said. “One mistake and we’d be right back where we started.”
The First Ducklings Arrive
They started small—just 500 ducklings from a certified breeder. Lisa Tran, the farm manager, still gets emotional talking about it. “Hearing that first peep?” She laughed and wiped her eyes. “Like someone finally turned the lights back on after two years of darkness.”
Not Out of the Woods Yet
The Virus Isn’t Going Anywhere
Here’s the scary part: H5N1’s still popping up in wild birds. Dr. Ellen Cho—she studies poultry diseases—put it bluntly: “This isn’t over. Farmers need to stay paranoid.” And she’s right. One infected wild duck landing in their pond could undo everything.
What Other Farmers Can Learn
The Reyes family’s playbook? Detect early, go nuts with cleanliness, and lean on your community. “Cut corners and you’re done,” Reyes said. Then he grinned. “But give up? That’s not what farmers do.”
More Than Just Ducks
Something beautiful happened while they were rebuilding. Neighbors started pre-ordering duck products months in advance. Local restaurants promised to feature them on menus. “People showed up with casseroles,” Tran said, shaking her head. “Who brings casseroles to a duck farm?” But that’s the thing—it wasn’t about the food. It was about saying, “We’ve got you.” Now when you see those ducks waddling around? It’s not just a farm recovering. It’s proof that sometimes, against all odds, good people win.
The Takeaway
This isn’t just a feel-good story about some ducks. It’s about what happens when stubbornness meets community. Yeah, H5N1’s still a threat—but if you’re ever doubting whether small farms can survive these disasters? Take a drive out to Long Island. The ducks will set you straight.
Source: NY Post – US News
