Crescent ducks euthanized after bird flu outbreak at Aquebogue farm; many eggs saved

The Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue, which lost its entire flock of 99,000 to an outbreak of bird flu, has begun the long, methodical process of sanitizing its facilities.

Doug Corwin, president of the family-owned operation in business since 1908, said all the ducks have been euthanized, as required by federal officials, and two layers of quarantine remain in effect around the operation. None of his workers has fallen ill or tested positive for the virus.

"The worst is over as far as any viral spread," he said. "Now we’ve got to do an intensive cleanup here. USDA will come down once or twice a week and monitor our progress. We talk with them multiple times a day."

The future of the popular farm, which supplies duck meat to restaurants and gourmet shops throughout Long Island, New York City and beyond, hinges on several thousand eggs that are being safely kept off site.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), also known as H5N1, has affected more than 147.25 million birds since February 2022, according to the USDA. That includes 682 commercial flocks and 789 backyard flocks.

The virus also has been found in wild mammals and dairy cows. To date, 67 human cases have been confirmed — mostly among those who work on poultry and dairy farms. One man in Louisiana who had been exposed to sick and dead birds in a backyard flock died. None of the human cases are in New York State.

Infectious disease experts have said the risk to health among the general public is still low, especially since there have been no confirmed cases of person-to-person transmission.

As Newsday reported last week, state and federal agricultural agencies were at the Aquebogue farm last week overseeing the site after bird flu was detected there on Jan. 17.

Corwin was forced to lay off 48 workers but kept 20 to help with the cleanup.

He said the company was successful in salvaging many of the 10,000 eggs that he hopes could represent the future of Crescent, which has developed a unique genetic strain of duck over generations.

Eggs were kept off the farm and sanitized and tested along the way, and many are now being incubated at an undisclosed location. Corwin has not yet determined whether he will raise ducks at the site again. He has been frustrated with the lack of a vaccine that would protect ducks from the virus.

"There’s a lot of challenges left," he said. "But don’t get me wrong. We’re making every step forward so that at least we can try. I’m not backing down by any means."

On Tuesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul released a statement reminding those who have contact with wild birds to "remain vigilant for signs of illness in their domestic animals" and that farmers should take all steps needed to prevent spread of the virus. The state also said it is increasing testing of dairy farms "as a proactive response to the outbreak of HPAI in livestock in other states."

Richard Ball, commissioner of the state Department of Agriculture and Markets, said even though Crescent Farm was "very good at biosecurity," bird flu is extremely contagious and infectious.

"This is just a horrible impact on a business like the Crescent Duck Farm," Ball said. "You feel for them."

He said there have been no other recent detections of bird flu on Long Island.

Ball said the public can help by reporting dead wild birds to the Department of Environmental Conservation at 518-478-2203 and sick or dead poultry to state Agriculture and Markets at 518-457-3502 or the USDA at 866-536-7593.

The quarantine zone of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) around Crescent would prevent the selling or raising of poultry in the area, perhaps for another week. A second quarantine zone of the farm itself could last another six months and would prevent the coming and going of equipment without full sanitization, Corwin said. The farm quarantine also precludes the farm from raising ducks or other "live hosts" until it’s lifted.

Levels of the virus are now "very low compared to where they were," Corwin said. "I have to have every single barn swabbed 25 times to make sure every single nook and cranny is negative for this before I can be out of quarantine, which they have their reasons for doing."

He added, "I don’t want to go through this twice. It’s a big job."

Corwin is urging the USDA to approve a vaccine for the poultry that he said is available in France but that U.S. officials have not yet approved.  "I’d feel almost criminal if I was going to have to go through this without the chance of vaccinating these birds," he said.

Corwin said some customers have helped fund cleanup operations and kept employees paid. He said he’s not looking for government assistance or grants tied to the flu. The USDA did pay him for part of the value of the ducks that were euthanized — "Nowhere near what they were worth or what we invested, but at least a little bit," he said. "We should be able to make it through."

North Fork Brewing Company in Riverhead is hosting an event Saturday for the 48 workers who were laid off, he said, and Corwin will make an appearance there. "It’s the right thing to help those people," he said.