(SANDUSKY) — The fun and excitement of fair-week for many 4-Her’s quickly turned sad when they were told that their birds had to be euthanized. Reports say that around 100 chickens at the Sanilac County 4-H Fair in Sandusky had to be put down after it was confirmed that one was diagnosed with a highly contagious respiratory disease triggered by stress. Superintendent of Poultry at the fair, April Malick says the bird appeared to be healthy on Sunday when it got to the fairgrounds, but later started showing symptoms of the virus. Carriers of the disease don’t always show symptoms, so there was concern the virus would spread after the birds were taken home. Another 25 ducks, pigeons, geese and turkeys will be spared. According to Malick, the decision to stop the spread of the disease was supported by all of the kids. Poultry numbers were down this year after there was a ban put in place across the state in 2015 in an effort to stop the spread of avian flu.
