Maharashtra: 900 hens die at poultry farm in Parbhani

As man as 900 hens have diedat a poultry farm in Murumba village in Parbhani district ofMaharashtra, a senior official said on Saturday.Their samples have been sent for investigation toidentify the exact cause of the death, Parbhani districtcollector Deepak Mulgikar told PTI.900 hens have died in two consecutive days in Murumbavillage in the Marathwada region.

As man as 900 hens have diedat a poultry farm in Murumba village in Parbhani district ofMaharashtra, a senior official said on Saturday.

Their samples have been sent for investigation toidentify the exact cause of the death, Parbhani districtcollector Deepak Mulgikar told PTI.

''900 hens have died in two consecutive days in Murumbavillage in the Marathwada region. We have taken the samples ofthe deceased birds for investigation,'' he said.

He said the poultry farm where the death of birds wasreported is run by a Self Help Group (SHG).

''This poltry farm has some 8,000 birds. 900 birds havedied over two days. No death of birds was reported in the last24 hours,'' he said.

Prima facie, the death of hens could be related tonutrition, the collector said, adding that the test resultsare awaited.

Maharashtra has so far not reported any cases of birdflu or avian influenza.

On January 8, the Centre said that bird flu has beenconfirmed so far in six states- Kerala, Rajasthan, MadhyaPradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat.

In 2006, H5N1 virus outbreak was reported in Nandurbarand Dhule districts in north Maharashtra, which had affectedthousands of birds.