The first tastes of wintry weather have brought an ominous feeling back to Sonoma County’s poultry producers. At least three farms have tested positive for Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu, or HPAI, in the past three weeks — early echoes of the 2023-24 winter outbreak that devastated the local industry.
“If the wind changes, as it did a couple days ago, we’re nervous,” said Mike Weber, who co-owns egg-laying operations Sunrise Farms and Weber Family Farms in Petaluma. “We’re on pins and needles until February. It’s simply scary as hell. We don’t get much sleep at night.”
Weber’s farms had been spared the contagion as of Friday — unlike two years ago, when the business lost 550,000 chickens and 3.2 million eggs at two sites…