Bird flu wipes out 3,000 hens at Cook County farm: 'Pretty devastating'
COOK COUNTY - The Thomas family, owners of the Kakadoodle farm in Matteson, suffered a devastating loss when avian bird flu wiped out their entire flock of 3,000 hens. The highly contagious virus was confirmed last Friday after USDA officials conducted testing, forcing the family to euthanize the remaining birds and enter a 150-day quarantine.