November is usually a comparatively easy month for farmers in Northeast China's vast countryside. The crops have been harvested and the fields lie fallow until spring.

Zhou Guichun, 40, from Gengtun in Heishan had harvested his corn and all attention was now focused on his more than 1,000 chickens. Their eggs usually bring in over 10,000 yuan (US$1,200), half the family's annual income.

Everything changed on November 2.

It was around six o'clock when Zhou got up to feed his hens.

The crammed chicken coop was unusually quiet and the birds did not react to Zhou's breakfast visit as normal. A little unsettled, Zhou carried on doling out the rations.

As he made his way further into the henhouse, he found dozens of his prized layers dead inside.

In a panic, Zhou began trying to pull the dead birds out of the cage. An experienced farmer, he knew to expect a few deaths, but this many dead birds in one go spelled real trouble.

"It is normal to find one or two dead hens. But for so many hens to die on one day is very unusual," Zhou said.

He bought some medicine and treated the birds himself. "I thought it might help save my chickens," he said.

That afternoon, he reported the dead birds to his local village committee.

Next morning, when Zhou came to feed his birds, over 100 hens lay dead and many more were sick.

"I totally lost my head, I had no idea what to do," said Zhou.

What he did not know was that many other farmers in Heishan County were suffering the same experience.

Heishan County, 300 kilometres northeast of Beijing, is one of Liaoning Province's major poultry producers. According to official figures, around 90 per cent of the county's farmers raise chickens, with 15 million hens producing 600 tons of eggs every day.

When a disease starts wiping out farmers' hens, tens of thousands of people like Zhou are affected.

Officials from Liaoning provincial animal health agency came to Zhou at noon and told him they suspected his chickens had avian influenza. His remaining chickens, numbering around 700, would be destroyed to stop the outbreak spreading.

At around 4 pm that afternoon, a team including armed police arrived at his farm and carried out the slaughter.

"I do understand," said Zhou, still struggling to come to terms with his loss. "The chickens could have caused even more damage and could even have endangered villagers."

As well as Zhou's chickens, all birds within 3 kilometres of his farm were also destroyed.

Jiang Lianfu had around 13,000 hens at his farm in the neighbouring village of Yingfang. None of Jiang's 13,000 chickens died, or showed any sign of illness, but all were slaughterd because of dead ducks found on nearby farms.

"I fed these birds for more than half a year. I treated them like my own children," said Jiang.

But, through his sadness, Jiang could see why the cull was needed. That night, Jiang's family waited silently in the henhouse. "We just stood there and watched as the birds' necks were wrung," Jiang said.

After slaughtering all the hens, the team disinfected the henhouse before sealing it off.

Zhou and Jiang's pens are still out-of-bounds, blanketed under a layer of disinfectant.

Between November 4 and November 10, local agricultural and health authorities culled 6 million birds and vaccinated 13.9 million others.

Farmers' future

In less than a week, Heishan had gone from being one of Liaoning's biggest egg producers to a virtual chicken ghost town.

Before the bird flu outbreak, the average annual income of farmers in the county was around 3,800 yuan (US$469). Now they are looking at half that.

The Liaoning provincial government has channelled 83.5 million yuan (US$10.3 million) of emergency disaster relief funds to the county, while the county government has paid out 9.6 million yuan (US$1.2 million ) to compensate poultry farmers.

Jiang told China Daily that he had received 10 yuan (US$1.2) for each bird killed, not enough to cover his investment.

Jiang spent 200,000 yuan (US$24,661) setting up his henhouse and purchasing chicks. Half of that he borrowed from the bank.

"I planned to pay back the loan at the end of year and borrow more money to expand the farm, " said Jiang.

Zhou's condition is also difficult. "We will not struggle to survive but we will no longer be able to afford to send my children to school," he said.

Zhou has two daughters, one at high school and the other at primary school. Their annual education fees are around 10,000 yuan (US$1,233).

"I could hardly afford their education as it was," said Zhou.

One senior official from Heishan government, surnamed Xu, told China Daily that they are trying to help farmers diversify away from poultry, helping them raise pigs, plant vegetables or find other jobs.

"We are trying our best to help," said Xu.

Now the local government is raising funds for the farmers and working on relief plan.

"I do not know what the other farmers will do. I want to keep raising hens," said Jiang.

(China Daily November 15, 2005)