Long Island’s oldest and last large commercial duck farm is facing the fight of its life after its owner last week confirmed a case of bird flu at the Aquebogue facility.

Doug Corwin, president of the family-owned Crescent Duck Farm, said teams of state and federal agricultural workers had been on site for the past week to address the outbreak, which is resulting in the ongoing euthanization of his entire flock of about 99,000 birds.

The farm was established in 1908, and remains the last commercial duck farm on Long Island, once world-renowned for its ducks.

Any hope of saving the genetics of the ducks sits with 10,000 sanitized eggs that are in quarantine and must undergo rounds of testing before they can be safely hatched off the facility, Corwin said.

Suffolk County Department of Health Services staff were expected to be at the farm Wednesday to test workers, Corwin said, adding none have shown signs of illness. The site was being overseen by the Veterinary Service of New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, and the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service was also on the premises. They were conducting surveillance and testing in areas around the farm, state officials said Wednesday.

County health officials had announced on Tuesday that bird flu was detected at a Suffolk County poultry farm, but did not name the location.

"The sanitation level in here is like going into an emergency room in a hospital," Corwin said. Everyone on the quarantined property must wear Tyvek suits, sanitized boots and gloves and sanitize themselves entering and leaving the farm, he said. The land has been in the Corwin family since the 1600s.

Now, Corwin wonders whether the family-owned business can survive.

He’s already laid off 47 of his staff of 75 workers, and his revenue, which typically comes from supplying duck to high-end restaurants, has dropped to zero.

"My income stream is done right now," he said. "I’ve got to rely on reserves." He’s considering selling some land "just to keep going."

"Is this the end of Long Island duck? I don’t know. It could be," he said. "It’s gut wrenching."

Doug Corwin in 2021, surrounded by hundreds of ducklings inside of a pen.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza, also known as H5N1, is a very contagious and often deadly respiratory disease among poultry that's widespread in wild birds, according to the USDA. There have been outbreaks in poultry farms as well as dairy cows in the United States.

While rare in humans, the cases are dangerous. The World Health Organization has reported there have been at least 950 human cases of bird flu and about half have died.

There are 67 confirmed human cases in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For the most part, those cases are in people who work on poultry farms and with dairy cows. Earlier this month, a man in Louisiana who had been exposed to sick and dead birds in a backyard flock died, the country's first fatal case.

To date, there have been no reported human cases in New York and none detected in dairy cows in the state.

Bird flu was detected in Suffolk County in 2022, 2023 and 2024 in a backyard flock, commercial flocks and wild birds.

Nationwide, more than 136 million birds have been affected since January 2022.

Laid off workers

Corwin said he first noticed signs of a few lethargic ducks on the farm on Jan. 15.

"There are a lot of birds here," he said. "You constantly monitor your flock — three times a day. One day things looked unusual. I noticed a few lethargic birds that didn’t seem right."

He called in a Cornell University veterinarian who "shot right over and took a sample." The sample was sent to Ithaca, where the virology department confirmed the detection of H5N1.

"It’s a reportable disease and I knew sadly what it was going to be," Corwin said. "That stopped everything. I had to lay off 47 people. There were a lot of tears. It was very rough."

It’s still unclear what led to the outbreak, Corwin said. All of his ducks are raised in enclosed barns, limiting exposure to wild birds that may carry the disease.

All workers who may have been exposed to the virus — including workers who were laid off after the virus was detected — are being tested for H5N1 by the county health department. Those who are the highest risk may receive preventive medicine, officials said. None of the workers has been ill but they will be monitored for symptoms, officials said.

Crescent's duck products are carried by some high-end restaurants across the country and around the globe, and also featured locally in restaurants, farm stands and some food shops.

Many of the workers have been with the company for 20 to 30 years, one for 35 years.

"I talked to all my employees late Thursday, after I got my notice," he said. "What a time after that — the cries, the hugs."

Around 20 Crescent workers remain on staff, helping in the effort to sanitize. The employees laid off were given notices explaining the situation of their release for unemployment benefits.

Corwin also informed his customers of the issue the day he learned of it.

"I sell to the big distributors of the upper end of the meat industry," he said. "I notified them right away. I deliver to them once or twice a week, week in and week out."

The state, in a news release, said "no birds from the affected flock will enter the food supply." It added that cooking poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 degrees kills bacteria and viruses.

'Minor dark clouds'

The current threat to humans is low but there are some "minor dark clouds on the horizon," said Dr. Bruce Farber, chief of public health and epidemiology for New Hyde Park-based Northwell Health.

Farber said the H5N1 virus is widespread, continuing to mutate and appearing in a variety of mammals beyond wildlife, such as pigs, minks and cats. He also pointed to recent research that suggests some of the genetic changes to the virus could make it easier to spread among humans.

"I don't want people to think that they need to be afraid of getting bird flu when they go outside," he said. "But I think we'd be remiss if we think that the story's over and that there's no risk down the line."

The average member of the public is safe unless the virus mutates and there is widespread human-to-human transmission, Farber said.

"We'd be foolish to pretend it couldn't happen and I hope it never happens," he said. "I think we need to pay very close attention to this virus because no one is anxious to have another COVID" pandemic.

Eggs hold genetic hope

Corwin said the only hope of saving his business is the prospect of getting a special state permit to restart the flock from the thousands of eggs that have been kept under quarantine. The genetics of his ducks, passed over generations, is the foundation of his business. But it won't be easy.

The eggs "are going to have to be sanitized in chlorine and sent off in a sanitized truck to another hatchery to hatch," while being tested at all stages for any signs of the virus, he said. "We’re hoping to start that process in a week or so," if the eggs pass all inspections, and after the work on the farm is done. "We might be able to preserve our genetics."

Crescent faced another crisis during the COVID-19 outbreak at the start of the decade, Corwin noted, with layoffs and sharp business declines, but "this is different," he said. "This is sadder than COVID."

In 2018, 14-month-old white Pekin ducks roam inside the breeding barn at Crescent Duck Farm.

He noted bird flu is extremely contagious among poultry and said it’s "a very easy virus to kill." He’s been pressing regulators to allow a vaccine to inoculate ducks against it, but thus far federal regulators haven’t approved it.

But his primary work right now is making sure the farm is sanitized and cleared by inspectors. Rebuilding the farm from scratch, if inspectors allow it, will take three years, Corwin said.

"It’s not going to be easy," he said. "I’m going to have to learn to cut every cost I have. Do we want to? Is the help still available? My people are long-term people and there are a lot of skills here that are going to be lost."

"I hope that we can preserve something that I think is unique to Long Island," Corwin said. "It’s going to be very tough and I’m hoping for the public’s sympathy and not the public’s fear."

As for himself, Corwin said he’s not ready to give up. "I’m 66 and full of energy," he said. "I’d hate to see the only Long Island duck be the ones who play baseball."

"This isn’t my job, it’s my life," he said "It’s my legacy. I think we’re kind of iconic, considering we are what Long Island was known for. And I just don’t want it to end this way."

Remembering beloved member of Farmingdale community

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