About 2,800 birds from a Warren farm were killed Tuesday because of a mild strain of avian influenza.

The state ordered the ducks, pheasants and geese destroyed and Foggy Ridge Gamebird Farm quarantined as a precaution to protect Maine’s multimillion-dollar poultry industry.

The disease poses no threat to humans but can spread easily to other birds and rapidly mutate into a more dangerous form.

While avian influenza has been a problem in the Northeast for about 20 years, this is the first time it has been detected in commercial poultry in Maine, according to State Veterinarian Donald Hoenig.

The state asked to test the flock after one of the farm’s customers at a live bird market in Boston had a bird test positive about two weeks ago. The farm’s owners, Jim and Laurie Olmsted, say that customer buys from other suppliers besides Foggy Ridge.

The Olmsteds don’t believe their birds are sick. They’re questioning the accuracy of the preliminary positive test result because a subsequent test by another laboratory produced negative results, Laurie Olmsted said.

She said they won’t try to have the flock’s destruction delayed until a third test can be done. Unfortunately, the results would not be back for over a week, plenty of time for avian influenza to spread.

Shelley Doak, director of the animal health division of the state Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources, said she was unaware of the second test.

The Olmsteds will be paid the market value of the birds, a figure Hoenig said was still being calculated Monday.

Olmsted said the loss of the flock at the start of the spring breeding season will set the business back a year and cost thousands of dollars.

The Olmsteds plan to ask for a third test. If the results are negative, they will ask the state to allow them to resume business immediately rather than after the several months it will take to disinfect the farm.