Avian Flu - England is back in flockdown

[HappyHollyDays]

Only England from 7th November as the other nations are holding off for now. There have been record numbers of cases reported in the last month so it wasn’t entirely unexpected.

 

[Clodagh]

It’s later than I expected. One annoying thing was the text saying ‘this will help eradicate the disease.’ It’s surely endemic now. I will be locking down to keep my birds safer but am under no illusions as to it helping to control anything.
Environmental health aren’t even picking up the wild carcasses, they are left to rot.

 

[Prancerpoos]

Very scary stuff and very sad for all the free range and backyard birds that will now have to be indoors.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Exactly Clodagh, mine will be in their run rather than free ranging in the orchard to keep them as safe as possible but it will never be eradicated and once these girls go I won’t be replacing them. Sadly I think free range eggs and birds will become a thing of the past and many good businesses will cease to exist.

 

[FestiveG]

Am I right in thinking that currently poultry on England should be penned and after the 7 th Nov they should be in enclosed, including roof?

 

[Clodagh]

Am I right in thinking that currently poultry on England should be penned and after the 7 th Nov they should be in enclosed, including roof?

I think that right now they can free range (not sure on Norfolk) but needs penning from the 7th.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Am I right in thinking that currently poultry on England should be penned and after the 7 th Nov they should be in enclosed, including roof?

Not at the moment. Parts of Essex and all Norfolk and Suffolk are under different rules and the rest of England has had to introduce bio hazard procedures so poultry and ducks can’t mix, footwear and all feeders etc need to be treated. The locking up happens for the whole of England on the 7th.

 

[FestiveG]

I think I'm being a bit dim here, but can anyone explain how biosecurity measures work, if the 12 hens 6 ducks are roaming over an acre, with a footpath, for example?

 

[Clodagh]

I think I'm being a bit dim here, but can anyone explain how biosecurity measures work, if the 12 hens 6 ducks are roaming over an acre, with a footpath, for example?

Technically they need fencing away from the footpath and foot dips put in place for anyone accessing their run.
Possibly you could put a dip either end of the path? Try here…
https://www.gov.uk/bird-flu

 

[FestiveG]

Technically they need fencing away from the footpath and foot dips put in place for anyone accessing their run.
Possibly you could put a dip either end of the path? Try here…
https://www.gov.uk/bird-flu

Thanks Clodagh, it's a bit academic for me, we gave up hens a while back, but I've noticed local small flocks doing nothing different, regardless of the regs

 

[Nudibranch]

Clodagh I think you're right, it's not going to control anything. It's been here all summer - it's now endemic - and there are indeed carcasses being left along with sick wildfowl.
Just another Defra heavy handed approach which won't solve anything. Easy to declare a housing rule but they'll put so many people out of business. And it's already affecting the survival of rare breed poultry. I used to sell dozens of boxes of hatching eggs each summer - probably 150 or 200. This year I sold 3.

I have some rare breed, free range turkeys which were going to be "processed" in December. I'm going to try and have them done ASAP, and just freeze them as their lives become far less pleasant being locked in a stable for the last couple of months of their existence.

 

[Nudibranch]

What really gets my goat is that I have to lock my birds up yet Wales and Scotland don't. I am literally one field away from Wales - pretty much everything I can see out of the window is Wales. So presumably the wild birds know not to cross the border then?
It was the same with Covid rules. England, Wales and Scotland all doing different things, blatantly out of political point scoring. Does make you wonder just how serious they are about controlling these viruses.

 

[Clodagh]

It is an absolute waste of time and effort. Causing endless misery for nothing.

 

[MagicMelon]

We've got it in Aberdeenshire too, one case only about 3 miles away. Do smallholdings have to keep their chickens inside too if within the zone? My neighbour only has 3 chickens but they're still outside roaming around her garden. Not for me to say, but hope she doesnt get in trouble! Pretty sure they're meant to lock them up (not kind of course but neither is any of this)

 

[Lacuna]

I'm actually surprised that Wales hasn't also had a Housing Order as we have had some big outbreaks at poultry farms. Also seabirds have been started to be spotted round me that are ill/dead - gulls and gannets. In fact all of my chooks have been under cover since Sept.

 

[Clodagh]

It won’t, imo, make a blind bit of difference to the spread if an individuals chickens are shut up or not, but it may make a difference to those particular birds. Mine are shut up as I have been breeding them for many, many generations and I would be so sorry to lose them.
I am also not walking my dogs in any bird flu areas, so no beach for us. Last time I was in an area I bathed the dogs, took the car to the car wash and washed and virkoned everything I had worn.

 

[ElleSkywalkingintheair]

We have a tarp over the top of our chickens run, it had two different types of net over the top anyway, and am not sure fron reading the DEFRA guidelines if the tarp is needed as a roof or if we were fine anyway with the netted roof?!

The tarp had made their run quite dark. The sides are mostly just mesh with one side pretty much fully tarped to so there is light and airflow just looks a bit miserable ?

 

[Burnttoast]

We have a tarp over the top of our chickens run, it had two different types of net over the top anyway, and am not sure fron reading the DEFRA guidelines if the tarp is needed as a roof or if we were fine anyway with the netted roof?!

The tarp had made their run quite dark. The sides are mostly just mesh with one side pretty much fully tarped to so there is light and airflow just looks a bit miserable ?

Netting satisfies defra requirements but obv not really biosecure. My run's 10.5x7m so I can't afford (or work out how) to put a solid roof on. They've been ok the last 2 winters, I just keep my fingers crossed. I have debris netting over mine to stop small birds.

 

[Clodagh]

Mine only have netting but their food and water is undercover.

 

[AmyMay]

I'm actually surprised that Wales hasn't also had a Housing Order as we have had some big outbreaks at poultry farms. Also seabirds have been started to be spotted round me that are ill/dead - gulls and gannets. In fact all of my chooks have been under cover since Sept.

2nd December lockdown day for Wales

 

[Archangel]

Also seabirds have been started to be spotted round me that are ill/dead - gulls and gannets. In fact all of my chooks have been under cover since Sept.

Quite of number of dead seabirds on the beach at Cefn Sidan.

I saw a tit with avian pox on my feeder - rather worrying considering I live in the middle of nowhere.