[Ghdp]

That would read DEEP wood chippings if I did not have such fat fingers.

[Dans]

We threw down a thin layer of indoor bedding last week, Fresh Bed it's called. The chickens got very excited and had a good old scratch around in it. It's starting to get a bit dirty now with all the wet the weather and poop so I'm going to top it up tomorrow. It actually went a lot further than I expected so fingers crossed it doesn't end up costing me an arm and a leg.

The winds took down the tarp we'd been using across the entrance to the goose polytunnel so we fitted some old doors to it yesterday. Unfortunately I saw a sparrow in there this morning. It went out under the bottom of the polytunnel, the covering doesn't reach the ground in everyspot, the gap is just about enough for a song bird. Not sure what I can do about that. Hubby keeps reminding me that it's a lot less contact with wild birds than if the geese were outside but one bird is all it takes. Feels a bit like if the sparrow is still getting in then I may as well let them out and have some grass.

As Ghdp said, only 6 more weeks!

Dans

[Fleecewife]

Can you pile up soil around the bottom of the tunnel?  That's enough to block sparrow sized access points.  If not soil then anything else such as old hessian sacks, straw.

[ColinS]

Unfortunately I saw a sparrow in there this morning.

I know it sounds daft but, if you have the room I think feeding the wild birds in one area away from your pens and doing everything you can to scare them away from the pens is perhaps a useful bit of added security. Can't help thinking that for geese and people with free-range operations that are too big for temporary housing to be a workable solution some of the bird scarer techniques used by arable farmers might be worth considering. (I'm ahead of the game here as my normal appearance is enough to frighten most things)

[Womble]

I'm struggling looking at mine, can't stand seeing such a mess.

Actually, I've been really surprised at how well ours have done so far.

The hens are in a pen made from about eight lambing hurdles. They're criss-crossed with lengths of timber, with a tarp and some old windsurfer sails stretched over the top to make a roof. I expected the ground to be disgusting by now, but actually it's still looking pretty good. Maybe that's because we only have six hens at the moment, or perhaps it's because we're keeping the rain off. It's working though, so I'm not going to mess with it.

The ducks are in a bay of the lambing shed, and we throw fresh hemcore down every day (deep litter method), which keeps things bearable. The key thing was that we cut a hole through the wall to give them an 0.5m² outside area enclosed with netting, and with a board on top. We put a few barrow loads of gravel down to help drainage, and then use that area for their water bucket. Ducks are going to splash and dabble, but because they can only wet the well drained outside bit, their main inside pen is actually not too hard to keep sanitary.

Obviously everybody's situation is different, but perhaps that's helpful to some?

[in the hills]

Confirmed case at  commercial turkey farm in Lincolnshire.

DEFRA have produced guidance sheet for keepers of Gamebirds.

[harmony]

There is also a list of approved disinfectants and the amount to use in the solution so people can check what they are using is effective.

[ColinS]

Confirmed case at  commercial turkey farm in Lincolnshire.

New case is only 200 yards from the Louth Canal and the first one was right next to the same Canal - makes you wonder given how the virus seems to spread easily amongst water birds. From the map it seems the flow down the canal is in the direction from the first case towards the second.

[Hevxxx99]

Interesting. I assume DEFRA have noticed this?

[Marches Farmer]

Just been reading about the Red-Necked Phalarope (bear with me on this).  Wader the size of a skylark.  Nests on Fetlar in the Shetlands then flies across Iceland, Greenland, down the eastern seaboard of the USA and overwinters in Chile and Peru, then flies back in the Spring (16,000 miles).  Not much one can do about that (except, of course, gasp in amazement at the fortitude of such a small bird).  Based on migrating birds making those long inter-Continental  journeys  we may have to live with H5Nsomething on a regular basis now it's been identified and is a threat to commercial flocks.  Might be an idea to look at preparing for wintering your birds inside ready for the next time (and there will be a next time).  If the covered run area has to be on the earth, for instance, covering it with an old tarpaulin from early Autumn would dry the ground and make it less liable to turn to slurry after they've been contained for a while.

[ColinS]

Interesting. I assume DEFRA have noticed this?

One would assume so! What gets me is that, with the exception of the Bernard Matthews case, DEFRA have always said in press releases that they are investigating the source of the outbreak but I have never found a published conclusion for these investigations. Since we are the PBI fighting this war it would help to know what those conclusions were even if, in the words of Private Frazer it's "We're all doomed" 

[Womble]

DEFRA have produced guidance sheet for keepers of Gamebirds.

Has anybody got a link?  I can't find it.  (I'm interested, because gamebirds are about as close as the rules get to semi-wild birds like our Peafowl).

[Rosemary]

  Based on migrating birds making those long inter-Continental  journeys  we may have to live with H5Nsomething on a regular basis now it's been identified and is a threat to commercial flocks.  Might be an idea to look at preparing for wintering your birds inside ready for the next time (and there will be a next time).  If the covered run area has to be on the earth, for instance, covering it with an old tarpaulin from early Autumn would dry the ground and make it less liable to turn to slurry after they've been contained for a while.

I think you're spot on MF. We should see this as a wakeup call. It is likely that this will become a regular, if not annual situation. We had a horrid wet winter last year and I reckon my birds are as happy this year inside as they were out in the mud last year. Just going to sow more cabbages and greens this summer, for them for next winter 

[Hevxxx99]

With any luck, "they"ll produce a vaccine for the commercial flocks before too long.  As there are flu vaccines for humans, it must surely be possible?

[Marches Farmer]

Mmm, a bit like human 'flu I'd guess.  You wouldn't know which strain was going to prevail until it had already hit.