[Fleecewife]

The situation is now ridiculous. We are told that commercial eggs are going to cost twice as much at least and yet the Government is putting small producers out of business with these never ending restrictions and forcing us to compromise the welfare of our birds. The only advantage small producers have with egg production is that we have genuinely free range birds (when they're not under lockdown rules) and people understand that commercial free range is more 'the chance to free range' or 'might be free range'.
The cases now seem to be in commercial premises only, unless someone has heard differently, and is probably being passed directly from one premise to another. Where we are, there have been no migrating geese for months - they're all playing happy families back in the far north - or any other migrating birds.
Why is there no vaccine? We have vaccines for so many bird diseases, why not this one?
My patience has run out 

[Nelson International]

Yup. To be honest practically no one near us (other then us) seems to pay any attention to the regulations at all, but we're now at six months in with no sign of ever getting out. I think some sort of rethink is in order.

[doganjo]

Same here - no sign of any migratory birds, no incidents anywhere near, so I'm going to let mine out in o their small extended paddock for a short time today - under supervision as I'll be in the orchard with the dogs so no birds will get near.

[chrismahon]

The rules here are simple- if there is an outbreak within 1Km your birds are slaughtered, whether they are in a covered run or not. Was on the news yesterday (not election stuff for a change) that there are 37 different places in the Dordogne with avian flu and the whole Department is locked down. The number of birds in France slaughtered so far was previously 6 million, but I don't know what the total is now. There are a few migratory birds arriving, but to my mind these multiple cases must be internally transmitted, because they are all so localised. Most of the previous outbreaks were in Landes, which is the far Southwest, putting many producers out of business- the third year in a row all their birds have been slaughtered. I don't know what the financial compensation is, if any? Landes is a flat area with lots of lakes, so a lot of migrating birds. The Dordogne is rocks and trees mainly, from what I can remember, so I don't know what migratory birds they have?


Ours are out of their runs, but ranging in electrified enclosures because foxes and dogs (not strays) are their main enemy. Had a sheepdog run at an enclosure yesterday- frightened the chickens, but it was actually collecting a frisbee that had been thrown by its owner into our garden! That was the second dog in the garden this week.

[Womble]

One thing that occurred to me - usually our birds free range over a large area, and have never been troubled by worms.

However, now they're now always in the same small space, and the weather is getting warmer, we're going to worm them as a precaution.

[Rosemary]

Like most, I am also fed up with this. The commercial producers have simply accepted the relabelling - because, let's face it, their birds didn't go out anyway.

There seems to be no effort by those in power to find any solution other than increasingly longer lockdowns.

We're letting our hen numbers run down form 100 to a few for our own use. Sad, because folk like the eggs.

[Rupert the bear]

A visit ! well almost . Had a phone call " we are at your gate, can we come in to check your birds ? "
Its a trick question, so I rode up to the gate to see "them" .
Apparently we are now in a 10km Surveillance Zone, better news sort of, but no visit , see the notice you required me to fix to the gate ?  Its instructions still stands and where else have you been today ? Yes the birds are still confined,do you want a photograph of them ?

 

I'm too old and ugly to deal with these chancers, now if they had made an appointment, had clean footwear and coveralls and willing to shower in, they may have been allowed in , we used to play this one on them when I was on the pig unit 

Yes I know my card is marked......

[chrismahon]

Nice one Rupert- spot on decision. It might be them that's spreading it around the Country!

[Backinwellies]

my birds went out into enclosed garden a month ago (we are 1/4 mile from neighbours)  .......   winter migrating birds have gone home to breed .... continuting this lockdown for small garden flocks is nuts....    as with Covid ... you can just lock everybody/bird up forever !

[doganjo]

I did what I said I'd do in my last post. Girls were out fro about 3 hours while the dogs wandered round chasing teh pigeons and crows and I worked in the garden.  Too cold for gardening today, so I'll take the dogs for  a walk later (well one of them, Missy has a sore paw and is liming - need to investigate that), then let them out for an hour and watch them having hen fun while I sit with a warming hot chocoloate

[Fleecewife]

Is there a way of finding out what the intentions of AH/Gov are for Avian Influenza? What official channels are open to us to find out?  I feel it's time to present the case for small keepers as opposed to the commercial enterprises, as we are just being lumped together. [member=13]Rosemary[/member]  being the acknowledged smallholders rep in Scotland, you know all these things - what can we do? Because even if lockdown is ended right now, which it won't be, if there's not a change in policy then come November we'll be right back here, if anyone continues to keep small scale free range hens.

[twizzel]

Is there a way of finding out what the intentions of AH/Gov are for Avian Influenza? What official channels are open to us to find out?  I feel it's time to present the case for small keepers as opposed to the commercial enterprises, as we are just being lumped together. [member=13]Rosemary[/member]  being the acknowledged smallholders rep in Scotland, you know all these things - what can we do? Because even if lockdown is ended right now, which it won't be, if there's not a change in policy then come November we'll be right back here, if anyone continues to keep small scale free range hens.

To be fair if they treated smallholders differently with chickens and bird flu, then where do the boundaries end- do smallholders deserve to get treated differently with TB and cattle ? It’s all about disease control and limitation, you can’t say smallholders can let their birds out, and not tb test their cattle just because they have small numbers. The risk is lower but it’s still there.

[Womble]

This is true, but the risk OF what, and TO what / who?

As I understand it, what we're trying to do here is prevent transmission between commercial flocks, and between wild birds to captive birds, and then back again. The ultimate aim is to prevent commercial losses, and ultimately to prevent mutation and transmission to and then between humans.

Looking at the situation now, it seems that what the restrictions achieve is firstly to reduce the risk of captive birds contracting it, and then to make sure all the bodies are in the same place so they can be collected without transmission back to wild birds can occur. The debate is whether that risk is (still) real or not.

Am I right in thinking that previously restrictions have been lifted just before the window elapsed where eggs can no longer be labelled as free range? Since we've now passed that magic date, I doubt there's any impetus to push for restrictions to be lifted now?

[cans]

             Government to lower Britain's bird flu risk level

The government is expected to relax Britain's strict biosecurity measures in place since last autumn to help stem the UK's largest ever outbreak of bird flu.

Defra is expected to reduce the bird flu risk level for wild birds from 'very high' to 'high' and 'medium' to 'low' for poultry.

An announcement to lift the mandatory housing order is also expected to be made later on Monday (25 April).

The order was introduced on 29 November 2021 to help stem the UK's worst ever outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza.

The measure meant it was a legal requirement for all farmers and keepers to keep their birds indoors and to follow strict biosecurity measures.

https://www.farminguk.com/news/Government-to-lower-Britain-s-bird-flu-risk-level_60268.html

[in the hills]

A neighbour did write to the Department of Rural Affairs (Wales) about this.  The reply was a bit rambling but the last paragraph said something to the effect of.... we agree that the situation is not sustainable for birds that are used to free ranging and we are looking into what lessons can be learnt regarding how we deal with future outbreaks ?