[NewLifeOnTheFarm]

Scotland has issues the same poultry lockdown as England, I can't see Wales not following suit.

My hens and ducks are locked into their pens, I've put food and water in the sheds in the hope it will keep wild birds away. Need to figure a way of covering the pens.

Does any one know if this is likely to after availability of fresh poultry/birds for Christmas? * praying I won't be in the frozen aisle!*

[Womble]

If you mean droppings - dig them in, perfect fertiliser 

I'd love to do that, but our polytunnel is carpeted! 

[harmony]

Posh Brown,our chicken who has been sick and in isolation for a week, is off to the vets this afternoon for swabs to be taken - please keep your fingers crossed that it is mycoplasma and not a strain of avian flu.  Our lovely vet says he thinks that is what is it but he is duty bound to do the tests.  Fingers crossed for my girls please.   

If she's not posh she will certainly be expensive! Hope you get her sorted 

[harmony]

Does any one know if this is likely to after availability of fresh poultry/birds for Christmas? * praying I won't be in the frozen aisle!*

Without a doubt! Could be good for other meat sales too!

[Marches Farmer]

I've just put my new APHA Keep Out sign on the gate - don't want feed delivery lorries or LPG tankers that might have been on poultry farms before delivering to us.

[Somewhere_by_the_river]

Just in case people aren't sure - it is in place in Wales too as of yesterday... (thank you TAS - we don't/can't watch TV so only read about it here so have just checked to make sure!) Bit of a nightmare when you are moving, how to manage that?!

http://gov.wales/topics/environmentcountryside/ahw/disease/avianflu/?lang=en

Bit of useful info from the Welsh gov. site:

Do I need to house my birds now?

No. We are not requiring that flocks are housed at a national level. We do, however, advise that birds are kept away from wild birds wherever possible by feeding and watering birds under cover. Bird feed and any standing water should be kept free from contamination by wild birds and other animals. Poultry owners should make sure that hands, clothes and footwear are clean before and after contact with birds. Owners need to be vigilant and monitor their birds frequently.
What should I look out for?

Typically the signs of disease show suddenly with affected birds showing:

•     swelling of the head
      a blue discolouration of the neck and throat area
      dullness
      a loss of appetite
      respiratory distress
      diarrhoea
      a drop in egg production.

Some birds, especially waterfowl, can be infected with Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza (LPAI) without showing any signs of disease. However, there can be considerable variation in the clinical signs and severity of the disease.

[in the hills]

Thank you Some-where-by-the-river.

Wales as well, then.

Did you copy the 'Do I need to house my birds now?' question from the 'Frequently Asked Questions' section?

This seems to have been last updated in August 2015 and the information doesn't really fit in with the guidelines on the main page which is dated yesterday

Have they not updated that. Doesn't seem to make sense otherwise.

[Backinwellies]

Are you moving Some-where-by-the-river?

[Somewhere_by_the_river]

...Yes in the hills, but our internet is so bad that when I realised I couldn't get it to 'play' well enough to edit! (Behaving for 5 seconds now so taking advantage.) However, figured some of it was useful still...

Sadly yes, Linda, landlord is selling, which was a major shock at the time, very out of the blue. Won't be too far away though - will pm you...

[mojocafa]

I am almost prepared with regards to chickens 

What are folks doing with regards to geese as ideally they need to graze on grass, any suggestions appreciated

[Liz Kershaw]

We're going to put ours plus coop in the fruit cage - at least there's not too much they can damage at this time of year. But ... small birds get in anyway, we've never worked out how. And there's the pheasant problem as already mentioned ... we live in the middle of a shoot and seem to be the refuge of choice for all the savvy ones. I've contacted the CA (if anyone was wondering) and apparently pheasants are classed as wild once released, so won't be subject to any restrictions. So they will be thumbing their beaks at my caged-up birds. Not sure when we can do the fruit cage transfer though - what with having to work in daylight hours n'all.

[Fleecewife]

Mine will have to go into the polytunnel, with mesh over the louvres.  Just as well it's winter so not too hot.  The geese will feast on the brassicas, and the hens will just scratch up everything else, so bye-bye our winter veg    and Christmas brussels.


What happens at the end of 4 weeks?  These restrictions could go on for ages if the flu makes it over the North Sea.


It's not been said, but poultry breeders should get vaccinated against human flu. They should anyway, but with avian and human flu on the go at the same time, the opportunity for a hybrid strain is increased.

[Penninehillbilly]

Thought I'd posted once, must have lost it.
Geese don't have to be housed, but feed and water in a covered area where wild birds can be deterred,  so if fed inside at nights should be OK.
Its where wId birds collect and leave mess seems to be the worry.

[davet]

Geese don't have to be housed, but feed and water in a covered area where wild birds can be deterred,  so if fed inside at nights should be OK.

Do you have a citation for this?  Trying to work out where to put the various flocks here ATM.

Thanks

[LeeH]

I don't know what to do.

We have 11 birds but the house is only for roosting. It's a great house but no way big enough to keep them in all day. 

The run it too big to cover so apart from making up the spare room for them I'm at a loss. :-(