[desertmum]

It's a bit like Chicken Run here at the moment!  They hear us coming and are at the door ready to make a run for it!

So mine had half a cabbage today which some of them liked and others ignored, they have a CD hanging from the roof that they just ignore.  I put a plastic chair in with them for something else to perch on - not overly interested.  Then I put a large cardboard box on it's side filled with shavings and chopped hay - they LOVE it!  In and out, in and out. 

Happy chooks!   

[Fleecewife]

Forecast says big winds coming for much of Britain over the next week.  Now's the time to check your run coverings etc won't just blow off.

[big soft moose]

Looking on the very slim bright side (I'm a glass half full kind of guy) the storm is due from the west - this will push birds migrating south from russia/scandinavia etc eastwards and make it less likely that infected birds will make British landfall

[Daisys Mum]

Should you really throw them windfall apples though?

Presumably these are from an area open to wild birds so could be contaminated. I nearly did the same today but then thought the blackbirds had been pecking them

That thought did occur to me so checked that they had not been pecked and gave them a wash too!

[big soft moose]

Should you really throw them windfall apples though?

Presumably these are from an area open to wild birds so could be contaminated. I nearly did the same today but then thought the blackbirds had been pecking them

That thought did occur to me so checked that they had not been pecked and gave them a wash too!

a dowsing with boiling water , or freezing them ought to kill any remaining virus strands ... also the chances of it being communicated by resident blackbirds is pretty slim

[in the hills]

Ban on poultry gatherings announced from today.

[pgkevet]

All OH's totally ignore cabbage or lettuce. They're used to having unlimited ranging (although they generally stick to the 3 acre curtilage). Stir-crazy sums it up.

a dowsing with boiling water , or freezing them ought to kill any remaining virus strands

Where did that come from? Genrally freezing preserves viruses. Boiling water might well do the job depending on the individual viruses senstivity... time and timeperature. You'ld probably do better rinsing them in dilute bleach or in virkon etc then washing that off. Of course the cabbage or lettuce etc also came from outdoors.....

The best thing to come of penning them up is that the house pathways aren't covered in bird-poo...

[ColinS]

From this paper I believe that a pH of less than 5.0 (which can be obtained with the normal 10ml/litre solution of apple cider vinegar) will inactivate flu viruses. So I reckon putting any feed into water with this amount of ACV should help.

http://www.jbc.org/content/262/36/17744.full.pdf

The paper is very heavy going though!

[pgkevet]

I had a quick scan through that paper and unless i missed something (possible) then at pH5 there was no inactivation at 0C although there was at pH 4.8. The relevance  of winter.. though if you're rinsing stuff indoors that doesn't apply but they also gave it 5 mins treatment. As I recall my chemistry pH is log to the base10 of Hydrogen ion concentration. So a dilution to 10% will (generally) change pH by 1. So It depends on the pH of your starting solution ... not all apple cider vinegar will be the same. This is also an unbuffered solution so it's use will change pH. having the means to check pH could be useful.. either a cheapo garden pH meter or some pH sticks (urine ones would do)

[ColinS]

Yes, the effect at low temperatures seems to be by a different mechanism. I have had a look around and all the ACV I can find is listed as 5% which is about 0.9 Molar. I found this handy little page which suggests that a 10ml/litre dilution to just under 0.01M and even 1ml/litre (0.001M) gives a pH well below 4:-

http://depts.washington.edu/chem/facilserv/lecturedemo/pHofAceticAcid-UWDept.ofChemistry.html

I got some Universal indicator paper from Rapidonline.co.uk for a couple of quid that allowed me to make a reasonable check.

I have also added ACV to the bird-baths for the wild birds in the hope that this might just make the bath less of a risk to spreading the virus (I think its perhaps significant that water birds in the wild seem to get it and I wonder if this is that infected ones contaminate whole ponds which their mates all puddle about in while other birds just infect a few patched of ground where their poop lands.)

[Hevxxx99]

As I remember, a very dilute solution of citric acid wiped out Foot and Mouth virus. Maybe that'd be a more quantifiable means of acidifying water?  I believe it's still available at feed merchants.

[madchickenlady]

Just bought half a dozen fat ball feeders which I stuff with various veggies, they love pecking at these, I also put in some apples from the store but what with that and lettuce for the ducks its costing me a packet and the houses need cleaning out far more often so more straw and shavings. Still at least I only have a few, it must be so much worse for those of you with large flocks or with breeds that need to be kept separate - really feel for you 

[mentalmilly]

I have just been told that a dead Wigeon has been found in Llanelli, Wales, and has been confirmed as having bird flu.  Its getting closer to me now, near Carmarthen.  Despite locking my chucks up and keeping them from wild birds etc etc,  if they all get bird flu and die ( worse case scenario) what do l do with the bodies, anyone know? They are all healthy at the moment but it did occur to me that disposal of any carcases has not been mentioned. Just wondering.

[harmony]

I have just been told that a dead Wigeon has been found in Llanelli, Wales, and has been confirmed as having bird flu.  Its getting closer to me now, near Carmarthen.  Despite locking my chucks up and keeping them from wild birds etc etc,  if they all get bird flu and die ( worse case scenario) what do l do with the bodies, anyone know? They are all healthy at the moment but it did occur to me that disposal of any carcases has not been mentioned. Just wondering.

If you get it then the officials will descend and tell you exactly what you need to do.

[in the hills]

I read somewhere that incorrect disposal of infected birds had the  potential to spread the disease.

Think I would contact the vet in the worse case scenario and get them to advise.

I'm in Wales too. Let's hope it doesn't come to that