[harmony]

The more diagnostic tools you have and the more often you use them the more diseases you find ....?

Quite possibly and we no longer blame the gods, witches etc

[ellied]

Millions of folk put out bird feeders of many kinds to attract as many possible species as possible over winter.  The RSPB is still encouraging this actively and indeed carrying out another annual birdwatch at the end of January to see how many people can spot, so all the bird food (with RSPB subsidising costs of feed bought from their online shop to encourage more varieties to be sold) is being bought up by keen supporters of keeping fluffy birds well fed.

Has nobody actually thought about the potential impact of bringing loads of wild birds together to feeding stations where they normally wouldn't mix?  Or are garden birds supposed to be completely immune to avian flu in which case why are we supposed to at all costs prevent one of them from pooping on our locked up chooks or stealing in to nick a bit of corn through the mesh and tarp constructions? 

Government communication is incredibly poor but the messages are so contradictory that Joe Public is uninformed about the risks of bird flu at all AND being encouraged to bring as many wild birds together in one place as they can possibly manage.  Those with poultry keeping neighbours are not making things any easier to live with, but you can't say a thing because their activities are completely legal, sanctioned and promoted all round..

Just hope 28 Feb is the end of it for this year but like others I imagine we need to plan for lock downs every year in future, just in case.

[Marches Farmer]

Back in a time of a previous climate crisis, in the Middle Ages, there were epidemics of 'murrain'.  I'm not sure what it was, probably several things, but it seemed to knock out a large number of farm animals and crops, leading to starvation amongst the population.

I think it was also the fifth plague of Egypt, that killed all the Egyptian cattle.  I'd guess it was an umbrella term applied to all mystery illnesses - foot & mouth disease, redwater fever and so on.

[ColinS]

Millions of folk put out bird feeders of many kinds to attract as many possible species as possible over winter.  The RSPB is still encouraging this actively and indeed carrying out another annual birdwatch at the end of January to see how many people can spot, so all the bird food (with RSPB subsidising costs of feed bought from their online shop to encourage more varieties to be sold) is being bought up by keen supporters of keeping fluffy birds well fed.

Has nobody actually thought about the potential impact of bringing loads of wild birds together to feeding stations where they normally wouldn't mix?  Or are garden birds supposed to be completely immune to avian flu in which case why are we supposed to at all costs prevent one of them from pooping on our locked up chooks or stealing in to nick a bit of corn through the mesh and tarp constructions? 

Government communication is incredibly poor but the messages are so contradictory that Joe Public is uninformed about the risks of bird flu at all AND being encouraged to bring as many wild birds together in one place as they can possibly manage.  Those with poultry keeping neighbours are not making things any easier to live with, but you can't say a thing because their activities are completely legal, sanctioned and promoted all round..

I have badgered the RSPB to issue some prominent advice to the public about what people should do. Since about 50% of the adult population in the UK put up at least one bird feeder it is certainly one of the ways we could influence the spread of all avian disease. Unfortunately there are some in the RSPB who want to believe the spread of AI is entirely down to poultry movements.

To be fair to the RSPB they have standing advice to their members about disinfecting feeders regularly (mainly to prevent the spread of trichomonosis). While I think the RSPB could have done more to reiterate the importance of disinfecting feeders DEFRA and the BBC come in for the same criticism as, between them, they could have made sure everyone in the country knew about the disease while I'm still bumping into people who have no idea about it.

Personally I think having people stopping feeding the birds does the poultry keeper no favours. My experience of feeding the wild birds near the house and (with appropriate use of disinfectant on boots going in and out) stomping about the fields myself (a very unpleasant looking bird scarer I can assure you) I have remarkably little bird activity where I don't want it. Even the heron (who of course is not given to hanging from peanut feeders) has rather given up on visiting the pond. So my guess is that the little birds are less likely to break into your pens after food if someone down the lane is feeding them.

BTW - we disinfect the wild bird feeders and renew and acidify the water every day (though I doubt everyone is going to these lengths)

[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?

Probably possible, but almost certainly totally un-economic for smaller flocks... I sure I really do not want to start injecting my chickens as well as everything else...

I imagine commercial flocks already vaccinate against Marecks and possibly Salmonella (is that even possible?) so I'd guess it'd just become another rotine jab to protect their assets.  I don't imagine small flock keepers would bother. 

After all, this lock-down is about protecting the commercial flocks, not the backyard/pet owners.

[Victorian Farmer]

Poultry producers have criticised the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust who confirmed four cases of the H5N8 bird flu strain were found in dead birds at its Slimbridge reserve during December, but remains open to the public with the birds outside: http://bit.ly/2iFqxEQ all birds and fawl  no point us keeping oure stock in

[Penninehillbilly]

Millions of folk put out bird feeders of many kinds to attract as many possible species as possible over winter.  The RSPB is still encouraging this actively and indeed carrying out another annual birdwatch at the end of January to see how many people can spot, so all the bird food (with RSPB subsidising costs of feed bought from their online shop to encourage more varieties to be sold) is being bought up by keen supporters of keeping fluffy birds well fed.

Has nobody actually thought about the potential impact of bringing loads of wild birds together to feeding stations where they normally wouldn't mix?  Or are garden birds supposed to be completely immune to avian flu in which case why are we supposed to at all costs prevent one of them from pooping on our locked up chooks or stealing in to nick a bit of corn through the mesh and tarp constructions? 

Government communication is incredibly poor but the messages are so contradictory that Joe Public is uninformed about the risks of bird flu at all AND being encouraged to bring as many wild birds together in one place as they can possibly manage.  Those with poultry keeping neighbours are not making things any easier to live with, but you can't say a thing because their activities are completely legal, sanctioned and promoted all round..

Just hope 28 Feb is the end of it for this year but like others I imagine we need to plan for lock downs every year in future, just in case.

Hoping this comes out right this time, too tiny to read in previous attempt. -
I have poultry and we feed wild birds, i reckon if they are going to be pooping they are better doing it in the currently unused garden (which they DO), than down in the shrubs  near the hen huts :-). Maybe different on a migratory route, we only have locals visiting, OH can evenue recognize whos who in his family of robins

[Penninehillbilly]

OH just phoned from near Littleborough, Lancs. Flock of hens wandering loose.

[Marches Farmer]

To be fair, I can see how difficult it could be to spread the word about keeping birds under cover.  Used to be that almost everyone took a daily newspaper and listened to the television news broadcast at 6.00 p.m.  Now the way information is spread is so diverse covering all the options is virtually impossible, especially targeting those whose main interest is tweeting (pun intended).

[ColinS]

To be fair, I can see how difficult it could be to spread the word about keeping birds under cover. 

Well, during the Bernard Matthews outbreak you would have had to live under a rock to avoid the story but this time the BBC have put the stories on the regional pages of their website (e.g. England/Lincolnshire) and been similarly low-key about it on radio and TV.

[Daisys Mum]

Local farm park still had all their hens,turkeys and ducks wandering about as usual last week.

[in the hills]

Well, people local to me, who had originally kept their birds in are now letting them out. They're saying it is pointless given that the vast majority of folk are not following the guidelines, plus the fact that the hundreds of local pheasants are a giant virus pool anyway. Shooting is continuing as normal so the pheasants are constantly on the move being driven from wood to wood and field to field.

Seems that my poor birds are the only ones for miles around that are in lockdown!   

[larrylamb]

There is a local farm come smallholding who have hens free ranging this just off the main A1 and the owner is a VET and all there geese are free & another one local who breeds ducks as well as selling duck eggs have them all loose why bother.

[Herdygirl]

Back in a time of a previous climate crisis, in the Middle Ages, there were epidemics of 'murrain'.  I'm not sure what it was, probably several things, but it seemed to knock out a large number of farm animals and crops, leading to starvation amongst the population.

This is something that I have researched during my history degree.  The murrain was mentioned by several chroniclers and they put it that in the aftermath of the black death ' there was such a decline of the serfs that there was hardly no one left alive to care for the flocks and herds'. There has been speculation amongst archeology historians that foot and mouth could have been the cause but after their examining the remains of large numbers of discovered animals bones, that foot and mouth was not the cause of the high numbers of animals deaths.  What must be remembered is that medieval society did not keep large numbers of animals, as we do today.  There was no need, they only had to raise enough for food and a few over for sale. 

[Fleecewife]

Very interesting Herdygirl.  Is there not also a theory (I must declare here that I failed my history O level) that there was a huge volcanic eruption which kept the sunlight away for a couple of years?  That coupled with the reduction in population after the Black Death would be bound to have a huge impact.  It helps to put our current problems in perspective.
Although no, there's something else today which trumps the lot