[ColinS]

Yes, I was wondering why it seems outbreaks at large turkey farms are common. The RSPCA publication "The Welfare of turkeys Information Sheet 2013" on how they operate and some of the problems (e.g. foot-pad lesions) is quite thought-provoking (sorry I would give a link but it goes to an automatic PDF download so you need to google it).

It occurred to me that, given that an intensive turkey farm is virtually a single organism with several thousand beaks it would be the perfect virus detector for virus in the feed. No scientific test could detect 0.1g of virus-infected grain in 10 tons of feed but a big turkey farm possibly would.

[Dans]

Found a dead wood pigeon under the leylandi last week. Called DEFRA but they are only interested if you find more than 1 at a time. They just said to double bag it and put in general waste.

Found a collared dove dead in the same spot yesterday. It's making me very nervous.

Dans

[Penninehillbilly]

I'm confused, are there 2 outbreaks in Lancashire?  I'm seeing Preston and  Preesall, which is out at Fleetwood?

[chrismahon]

New outbreak just outside Paris has been on the midday news. They are blaming wild birds and then showed video footage of pheasants inside and outside the enclosures. So are they blaming wild pheasants?

[doganjo]

This is all I can find -

Bird flu detected in 10,000 pheasants at farm in Preston

Defra says all surviving pheasants are to be culled

The H5N8 bird flu strain has been found in poultry in Lancashire,two separate poultry farms in Lincolnshire, and backyard flocks in Settle, North Yorkshire, and Carmarthenshire.

Restrictions remain in place at one of the Lincolnshire farms, located in East Lindsey, but have been lifted in nearby Louth. The cases in Settle and Carmarthenshire continue to be subject to protection zones, according to Defra’s website.

[harmony]

I'm confused, are there 2 outbreaks in Lancashire?  I'm seeing Preston and  Preesall, which is out at Fleetwood?

It is Hy Fly Pheasant Hatcheries at Preesall.

[Penninehillbilly]

A gov.uk site says Preston, then as you go into the site it says Wyre. Someone nends to decide where it Is!

[harmony]

A gov.uk site says Preston, then as you go into the site it says Wyre. Someone nends to decide where it Is!

Google Hy Fly Hatcheries and you'll see where they are

[in the hills]

The 'game farm' that is local to us, sets over 600,000 eggs per week and rears over 1.5 million poults  per year at 39 sites across Mid Wales and Shropshire.

The brood pens are on grass. Wondering if they will all be bird proofed this year and what bio security measures will be in place.

Will they be allowed to re?Ease poults in the late spring if this continues.

Reared outdoors, transported all over the country, released, flushed from field to field, 4x4's driving from farm to farm, and so on.

It is a wonderful, moving host site for bird flu, surely?!  Seems perfect to me.

[Womble]

One passage says backyard poultry were less likely to get it than the commercial units, (as I read it) because of genetic weakness (inbreeding? )......

Perhaps not inbreeding, but rather lack of genetic diversity?

It is a wonderful, moving host site for bird flu, surely?!  Seems perfect to me.

So what if a pheasant farm gets infected, but don't realise it a the time due to the incubation period? Those birds are then transported all over the country and released into the wild.

Mind blown!!

[in the hills]

I think each batch of poults is supposedly vet checked before leaving the site. Could they tell if there was infection if it were in the incubation period. I did read that the incubation period was 2 weeks.

I think they would then go into holding pens when they arrive at their destination. These are usually fenced areas of woodland. Rather difficult to cover and bird proof!

Just seems very risky considering how we are being asked to keep our few birds. Money talks, I suppose.

Sorry, rather frustrated at keeping mine in when nearly every other chicken for miles around is out and the pheasants are mulling round the pens all day long. 

[Anke]

Seems that pigeons fanciers are "exempt" from the ban on poultry etc events.... they just had their annual event at Blackpool last weekend, only billed as the biggest in the country... where I can see it is difficult to keep pigeons inside, why was the event not cancelled like all the other poultry shows at the moment...

[harmony]

I think each batch of poults is supposedly vet checked before leaving the site. Could they tell if there was infection if it were in the incubation period. I did read that the incubation period was 2 weeks.

I think they would then go into holding pens when they arrive at their destination. These are usually fenced areas of woodland. Rather difficult to cover and bird proof!

Just seems very risky considering how we are being asked to keep our few birds. Money talks, I suppose.

Sorry, rather frustrated at keeping mine in when nearly every other chicken for miles around is out and the pheasants are mulling round the pens all day long. 

The owner of Hy Fly Hatcheries thinks he may go bankrupt. How many people with small backyard flocks risk bankruptcy should they get bird flu? I know many keep rare breeds and yes that is an issue.


It is actually mind blowing to know how much stock is moved daily throughout the country let alone poultry and how many peoples livelihood is directly or indirectly at risk in times of disease.


In the Foot and Mouth of 2001 we considered slaughtering our sows because it was a "hobby" to us but around us there were whole generations of farmers with valuable stock who had far more to lose.


I suspect many larger poultry operations have indeed had to implement at huge expense bird proofing measures.

[ColinS]

Found a dead wood pigeon under the leylandi last week. Called DEFRA but they are only interested if you find more than 1 at a time. They just said to double bag it and put in general waste.
Dans

So that will presumably end up on a landfill site that looks like this:-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/gloucestershire/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_8367000/8367792.stm

Sound advice I'm sure.

[harmony]

Found a dead wood pigeon under the leylandi last week. Called DEFRA but they are only interested if you find more than 1 at a time. They just said to double bag it and put in general waste.
Dans

So that will presumably end up on a landfill site that looks like this:-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/gloucestershire/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_8367000/8367792.stm

Sound advice I'm sure.

......and if it was one of your chickens you would be expected to have it collected and disposed of properly not popped in the wheelie bin!