[doganjo]

Just got this from APHA

   GOV.UK

   Animal & Plant Health Agency


Dear Stakeholder

Due to the risk of avian influenza, new housing measures to protect poultry and captive birds will come into force on 14 December in England, Scotland and Wales. It will be a legal requirement for all bird keepers to keep their birds indoors and to follow strict biosecurity measures. More at GOV.?UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/avian-influenza-bird-flu-national-prevention-zone-declared, GOV.SCOT: https://www.gov.scot/news/new-housing-measures-to-protect-poultry-and-captive-birds-against-avian-flu/ and GOV.WALES: https://gov.wales/new-housing-measures-protect-poultry-and-captive-birds-against-avian-flu

APHA
Level H1 County Hall
Spetchley Road
Worcester
WR5 2NP

Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)
This email and any attachments is intended for the named recipient only.
If you have received it in error you have no authority to use, disclose.
store or copy any of its contents and you should destroy it and inform the sender.
Whilst this email and associated attachments will have been checked for known viruses whilst within APHA systems we can accept no responsibility once it has left our systems.
Communications on APHA computer systems may be monitored and/or recorded to secure the effective operation of the system and for other lawful purposes.
The message send was initiated by Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). Contact apha.corporatecommunications@apha.gov.uk for more information

[Backinwellies]

as predicted ..... 2020 still delivering!!!   

[Kiran]

I'm relatively new to poultry keeping (8 ducks and 5 chickens). At the moment I can comply by the fact that the birds already have a fully netted run but I imagine they've become quite used to having the space of roaming withings 100m of poultry netting. Appreciate it's a bit of a "how long's a piece of string" question, but any ideas how long the birds are likely to be locked down? I may be able to rig up something with pigeon netting, posts and wire rope but I dont have any real inside space to keep them at the moment and I'm just thinking about what would be best for them. Any thoughts?

Thanks

[harmony]

I'm relatively new to poultry keeping (8 ducks and 5 chickens). At the moment I can comply by the fact that the birds already have a fully netted run but I imagine they've become quite used to having the space of roaming withings 100m of poultry netting. Appreciate it's a bit of a "how long's a piece of string" question, but any ideas how long the birds are likely to be locked down? I may be able to rig up something with pigeon netting, posts and wire rope but I dont have any real inside space to keep them at the moment and I'm just thinking about what would be best for them. Any thoughts?

Thanks

Nobody knows the answer to that. Bit like "when will the Covid crisis be over?". Plan on it lasting to Spring and hope it is gone before.

[Richmond]

As others on here have said, "inside" doesn't necessarily mean inside a building, just in an area covered in a way that wild birds cannot enter, eg a pen with netting or tarpaulin over the top. It's very frustrating not knowing when the lockdown will end but I would plan for the long haul. You don't have many birds - can you set up two pens or more that you can switch between over the weeks to prevent any one area getting too soiled? Presume your chickens are separate from your ducks anyway.

[Fleecewife]

The danger to much of the country comes from migrating birds, so once they've left in spring, our captive birds could be let loose again.


Another danger is from the import of livestock birds from the continent, so that risk may well not decline at the same time.


However, the last time we had to lock down our birds, it did end in spring so 


For deciding how best to work things for your hens, think of the 'five freedoms':

1)Freedom from hunger or thirst by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour


2)Freedom from discomfort by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area


3)Freedom from pain, injury or disease by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment


4)Freedom to express (most) normal behaviour by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal's own kind


5)Freedom from fear and distress by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering

So you have to balance 3) against the other points, while ensuring you are also guarding against predators.
 
We found last time that our hens actually loved spending the winter in our large polytunnel, escaping from their usual battle with snow and rain. They didn't seem to miss the ranging at all.  We provide them with vitamin filled alternatives such as peck rings: 
https://www.chubbymealworms.co.uk/collections/chicken-treats-1/products/feathers-beaky-fruit-berry-mega-peck-it?variant=20245959737417
and fresh veg and herbs (what's remaining growing in the tunnel) and sometimes a square of turf as even hens do like some grass.  Don't forget their dustbath!

[DippyEgg]

Thinking I could mine in the green house for a bit, but I don't have perchea in there. Any ideas of how to easily to stand alone removeable perches?

[Womble]

DippyEgg, just get some fallen branches from the wood and tie them up securely. No fuss, no cost.

[Fleecewife]

Thinking I could mine in the green house for a bit, but I don't have perchea in there. Any ideas of how to easily to stand alone removeable perches?

Cut a wooden triangle for each end with a slot to support the perch.  Nail the perch to these to hold them secure, the triangles stop them tipping.  Hens prefer square section perches to narrow round ones. We stand ours on the greenhouse benches.  Even in winter the temperature can get very hot inside a greenhouse, so ventilate and cover the roof for shade

[DippyEgg]

Thanks Womble and Fleecewife. The perches in the henhouse are actually removeable, perhaps .i could just hang them up in the greenhouse. We do have a run attached to the henhouse, but it gets quite muddy in there when they're in there all the time.

[Kiran]

So the ducks seem blissfully ignorant to the whole situation with the exception of when a pair of wild ducks visit "their" pond. They spend most of the day chilling in the sun or splashing about in their temporary plastic box pond. The chickens however seem to get a bit more put out so been trying to find ways to occupy them. Moved the stuff in the run about a few times, also chucked in the odd whole corn on the cob for them to demolish

[wildandwooly]

We're the same here. My miniature Appleyard ducks are just carrying on regardless but with similar plastic big shallow trug to have a swim and happily splashing around as usual but are noticing the wild mallards seem to be using the pond! Gandalf the drake seems to be just as busy 
Chickens are not so happy as they're usually completely free range like the ducks but queue up at the gate to their walk in run whenever I'm around hoping to be let out    I'm doing same moving things around in their run and tying up vegetable 'pinatas' for them to keep them busy and 'footballs' of various veggie kinds so they can have their own lockdown footie matches 
I hope it's going to end soon poor things but haven't heard anything so far 

[Kiran]

I like the vegetable football idea, also saw a friend post about cutting a whole through a cabbage and hanging it so it spins when the chickens peck and pull the leaves off. The theory being it stays a bit fresh for longer I think.