Is anyone locking down for Avian flu?

[jools2014]

The article I read did say that they were caged-though it's quite possible they got it wrong (daily mail!)

I am thinking of moving my birds to the top of their henhouse (we have the bottom bricked house and then a second level)-vermin is my no 1 problem right now- I have started setting traps but I can't put poison down just yet as despite me trying to block off the hen house door every night, it might still be possible for mice/rats to get in-they will just chew the door to bits to try and get in the more I block it as it's the only place they can get in through the wooden door. i can't risk a poisoned rat going in there to die.

So my next idea was to put the birds up high-and then hopefully even the rats can't climb up! I will also try and minimize me going in there as much as possible-could just chuck treats up and fill feed up as much as possible. Then with the birds safe up there I will start putting rat poison down.

 

[PaulaMc]

The article I read did say that they were caged-though it's quite possible they got it wrong (daily mail!)

I am thinking of moving my birds to the top of their henhouse (we have the bottom bricked house and then a second level)-vermin is my no 1 problem right now- I have started setting traps but I can't put poison down just yet as despite me trying to block off the hen house door every night, it might still be possible for mice/rats to get in-they will just chew the door to bits to try and get in the more I block it as it's the only place they can get in through the wooden door. i can't risk a poisoned rat going in there to die.

So my next idea was to put the birds up high-and then hopefully even the rats can't climb up! I will also try and minimize me going in there as much as possible-could just chuck treats up and fill feed up as much as possible. Then with the birds safe up there I will start putting rat poison down.

Hi Jools

Any luck with this?

 

[jools2014]

Hi Jools

Any luck with this?

No unfortunately not..the top of the henhouse has a big gap in it that was blown off in a storm a while ago-I hadn't realised or had forgotten as no one really goes up there. There was also a gap above the door so I didn't feel like it would be feasible to block it all off. It would also have been difficult climbing up there with water etc. (we dont even have proper steps anymore) So that was a waste of time!

However, I have a family member coming over to block off the henhouse door with metal and concrete around it so I don't have to block it off with rocks every night as there are holes both sides of the door. Once that is done everything should be fine-probably something that should've been done ages ago but DIY isn't my expertise so not something I could've done myself. I hate to put poison down (never have done before) but that is the next step to make sure there are no rats or mice to carry anything around outside the house.

I also gave the henhouse a big clean but it is getting expensive buying new bedding so often-chickens-clean and dry and hardly any mess, ducks-water, wet soggy bedding, big mess! And my poor chickens have to share with them-but one end of the house tends to stay mostly dry so I guess they stay there-they don't seem to mind the ducks but I bet they hate their mess! Shame I can't separate but no where to put them. But other than that all birds seem fine. How are you doing? I have not heard of anymore cases of it in the UK so let's hope this was an isolated incident? I just posted in another thread that I thought there would be more people on here-there are only a few of us posting about it-not many UK members perhaps?

 

[Petra Pancake]

I wonder how most cases of Avian flu really get transmitted. Here in Israel has been another outbreak last weekend, the third in about a month. If I'm informed right, all three cases were on turkey farms and they all were in different corners of the country, far away from each other. (By the way, wasn't it in Britain also on a turkey farm?) First of all, why always turkeys? Are they somehow more sensitive? Also, the turkeys are being raised inside big sheds - should be closed off well against wild birds. If however transmission was somehow via wild birds, wouldn't one expect the cases to be geographically closer to each other? In one part of the country and spreading from there? Not three isolated spots far away from each other? I'm rather getting the feeling that it is spread in a man-made way, either people visiting or working on different turkey farms, or turkeys or equipment being transferred between places... Anyway, there is a renewed (though not enforced) admonition to keep backyard poultry indoors. I have today "reinforced" the tent-like structure that I have for my chickens to let them out of the coop in a protected manner. Found dried sparrow droppings on the netting... Lucky I saw it, the next rain probably would have washed it inside...

 

[julieh]

Hi - new to this post but it's really interesting reading everyone's ideas. I'm just outside London and have 5 girls in a fairly big covered (but outside) run. They're going a bit mad stuck in there as they used to free range daily - a good toy I made is an old hanging basket full of sand suspended at chicken head-height, I bury treats (seed / dried mealworms) in the sand so they have to hop up then scratch around for them. My girls also love love love live maggots which I buy from the fishing bait shop - £3 ish for a pint so a nice cheapish treat.

On another note... although the my girls are in, I think it's virtually impossible to prevent tiny birds from getting in the run. Also, vermin are really hard to stop, and shoe covers every time I walk down the garden seems such a hassle. I don't know... can you really stop it if it comes to your area??

 

[PaulaMc]

No unfortunately not..the top of the henhouse has a big gap in it that was blown off in a storm a while ago-I hadn't realised or had forgotten as no one really goes up there. There was also a gap above the door so I didn't feel like it would be feasible to block it all off. It would also have been difficult climbing up there with water etc. (we dont even have proper steps anymore) So that was a waste of time!

However, I have a family member coming over to block off the henhouse door with metal and concrete around it so I don't have to block it off with rocks every night as there are holes both sides of the door. Once that is done everything should be fine-probably something that should've been done ages ago but DIY isn't my expertise so not something I could've done myself. I hate to put poison down (never have done before) but that is the next step to make sure there are no rats or mice to carry anything around outside the house.

I also gave the henhouse a big clean but it is getting expensive buying new bedding so often-chickens-clean and dry and hardly any mess, ducks-water, wet soggy bedding, big mess! And my poor chickens have to share with them-but one end of the house tends to stay mostly dry so I guess they stay there-they don't seem to mind the ducks but I bet they hate their mess! Shame I can't separate but no where to put them. But other than that all birds seem fine. How are you doing? I have not heard of anymore cases of it in the UK so let's hope this was an isolated incident? I just posted in another thread that I thought there would be more people on here-there are only a few of us posting about it-not many UK members perhaps?

Aaaww am glad you're getting help. Am the same with DIY etc. Used to be OK but as I get older I can't seem to do what I used to ha ha. I agree about the mice and rats. I have 4 cats so touch wood ...

Bedding is expensive I agree. Have you a woodyard local that might give you wood shavings? Although it's messy, shredded paper is OK. I also put flattened cardboard in the coop which they like to peck at and can be removed when dirty. You can get these for free from local shops and supermarkets.

Am doing fine thanks. Not sure if the neighbours think I have gone loopy as my garden is virtually covered in tarpaulin so the chickens can have a little run about and flap their wings ha ha. Have made a series of covered tunnels. Yet to put the polytunnel up as it's a bit windy.

I have signed up for alerts from Defra and there is just the one thank goodness. Although they have now put a limit on poultry shows and markets etc. Seems a good idea -less chance of spreading. Probably right about UK members unless they're just too busy in theback garden ha ha.

Have a great day

 

[PaulaMc]

I wonder how most cases of Avian flu really get transmitted. Here in Israel has been another outbreak last weekend, the third in about a month. If I'm informed right, all three cases were on turkey farms and they all were in different corners of the country, far away from each other. (By the way, wasn't it in Britain also on a turkey farm?) First of all, why always turkeys? Are they somehow more sensitive? Also, the turkeys are being raised inside big sheds - should be closed off well against wild birds. If however transmission was somehow via wild birds, wouldn't one expect the cases to be geographically closer to each other? In one part of the country and spreading from there? Not three isolated spots far away from each other? I'm rather getting the feeling that it is spread in a man-made way, either people visiting or working on different turkey farms, or turkeys or equipment being transferred between places... Anyway, there is a renewed (though not enforced) admonition to keep backyard poultry indoors. I have today "reinforced" the tent-like structure that I have for my chickens to let them out of the coop in a protected manner. Found dried sparrow droppings on the netting... Lucky I saw it, the next rain probably would have washed it inside...

Hi

Sorry to hear of the outbreaks and yes it's a Turkey farm here in England. A friend of mine in France says that their outbreak was caused by poor bio-security when a delivery driver visited an infected farm and then infected another. Poor turkeys.

I also have been making tents and covered tunnels all over the garden. Looks weird but I have a lot of wild birds as I always feed them. The neighbours probably think I'm crazy ha ha.

 

[PaulaMc]

Hi - new to this post but it's really interesting reading everyone's ideas. I'm just outside London and have 5 girls in a fairly big covered (but outside) run. They're going a bit mad stuck in there as they used to free range daily - a good toy I made is an old hanging basket full of sand suspended at chicken head-height, I bury treats (seed / dried mealworms) in the sand so they have to hop up then scratch around for them. My girls also love love love live maggots which I buy from the fishing bait shop - £3 ish for a pint so a nice cheapish treat.

On another note... although the my girls are in, I think it's virtually impossible to prevent tiny birds from getting in the run. Also, vermin are really hard to stop, and shoe covers every time I walk down the garden seems such a hassle. I don't know... can you really stop it if it comes to your area??

Hi

What a great idea with the hanging basket. I bet they love it

It is a big hassle I agree and we can only do what we can do. We can only keep our fingers crossed and keep checking our little ladies.

 

[jools2014]

Aaaww am glad you're getting help. Am the same with DIY etc. Used to be OK but as I get older I can't seem to do what I used to ha ha. I agree about the mice and rats. I have 4 cats so touch wood ...

Bedding is expensive I agree. Have you a woodyard local that might give you wood shavings? Although it's messy, shredded paper is OK. I also put flattened cardboard in the coop which they like to peck at and can be removed when dirty. You can get these for free from local shops and supermarkets.

Am doing fine thanks. Not sure if the neighbours think I have gone loopy as my garden is virtually covered in tarpaulin so the chickens can have a little run about and flap their wings ha ha. Have made a series of covered tunnels. Yet to put the polytunnel up as it's a bit windy.

I have signed up for alerts from Defra and there is just the one thank goodness. Although they have now put a limit on poultry shows and markets etc. Seems a good idea -less chance of spreading. Probably right about UK members unless they're just too busy in theback garden ha ha.

Have a great day

Door is all sorted now and blocked off-so much easier. i wish i could get a cat but a family member is allergic and we also live near a very big road and are not fenced in very well. We've also decided not to have any more animals for now (mostly because of the road being so dangerous) a good cat or dog would certainly help although we had dogs in the past and they never really caught any!

I might try the cardboard. I do want to get some wood shavings but mainly for outside (if they are ever allowed out again!) Sounds like you are doing your very best for your birds. January will be here very soon now! Let's hope it doesn't get extended-they can't tell us to keep them inside indefinitely can they?

Yes I heard about the limit on poultry shows. I'm not signed up to Defra but I google about it daily to see if there are any updates or any more cases.

 

[PaulaMc]

Door is all sorted now and blocked off-so much easier. i wish i could get a cat but a family member is allergic and we also live near a very big road and are not fenced in very well. We've also decided not to have any more animals for now (mostly because of the road being so dangerous) a good cat or dog would certainly help although we had dogs in the past and they never really caught any!

I might try the cardboard. I do want to get some wood shavings but mainly for outside (if they are ever allowed out again!) Sounds like you are doing your very best for your birds. January will be here very soon now! Let's hope it doesn't get extended-they can't tell us to keep them inside indefinitely can they?

Yes I heard about the limit on poultry shows. I'm not signed up to Defra but I google about it daily to see if there are any updates or any more cases.

Am glad you're sorted. It's a pain isn't it? And to top it all we have hurricane Barbara today!! Have been nailing all my tarpaulin down but my garden is flapping about more than the chickens ha ha. If the wind really picks up am going to bring them into the house. Poor little silkies might get blown away

The poly tunnel will have to wait ha ha.


They have found a dead wild duck in Wales with the AF strain gulp. I think we are probably panicking more than we need to though. Some countries that have had outbreaks have not even been asked to lock down their flocks. We'll be fine.