Housing for bird flu

[kattabelly]

The gaps are 2.5 cm by 7.5 cm
Are these gaps small enough not to be a problem?

That isn't enough to keep very small birds out, but those birds are lower risk anyway. Gulls and wild waterfowl are the main species you want to keep away from your birds.

Personally I won't bother trying to keep the local wrens out of the run even if housing requirements are brought in here. If you did want to be more thorough about keeping any wild birds out though, just really thin plastic net (like the stuff sold as butterfly net or to keep leaves out of ponds) is enough if you're attaching it to sturdier metal mesh.

 

[nuthatched]

I’m not entirely sure what you mean but I will take it how I think you mean.
I am always worried that someone might steal them but we live in quite a rural area, and you can’t really see them from the road so I hope no one would take them. Fingers crossed, tapping wood, all the rest (I always say that if I think I might be tempting the fates)


The gaps are 2.5 cm by 7.5 cm
Are these gaps small enough not to be a problem?

I was concerned for someone looking at your birds, consider they aren't covered enough and report you for some odd reason.

 

[Blue is my chicken]

I was concerned for someone looking at your birds, consider they aren't covered enough and report you for some odd reason.

Oh okay that makes more sense.

That isn't enough to keep very small birds out, but those birds are lower risk anyway. Gulls and wild waterfowl are the main species you want to keep away from your birds.

Personally I won't bother trying to keep the local wrens out of the run even if housing requirements are brought in here. If you did want to be more thorough about keeping any wild birds out though, just really thin plastic net (like the stuff sold as butterfly net or to keep leaves out of ponds) is enough if you're attaching it to sturdier metal mesh.

I am moving soon so probably won’t get the netting, yet anyway.
I just wanted to be sure that I was good enough, as I couldn’t find any regulations on housing them, normally we put them in a polytunnel but it broke last year and we have had to change things (moving around a lot so couldn’t have a permanent structure).



Thanks everyone for the help

 

[Fluffy_Butt_Hutt]

That is definitely enough gap for a small bird to get through

 

[Shahnaz13]

Got it. If you could cover the sides with even chicken wire then small birds couldn’t get in I’d think.

I have seen green netting on big enclosures, that should cover everything.

 

[BDutch]

Here in Ireland there is a housing order for all poultry.

In the Netherlands we have housing orders for poultry every winter period for years on a row now. This specific bird flu H5N1 started here in 2021, but we had other bird flu strains before with large scale killings. The cause for this specific bird flu, is probably large-scale factory farming.

This year the first contaminated farm was discovered around October 15.
Many farmers and the government are keen on rules and regulations, but I hate them. Especially since they have developed a vaccine which seems to work fine for factory farming. They have an ongoing pilot (ends in 2027) testing the vaccine but are not willing to actually use it because its not allowed to export products of vaccinated poultry.

Keeping my chickens locked up will make them unhappy. My run is okay to keep them locked up in there for a few weeks , but I know from experience the housing orders last until May.

So my flock will be unhappy every year for about 7 months. And not being able to free range will make them less healthy for sure.
Now their run is a lush environment with bushes and lively soil in the run and I don’t have to scoop the poop because its breaks down very fast. If I cover the run with tarps , I have to make a lot of efforts to clean and water it. It costs extra too. And what’s the point with so many contaminated wild birds?

At the start (years ago with another type of bird flu) it was not obliged to cover the run and even then I decided to take the risk after a few months, to not obey the authorities with the bird flu rules and regulations. So far there were no problems. If I do get an inspection and the authorities kill my chickens, I probably stop with this hobby until the vaccination program is successful and they skip the rules and regulations for hobbyists. Of course I do hope for the best.