Important! Aviarian influenza (Bird Flu) prevention zone declared in England/Wales/Scotland due to outbreak

[hellfire]

No not at all appreciate the reply. I have 28 chickens, 19 ducks, one group of 14 turkeys, one group of 5, then one group of 160. Sounds like a poultry Christmas song!! There just not enough available indoor space to house them all without them being really cramped or turning my breeding pens to a swamp.
To get additional housing means additional costs and not sure where I’ll pull that from either. I’m on the outer edge of Plymouth actually on Dartmoor. The poultry field has a pond and river although the wild waterfowl don’t come in as my geese won’t let them. I do however get Moorhens along with little birds, crows etc daily. The large group of turkeys are now shut in the barn and currently going manic pecking at each other even with lots of enrichment. Turkeys are like that sadly.
I can house my group of 5 breeding turkeys in one breeding pen, The other pen will take about 6 chickens. The piggery breeding pens are where I rear my heritage turkeys and have the small group of 14 in but not large enough for permanent lock up as they have poultry netting as a pen.
From then I’m stuck without any other buildings being large enough or secure enough on the farm. All the cows are in for winter so I’m stuck for space. Bar spending a fortune on a massive new barn I’m not sure I can actually do anything with the rest of my flock.

 

[hellfire]

Unhappy Christmas turkeys!!

 

[Aylesbury]

What precautions are you folks generally taking in the UK now?

Is it a solid roof? Why about water access etc?

It sounds daunting two me that I will need to restrict the freedom of my two ducks.

Any info, advice etc are very welcome

Thanks

 

[hellfire]

What precautions are you folks generally taking in the UK now?

Is it a solid roof? Why about water access etc?

It sounds daunting two me that I will need to restrict the freedom of my two ducks.

Any info, advice etc are very welcome

Thanks

Ideally a solid roof to stop wild bird poop. Netting at least stops birds getting in if it’s small holes. It’s about keeping them totally separated from wild birds that can carry the flu. That’s what we’re all now trying to do.
The reason I mentioned water is last time this happened here they said about wild waterfowl spreading it.
I have a pond and river in my field so I’d be more at risk of migrating ducks etc coming in so very important this is cut off from my ducks and geese.
You can still have tubs, paddling pools etc but undercover where only your own ducks can have access.
Your lucky you only have 2 ducks to pen up. I honestly don’t think I can pen all of mine as not enough room for them.

 

[Philosorapteuse]

We're building on an extension to their current run, but happily we only have five, and they're bantams at that.

I've seen examples of people erecting things like marquees for larger numbers of birds - is this an option for you, Hellfire, if you're not in a position to construct something permanent? Metal-framed ones can be fairly robust provided they're properly guyed and pegged with heavy-duty pegs, unless there are really severe winds. Might be an interim solution? Still costs though

 

[Perris]

What happens if you don’t have somewhere big enough to lock them all up 24/7? Also with netting poop can still get through and you can’t really net a whole field. Small wild birds will still get in.
I really have no way of housing all of my birds without it being a welfare issue.
The last time it was after we’d done all the Xmas turkeys so used the big barn. Sadly many suffered terrible stress and some got ill. We’ve not culled the turkeys yet so what do I do? My breeding pens will only house a few.
The ducks would turn it into a mud bath very quickly and then I have no pen for breeding in spring.
I’m at a loss as to how I can keep all my birds safe. The field they range is big and would be impossible to net.

Welfare laws still apply, as do planning regs! If you read the guidance carefully
https://assets.publishing.service.g...ata/file/941139/biosecurity-poultry-guide.pdf
you'll see that they recognize there is a balance to be struck in many cases between protecting them from AI and causing harm to them by crowding/boredom etc. It is clear that you should not house the different types of poultry you keep together.

 

[hellfire]

For now I’ve made sure all food and water are inside although I’ve watched little birds go in today! So feel it’s pointless. No tents or marquee would be able to house all my poultry and I’d not want to mix them all either. The cost for me to get large ones would be substantially higher than I can afford. For now I’ve locked my turkeys up but the ducks and chickens will have to stay out at least until all the Xmas turkeys are gone and that barn cleared out. So time wise after Xmas day is over.
This is all I can do right now.

 

[hellfire]

Oh and the icing on the cake today was my duck appearing with a load of ducklings!! She’s been brooding a nest for some bizarre reason this time of year and am amazed she has hatched them. Weird time of year. So now I’ve had to catch them all up and put them in my other small breeding pen. You can imagine the mess that will be shortly! It’s only just recovered from her earlier hatch this year.

 

[BillyCocoaJaffa]

Not easy to find on the gov website, but this biosecurity guideline has some good practical suggestions, even polytunnels or stacked hay bales. They also have some tips for reducing stress in birds not used to being housed. Good luck everyone, it’s going to be another tough few months! https://assets.publishing.service.g...ata/file/941139/biosecurity-poultry-guide.pdf

 

[English Sax]

I've got a shed ready for mine today but they are going to go mad, they're used to being completely free (wander around the village sometimes!). It's heartbreaking!