Avian flu

[Mo]

It shouldn't do (who's to say what Defra in it's wisdom...).
The neighbours hens are no more likely to spread it than the wild birds they caught it from. If they call the vet to their hens it would bring the outbreak to the attention of the authorities.

[bikesandbirdsbob]

Hi , the best hope is a does not come to uk .
2 it does not come near you.

The govn agency kill everything within a radius of the infection.
If you remember there was one at West Hordon that spread across the land , believe the persons imported a PARROT and said it was home reared ...
Could be wrong . But it was next door to SHMBO as was the styart of the Foot Mouth out break....
So as you can read , it maybe a good prevention from getting it in your flocks , but if someone up the road gets it ,helicopters will soon find where the flocks etc are .
Have not had the experience of being involved but ain`t nice I am sure.
It is not worth worrying about it till it happens , if it happens at all. But it may well go on past the 6th Jan .
Bob

[Trev62]

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-humber-38342006"


Not sure if you have seen this, I hope no-one is too close to the outbreak.

[bikesandbirdsbob]

Hi just been told Turkey farm in LINCOLN has got it.
Not sure what the state of play is at the moment .but what happens there will be the way it will go forward .
Bob

[kitla]

ok this is from the DEFRA guidance about culling during a disease outbreak

"Poultry (kept birds) and other birds that may be spared -
Government will consider sparing poultry and other birds that are kept:

in a non-commercial holding
in a circus
in a pet shop
in a zoo or a wildlife park
for scientific research or breeding for such research
for purposes related to conservation of a species or genetic resource (see breeds at risk section of this guide)"

So I presume a back yard chicken run could be considered a non commercial holding.

[albertajune]

Phew! don't these things get complicated.
I saw about the turkey farm in Norfolk on the news last evening. Half the birds died there and the rest had to be culled.

I honestly don't see how things like Avian flu which is carried mainly by birds can be successfully eradicated. I live in an area of fishing and boating lakes which host many ducks, herons etc. When walking my dog this morning and seeing all the ducks sitting on the grass opposite homes near me, (waiting for breakfast), I realise how easily these things can be spread and is my one little chicken going to make any difference. Yes I know that as a precaution I must keep her confined but to what purpose! Farmed birds I can understand as large flocks will attract wild birds. Just hope it has been caught in time.

[kitla]

I agree June, if someone took their garden hen to the vets & they diagnosed her with flu, that means wild birds in the area are carrying it anyway! but it may also mean all the chickens within 3km of that garden will be culled, if that is the rule. I'm just not sure if small garden flocks would be included in that.

[albertajune]

I'm just not sure if small garden flocks would be included in that.[/quote]
I read somewhere that numbers up to either 30 or 50 are not included, not sure which. It was in one of the links on here.

[kitla]

Just seen the latest news on this, a few more cases confirmed around the country
http://www.itv.com/news/update/2016-12- ... eas-of-uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
havent heard about any area culling though, so I presume the control measures are just regarding movement & disinfecting. But I bet the rule to keep our chooks housed will be extended in the new year.

[kitla]

The latest press release from defra included this bit
"Poultry keepers, including those with fewer than 50 birds, are encouraged to provide details of their flocks to the Poultry Register. This will ensure they can be contacted immediately in the event of an avian disease outbreak so that they can take action to protect their flock at the earliest opportunity."
Has/will anyone here do this?
Also as we all in a "prevention zone" (whole of UK now) we should be taking steps to disinfect footwear when going in to the chicken run. I havent bothered doing this up to now & I wear my wellies out in the fields to walk the dog, I want to be ready to take action if this spreads any closer. I was thinking about getting some of those pop on disposable welly shoes, but a bowl of disinfectant might be easier. Anyone know what's safe to use?

[amber66]

I have just driven past my local garden centre where i buy all the girls food and bedding and in the garden of the house opposite were at least 6 chickens free ranging in the garden.
I had often seen them there before we were told to put them under cover, they then disappeared for a while so i am assuming the owners must know about the DEFRA advice and had them locked up for a while.
I am a little annoyed as they are only a few streets away from me and if the worst came to the worst and they did become infected it could affect the out come of my girls and i have taken all the precautions possible to protect them.
Sorry just needed a rant!.
Amber.

[lancashire lass]

as long as you keep your girls under cover and isolated from wild birds, non-commercial birds in an outbreak area will not be culled

perhaps they managed to escape or the owner thinks it is safe to allow them out? We still have another 10 days to go providing it isn't extended another month (it depends on the migrating birds and any further outbreaks)

[KarenE]

It's annoying, but you can only control what you can control ie your own flock. As LL says, keep them secure and fingers crossed all will be fine.

I was thinking about getting some of those pop on disposable welly shoes, but a bowl of disinfectant might be easier. Anyone know what's safe to use?

I think virkon is defra approved. I haven't done this yet but probably should really - I was thinking of using jeyes fluid in a cat litter tray outside the run door.

[kitla]

But Jeyes is apparently harmful to the environment (and pretty stinky!) Virkon sounds suitable, I think I'll pick some up when I'm out.

[lancashire lass]

Compare the safety data sheet of Virkon to the safety data sheet for Jeyes fluid - both contain hazardous chemicals harmful to the environment so perhaps not a good argument.

Jeyes fluid smells because of the Terpineol which is just a natural alcohol found in a few plants including pine oil. Now Virkon is also scented with a natural product found in citrus fruit skins called Limonene (chemical name in this case is Dipentene)

Jeyes fluid does not contain the carcinogenic tar oils it once used to be made from and the ingredients have been modified to allow it to be sold in the EU. It has and still is used in gardens once it is diluted down to a working solution (15-30ml per litre water) - used where you want to sterilize soil of pathogenic bacteria and fungi (often used after harvesting prize onions in late summer and then the bed left over winter to wash out ... downside is that it also kills off beneficial bacteria and fungi so note the emphasis is on "prize" onion rather than the bog standard onions most people grow in their gardens. Some gardeners have used it to kill off onion white rot which can devastate the crop)

As for whether to use Jeyes fluid or Virkon, I'd say either especially if the cost and availability is an issue. Virkon is a disinfectant used widely in medical laboratories, especially against viruses so probably the better choice of the two (as influenza is a virus) But both are harmful / toxic to eat and can cause skin irritation and serious damage to eyes so bear in mind that if you wash your wellies in a solution and then walk into the chicken run that some of that solution will end up contaminating feed and soil/litter on the floor where the chickens will wander around and peck. So perhaps disinfect wellies and let them dry off before going into the run.

Beware that other animals like cats and dogs do not come into contact with neat disinfectant (such as on the fur where they will lick it off) as it will poison them.

EDIT - safety data sheets are for large quantities of concentrated material so when reading the information, the level of hazard is reduced by (i) volume sold and (ii) the dilution factor.