Bird Avian Flu Outbreak Information

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sunshineband

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Re: Bird Flu Press Release Today
« Reply #45 on: December 12, 2016, 12:44 »
Well, my daughter's run is now covered, and the gap above the door where sparrows could get in to eat is closed off too. Old boots left in the adjoining shed. Children not allowed in the run, or the family cat either.. not popular but good sense

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John

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Re: Bird Flu Press Release Today
« Reply #46 on: December 12, 2016, 13:09 »
There was an interview on the radio with the chief vet in Holland - she was talking around banning free range!
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New shoot

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Re: Bird Flu Press Release Today
« Reply #47 on: December 12, 2016, 13:25 »
I read about the huge cull of ducks they had to do following an outbreak on a group of farms.  It is a drastic step though.

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John

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Re: Bird Flu Press Release Today
« Reply #48 on: December 12, 2016, 14:12 »
Well we know it is possible to keep hens indoors with high welfare standards but I remember a cat we took on who had never been outdoors (city centre flat). The first time he went out into the garden he looked around in wonder all afternoon.

Not an easy one.

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Paul Plots

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Re: Bird Flu Press Release Today
« Reply #49 on: December 13, 2016, 01:57 »
.................My alternative for Paul is take the shoes you wear inside your aviary there with you in a plastic bag and swap footwear at the door, doing the same when you come out. 

As John says, its all insurance we hope we don't need.  I have fingers and toes crossed it passes us by as well, which is why I am more than happy to stick to the advice given. 

.....................

Thanks New Shoot - that's well worth considering. Presently the outside flight is out of bounds to the budgies to give me time to decide on the safest most manageable option. I could not risk being the reason for other peoples birds / chickens / pets / being culled if my few caught avian flu.

Incidentally: Today I travelled north by bus towards Guildford and was amazed to spot what looked like an uncovered enclosure with geese wandering around.  :ohmy: Hopefully I was mistaken. Surely the message reached everyone?

Hopefully my eyes deceived me. 
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John

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Re: Bird Flu Press Release Today
« Reply #50 on: December 13, 2016, 03:21 »

Incidentally: Today I travelled north by bus towards Guildford and was amazed to spot what looked like an uncovered enclosure with geese wandering around.  :ohmy: Hopefully I was mistaken. Surely the message reached everyone?

Hopefully my eyes deceived me.

Possibly they're on their last day or two before being killed. Even if some people ignore the restrictions, the more who follow them the safer we all are.

The big problem with flu (avian & human) is the blasted thing mutates so much. I think it's called recombinant. The result is that vaccination programs aren't effective. Neither is there an effective cure if the birds get it so prevention of infection has to be the best move.


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Flowerpower136

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Re: Bird Flu Press Release Today
« Reply #51 on: December 13, 2016, 08:49 »
Saw a worrying post on Facebook yesterday. A woman saying she had phoned the DEFRA help line and been told that there was no control order in place, it's just 'advice'. No fines etc.

Lot of confusion out there.

I'm quite clear though. Whilst there is even a sniff of a risk, my girls are under cover, and my boots are soooooo disinfected they might well dissolve before this is over.

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New shoot

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Re: Bird Flu Press Release Today
« Reply #52 on: December 13, 2016, 10:56 »
I think people might just be hearing what they want tbh.

In the interests of research I've just rung the DEFRA helpline.  What the lady told me was that she couldn't tell me for certain my birds were safe from bird flu, she could only pass on the advice given by the chief vet.

She did, however, direct me to the government website and the info they have published there on keeping captive birds away from wild ones, securing runs, mesh size and disinfectants.

Not really the same thing at all  ::)  You stick with your way Flowerpower  ;)


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ghost61

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Re: Bird Flu Press Release Today
« Reply #53 on: December 13, 2016, 11:24 »
Chief Vet said on the News that geese are not subject to their advice as it is not practical or in the interests of their welfare to be so confined.  So the person was doing nothing wrong in not covering his/her geese. 

As has been said there is a lot of misunderstanding about the advice etc.  I think that as long as you are taking all the precautions you can, then that is all you can do.

We have ours under tight control, or so we thought.  Happened to look out of the window overlooking the run and a pesky sparrow was enjoying themselves in the run.  How did it get in?  Our birds had dug a tunnel on the perimeter and made a small hole just big enough for sparrows to enter.  Now we have bricks round the edge to stop the tunnelling activities. 

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John

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Re: Bird Flu Press Release Today
« Reply #54 on: December 13, 2016, 12:10 »
Saw a worrying post on Facebook yesterday. A woman saying she had phoned the DEFRA help line and been told that there was no control order in place, it's just 'advice'. No fines etc.

I'm wondering if DEFRA have some temps in who aren't fully briefed. When we contacted them they were very clear BUT we'd explained we wanted our facts straight before posting, sending out a newsletter to thousands of poultry keepers etc. so perhaps we got a better informed source.


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Paul Plots

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Re: Bird Flu Press Release Today
« Reply #55 on: December 14, 2016, 00:49 »
Lack of clarity can lead to confusion   :unsure: If nothing else I can stop having flash-backs trying to work out whether my eyes had deceived me or not the other day....as the bus sped along....and I don't have to worry about should I have said something to someone about "Geese on in the Run".

Fingers crossed that it passes by and vanishes without major incident.


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birmancats

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Re: Bird Avian Flu Outbreak Information
« Reply #56 on: December 17, 2016, 12:06 »
Right now I'm more pleased with my thicket from Smiths sectional then ever.  All those thoughts I'd over done it and should get something much smaller have evaporated.  The girls are taking their confinement quite quietly at the moment but I'm staying out of the garden so as not to rub it in an antagonise them.


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Flowerpower136

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Re: Bird Avian Flu Outbreak Information
« Reply #57 on: December 17, 2016, 12:58 »
Just in case you don't know, you can register with DEFRA to receive alerts re bird flu etc, without having to register your flock, if you have a small flock of less than 50.
Very easy to do on line, no horrible confusing form, and it works a treat. I got the latest facts and info re the Lincolnshire outbreak with information on the various zones and what they mean in practice. Came through via email yesterday.  Hoping it will never be relevant to me, but good to have the facts.
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Manxminx

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Re: Bird Flu Press Release Today
« Reply #58 on: December 18, 2016, 13:22 »
As has been said there is a lot of misunderstanding about the advice etc.
I'm sorry but I disagree. The "Biosecurity and preventing disease in captive birds within a Prevention Zone" document available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/avian-influenza-bird-flu is very clear and well written. There is even a paragraph on Geese:

Quote
Geese
Where small numbers of geese are kept, it may be possible to house them. However, if
that is not possible, temporary netted structures should be used where practical which can
cover large areas. Feeding and watering under cover and using wild bird deterrents will
reduce contact with wild birds.

Which makes me wonder if the poster above who was "amazed to spot what looked like an uncovered enclosure with geese wandering around" has actually read the document?

Quote
Chief Vet said on the News that geese are not subject to their advice as it is not practical or in the interests of their welfare to be so confined.

The Chief Vet is wrong, Geese are subject to the advice, I've just quoted the relevant paragraph. Maybe even the 'chief vet' hasn't bothered reading it. Maybe he also gets his education from Farcebook?

Unbelievable.

I feel very sorry for commercial free range egg producers. Because the birds are free range they don't have a lot of inside space for them, so arguably, the farmers that have just shut the doors and are not letting them outside are forcing conditions on the birds they are not used to. Even just my two who now have 'only' a 40 Sq meter temporary run are getting cabin fever because they're not used to having their freedom restricted, so goodness knows how the birds forced to remain inside are coping. On top of that, it's remarkable how quickly just two birds can turn a 30Sq m part of the garden into a desert, they've literally stripped it and dug it all over and we've still go another 3 weeks to go. Bulbs, plants and grass, the whole of that area will have to be leveled out and resown in the spring.

If this prevention zone becomes the new normal then I shall have to seriously consider no longer keeping chickens  :(
I dream of a better world where Chickens can cross the road without having their motives questioned.

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Beekissed

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Re: Bird Flu Press Release Today
« Reply #59 on: December 18, 2016, 13:45 »
There was an interview on the radio with the chief vet in Holland - she was talking around banning free range!

And there, I believe, lies the rub....so much control of backyard flocks that no one can afford to keep them any longer and have to rely solely on commercially grown foods.  The ultimate goal of all these government tactics. 



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