[sneezer]

Hi I have just been on a smallholders web site and it said about a poultry register, that people should sign up if they own chickens, is any one else on here on this register and should I be?( I only have three girls)

[Yorkie]

Someone who knows for sure will be along at some point, but as I understand it the register is with defra and you only have to be registered if you have 50 or more birds.  Below that is voluntary.

[Ma Lowe]

Tats correct Yorkie. If you have 50 or more poultry then you HAVE to register with Defra. I only have 7 but have registered as I would like to know when there is any threat of illness etc.

[death of rats]

I also have registered with less than 50 birds for information on disease.
I think its a good idea and costs nothing but a little time.

[GrannieAnnie]

It's the Great Britain Poultry Register, and when they first introduced it, it was all voluntary!  Then all of a sudden if you had over 50 birds, you'd get into trouble if you hadn't registered!  Strange bureaucrats  !!

So no you don't have to register with only 3 birds, but like the others have said, if anything like avian flu comes over here, the people on the register should be the first ones notified.