Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: Suba on May 28, 2018, 23:17
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Hello .
I have been asked by my Parish council to provide a risk assessment before I can keep poultry on the allotment, has anyone else had to do this? I have searched the internet for advice or even better a template, but can find nothing. Has anyone got any tips or advice? I have kept chickens for years but never had to do this, want to get this right :)
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Noise, smell, vermin, cleanliness, structure, location, interference, health, welfare.
That should cover it. ::)
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Any plot holder wishing to keep chickens must complete an assessment of risks and how to deal with them. This must include consideration of the following;
(In other words, you have to think about it and set out what you plan to do about them......)
Protection against vermin
Foxes and cats
Disposal of dead carcasses
Arrangements in times of temporary absence by the prime chicken keeper
When allotment water supply is turned off– access to drinking water, and water for cleaning
Access to drinking water in freezing weather
Escaped chickens
Disease, notifiable diseases
Vandalism
Disposal of chickens and property when the plot holder no longer holds a plot
Other risks (please specify)
(Tip: locally they make a point that you can't clean any bit n bobs used with poultry in communal troughs or water butts, and your dirty cleaning water must be disposed of on your own plot, and you have to say how you will be able to cover your poultry when Defra says you need to because of Bird Flu restrictions)
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I read the Defra guidelines once and added a fire bucket with my phone number on outside my run. Otherwise I'm up to speed with everything else.
You need to protect them against foxes and people, combat vermin safely and keep the chickens fed and watered and take care of any illnesses promptly. Those are the major issues I should think. Your council is looking to cover itself most likely.
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Thank you all for your ideas, there are one or two things I hadn't thought of, TBH I was being lazy and was hoping to find a template already done that I could copy :) !
Unfortunately I am not allowed to erect electric poultry netting so will have to put up a decent run to keep the foxes out.