Avian/Bird Flu.

Bournemouth Addick

A Public Information Broadcast follows:

There's a lot going on with the new Covid variant, understandably, so this hasn't really received the coverage in the media it might have, but I know there's a few on here who keep a few chickens. Might even be a few pigeon fanciers among those weirdos based up North 😉

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/bird-flu-latest-situation-avian-influenza-prevention-zone-declared-across-great-britain

It's got into quite a serious situation this year, resulting in a UK wide order requiring birds* to be housed from Monday but if it were me, I'd get 'em in today folks. There's little to no risk to human health but if your chickens get it I'm afraid that it's game over, and no one wants that. 

*not the wild variety - no need to start catching magpies in your garden. 

ShootersHillGuru

Will this affect my Turkey ambitions ?

Bournemouth Addick

ShootersHillGuru said:

Will this affect my Turkey ambitions ?

Put it this way, I'd be buying my turkey now rather than expecting to get one a week before the big day. 

Arsenetatters

This happens every year and we’ve had ‘flockdown’ for the past two. 

It’s carried by migrating birds so cases tend to be on the coast or near very large expanses of water. 

If a farm has a confirmed case then the whole flock are culled and there is a zone restriction on movement in that area. 

We have permission from DEFRA to carry on with the rescues which involve movement of hens around the country but we must adhere to strict bio security regulations. 

Locking down poultry already in awful conditions is a worry but you can be sure the government will lift this in time for free range hens to still be called free range as they have to have a certain amount of time outside in order to qualify. Farmers would lose money otherwise.

clive

Half of the free range turkeys produced for Christmas in the UK have been culled or died due to bird flu, a top industry chief said on Tuesday.

Richard Griffiths, chief executive of the British Poultry Council, said that 600,00 out of about 1.3 million free range birds had been lost.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-63797896

addix

ShootersHillGuru said:

Will this affect my Turkey ambitions ?

Not sure what your ambitions are, but if you want a 'fresh' one for Christmas there's a good chance it's been dispatched already and put in the freezer so there's unlikely to be many/any large birds this year.

DaveMehmet

addix said:

ShootersHillGuru said:

Will this affect my Turkey ambitions ?

Not sure what your ambitions are, but if you want a 'fresh' one for Christmas there's a good chance it's been dispatched already and put in the freezer so there's unlikely to be many/any large birds this year.

Get yourself down The Millers on a Friday if that's what you're after.

bobmunro

addix said:

ShootersHillGuru said:

Will this affect my Turkey ambitions ?

Not sure what your ambitions are, but if you want a 'fresh' one for Christmas there's a good chance it's been dispatched already and put in the freezer so there's unlikely to be many/any large birds this year.