Avian Flu

bigyetiman

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We had a DEFRA e mail last week telling us that Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk are under flockdown restrictions again. It is going to be a long winter.
 

LadyA

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It just didn't recede at all this year, did it? Over here, I haven't heard anything about outbreaks on poultry farms, but a gannet colony on a reserve has been all but wiped out, and right along the coast people were reporting hundreds of dead birds.
 

bigyetiman

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The Broads are now reporting dead birds along the waterways, and first cases have been reported in Blackbirds.
It really is grim
 

bigyetiman

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We had already had an email from DEFRA telling us to keep our poultry indoors from 2 weeks ago. I haven't told my hens they have been locked down for two weeks extra
 

Shadrach

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118
Who are these recommendations protecting?
They are not going to stop the spread in the wild bird population.
I very much doubt that they are there to protect the hobby keepers and breeders.
One might have thought we would have learned something for the Covid locksdowns but it seems not.
 

bigyetiman

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2,402
Who are these recommendations protecting?
They are not going to stop the spread in the wild bird population.
I very much doubt that they are there to protect the hobby keepers and breeders.
One might have thought we would have learned something for the Covid locksdowns but it seems not.
 

bigyetiman

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2,402
The advice from DEFRA to nature reserves is report to them one dead owl or bird of prey, 3 dead Geese or Swans.
Ducks and small birds 5 or more dead. Otherwise don't bother. Wonder how they came up with these figures?

Apart from road casualties or shot, what are the chances of you coming across a dead owl or bird of prey.

When we had some dead geese on the reserve, we were still waiting for DEFRA after 3 days, by which time foxes, crows etc had had a field day
 

LadyA

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This is sobering.
Yes. And even though our current flu jabs don't work against this strain of flu, it's still important for anyone in regular contact with poultry or other birds to get their flu jabs. As it was explained to me, it's more to prevent one of the easily transmitted human strains of flu being transmitted to poultry and there mutating with bird flu, to give a deadly strain That's easily transmitted among humans.
 

chrismahon

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Location
Gascony, France
They are now vaccinating industrial poultry here against avian flu, it said on the news last week. Haven't any more details about it. Our chickens are supposed to be registered at the town hall, but we haven't bothered.
 

LadyA

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New rules in the offing on registering backyard chickens with DEFRA.

Here, anyone keeping even one or two chickens is supposed to be registered with Dept of Agriculture. It's been that way for years - definitely since early 2000's when I first started keeping chickens.
I know several people who keep chickens, but I know many won't register. Not sure why - it doesn't cost anything. Part of the general distrust of Government, I think.
 

Icemaiden

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1,316
Location
Kent
On behalf of Holly, Hope, Nibbles, Repecka, Margot & Harriet, thank you for letting me know!! They'll be packing their suitcases & looking forward to wiping the mud off their feet on the lawn next Tuesday!

I didn't know that Scottish poultry had escaped flockdown altogether...
 
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