Selfsufficientish.com

We are currently moving our birds in after the announcement that it is indeed H5N1 - joy!!


http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/disease ... rating.pdf

My heart sank when I heard, my first thoughts were for you guys north of the border. Here's fingers crossed it is a one off.

Are waterfowl more susceptible? apart from the more intesive set ups they seem to be the ones most in the news.

kind thoughts and fingers crossed
Deb

I was sorry to hear that it's arrived, but it was inevitable. As far as we know (my current client is the Swedish Dept. of Agriculture, so I get some inside information), waterfowl are not more susceptible but their close contact lives makes it easier for the virus to spread in a colony. Obviously, the same is true in intensive units. Sorry, the paper got a bit to complicated for me to translate so I don't really know why. One interesting snippet. It appears that at least one species of eagle (white-tailed, I think) is immune from H5N1. The current thinking here is that the birds have eaten so much infected carrion (non-lethal H5) that they have effectively vaccinated themselves. Intense research is ongoing.

Not that many eagles around here, unfortunately! But a lot of waterfowl colonies...
The exclusion zone comes up to within about 6 miles from where I live. I know an organic poultry farm that's probably just on the border of the zone... At least they do have proper housing for the birds, so they won't be stressed out if they have to be shut up. My friend, who has only one hen, two cockerels and one guineafowl has nowhere to keep them in - they are "proper" free ranging birds and sleep where they like, in an open shed.

Sadly, birds housed indoors lose their organic and free range status. DEFRA has announced a six-week grace period before these status changes, by which time they hope to have the outbreak under control- but if it's widespread and bird flu is here to stay then we're going to need a new set of welfare standards.

DEFRA mentions that the stress of indoor housing is going to lead to an increase in feather pecking and cannibalism. That means there might be a rush on beak rings, which as far as I know are the only non-invasive say to control this problem. They're available from the Domestic Fowl Trustand others, so get your orders in early! They're 10p each and last for around six months, but get more than you need because they do get lost. Postage is reasonable and brings the price up to £1.30 for 10.

We should all be thinking ahead to how we are going to move to indoor keeping or (as in my case) close-netting with a tarp top, should it become necessary. I'm glad I didn't get rid of my 1940 house even though it is quite rotten - it'll probably become part of the temporary house now.

1940 house?

Yep... an advert in the paper alerted me to an old chicken house that was dismantled in a back garden nearby, and I got it for a song. It had been damaged by a badger (them again!) who had ripped off the exterior nestbox looking for eggs, so when I rebuilt the house I sheeted over the hole and provided a slope-roofed interior nestbox. I also had to replace some rotted timber because the maker's badge showed that the house had been made in 1940! They built things to last in them days, apparently...