Will hoey

[WitchHazel]

This is not the "deadly" H5N1 version

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7434400.stm

 

Hope this doesn't affect you Claret xxxx

 

 

EDITED to add link to article on DEFRA website http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/latest/2008/animal-0603.htm

Edited June 3, 2008 by Guest

[bellekatz]

i just read this too - hope it doesnt affect too many on here?

[WitchHazel]

I wonder if the outer exclusion includes Omlet?

[The Dogmother]

They are fine - we're in the outer zone so are keeping our birds under cover. Omlet are further away, but i will call johannes now.

 

Just been speaking to my vet and he's going to be very busy

 

Thanks for letting me know.

[daj198]

Oh dear, I hope this doesn't make neighbours get hysterical and make us get rid of our chooks! Defra are pretty good though, I doubt it will spread...

 

I hope your chooks will be OK, Claret!

[The Dogmother]

I have just spoken to Johannes and he's asked me to reassure you that the chooks at Omlet are safe - they are outside the central zone and kept in biosecure pens.

 

My girls are under cover and will remain so until I get the all clear from my vet. No problems except keeping them occupied in the run... might have to get them a DVD player

 

Thank you for your concern

[Mrs Frugal]

Good luck, Clare. Hope your hens stay nice and safe.

[lisa33]

Good Luck Clare.

[hillfamily]

might have to get them a DVD player

 

 

 

.........just don't them watch 'Chicken Run'

 

 

hope your girls don't get too bored whist they are confined ........ keep safe

[The Dogmother]

Just spoken to Lesley - she's out of the range and hers are mostly under cover any way.

 

Fingers crossed that it won't last long. i will keep a close eye on them, but the birds at the centre that were culled were in massive sheds of intensively farmed birds, 20k or so to a shed. Hopefully the infection will be contained within the sheds.

[Lesley]

20k to a shed - that probably says it all

 

We are just outside the central zone but will keep ours in the protection pens for a while. We were wondering if it had been a waste of money to invest in 5 pens - now we can see that it was an investment worth making.

[hillfamily]

20k to a shed - that probably says it all

 

I was just thinking that

[The Dogmother]

Too right - Clive (the vet) and I were having a rant about it.

[Lesley]

Thanks for the phone call Clare - I'd missed all this in the excitement of trawling around Homebase for tile adhesive

[Egg Lou]

My thoughts to those near the affected area.. hope all your girls stay safe!

 

Sorry to be ignorant but as a first time chicken keeper is there anything I should or shouldn't do while this is going on? Don't pick mine up till friday but want to be prepared if I need to even though I am much further south.

[The Dogmother]

You're fine over there Egg Lou. We keep abreast of these things on the forum and theer will be news and advice posted as we hear it.

 

All my friends have been ringing - they know that I don't use the TV, so they've been ringing to tell me. Luckily I picked it up early.

[Egg Lou]

Thank you Claret.. I will check here regularly!

 

Best wishes to your girls!

[Phosphorus]

Just wanted to send best wishes to all those in the affected areas - hope this is over quickly and doesn't go any further. 20k in a shed does say it all. Hopefully contained though

[The Dogmother]

I've just switched the TV on, and there's nothing about it in either the national nor Midlands headlines. I shan't bother to stay up to hear all of the news.

[Cooks]

yes, my thoughts are with everyone as well, I hope everyone stays safe

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Let's just hope there's no national hysteria . Fingers crossed it all blows over quickly.

[The Dogmother]

I think there will be less panic than there was a couple of years ago when we had our first serious outbreak.

 

Unfortunately I don't think that many people will make the link between intensively reared meat and the high incidence of disease in these sheds. Local rumour, and I emphasise that it's only hearsay, is that they were birds imported recently from eastern europe and may have had the H7 virus when they were imported.

 

If this proves to be true, will they ever learn the lesson???

 

Buy local

 

Buy free range

[New2this]

Hi Claret,

 

Thank you for replying to my question under the 'Chicken' forum. 20K birds, that's awful. How unfair for those poor birds. Well I hope you don't have to keep them locked up for too long.

 

I think I'm Ok in Brize, pretty sure we're outside the zone. Fingers crossed for all concerned.

 

Christine.

[Couperman]

I think there will be less panic than there was a couple of years ago when we had our first serious outbreak.

 

Unfortunately I don't think that many people will make the link between intensively reared meat and the high incidence of disease in these sheds. Local rumour, and I emphasise that it's only hearsay, is that they were birds imported recently from eastern europe and may have had the H7 virus when they were imported.

 

If this proves to be true, will they ever learn the lesson???

 

Buy local

 

Buy free range

 

All these outbreaks always seem to occur at intensive places where the birds are kept in poor conditions, usually under cover.

 

The Bernard Mathews one was proved to not have originated from 'wild birds' but infected meat imported via trucks to the facility, so

why do they insist that we keep poulty 'under cover' so as to irradicate the apparent none existent threat from wild birds?

 

I can understand the need not to infect the wild bird population, but is the risk to them that great? I don't think so, as most of the birds infected probably have never seen the sky.

 

This is only my take on the situation and I am happy to be corrected if wrong.

 

Kev.

[Lesley]

I agree with you Kev but hysteria seems to kick in

 

I'm tempted to not put ours under cover as we're just outside the zone (10 miles rather than 10km) but DEFRA do have a habit of making un-announced visits to smallholders, and we're registered for poultry.

 

Even more annoying is the fact that they appear to make appointments to visit the bigger farms