Blackrocksrock Posted December 24, 2016 Share Posted December 24, 2016 Well we have and have had to rescue them - sparrows have been in there and always have done/chickens like birds!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted December 24, 2016 Share Posted December 24, 2016 I once had an extra chicken in the form of one big fat wood pigeon! I was ushering the ladies into the run after their breakfast, being in a slight hurry for work. They were a little reluctant but got them inside anyway. Just as I closed the run, I spotted the pigeon pottering around in the back! Bit of a flurry of feathers, but in the end managed to get everyone on the right side of the door... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted December 24, 2016 Share Posted December 24, 2016 Which birds are those? I have never seen any wild birds in any of my runs. When we used to have sparrows one managed to get in through the Omlet bars and I have had one blue tit get in once before too. Sadly birds have declined in my area so there hasn't been any in my run for a long time - good for my chickens though I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted December 25, 2016 Share Posted December 25, 2016 I am speechless; the park at the bottom of our road has a large aviary, with a roof that's mesh, with a couple of covered areas. A couple of weeks into the prevention order, I gave the town council a ring to advise them that it needed to be covered. It is still open mesh wild birds are able to get into the aviary and eat the caged birds' food. I have emailed them again. if they don't do any thing about it report them to DEFRA at the end of the day councils are an enforcement agency if they can't abide by the regs. on there own property they can't enforce them else were. that's what a council officer told me many years ago after He reported a H&S breach at a community I was replacing windows at after I asked him if he could have a quiet word about the art group spray painting in a room next to were We were working with no form of ventilation i.e all the windows closed because it was cold and the center manager thought that was exceptable. after I'd asked a couple of times for the windows to be opened Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackrocksrock Posted December 25, 2016 Share Posted December 25, 2016 This was taken quite a few years ago but is still relevent today - we get all sorts and the best ones I love are the long tailed tits who come regularly but stay a very short time and are very wary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted December 26, 2016 Share Posted December 26, 2016 Cute. Have to say that the long tailed tits are a big favourite here too. Around Easter we were sitting in the garden as it was a hot day and there were new babies on the wing - parents were going crazy trying to round their babies up - they got so close to us - in fact on a branch by hubbie's head! Too scared to move he was! Digress - seems most birds are widgeons that were found dead all over but the one in Scotland was a peregrine falcon. Very sad. I wonder if Defra will increase the curfew as a result of these findings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted December 26, 2016 Share Posted December 26, 2016 I expect that they will, unless it dies down in the next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted December 27, 2016 Share Posted December 27, 2016 I suppose with most of the wild bird cases to date all been wigeon that they all came from the same migrating flock that the curfew will have to be extended at least for another 30 days and that's if there's no more cases once the DEFRA labs re-open after the Christmas break then it will be in place for at least 30 days from the last confirmed find of AI I looked wigeon up last week their migration into their final UK over wintering grounds can run till late January. touch wood the out break in Lincolnshire has been contained to the one farm if so is an indication that the precautions work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted December 27, 2016 Share Posted December 27, 2016 My feel for this is that it might extend to the end of February. While there's no official steer yet, it is likely to be much more widespread than we have evidence of. The waterfowl will be starting to return to their spring and summer habitats, overflying and stopping here in the UK on the way, so we won't have seen the end of it yet. Whether it goes beyond that will depend on the impact of AI on the UK in the next month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted December 27, 2016 Share Posted December 27, 2016 it'll be interesting to see what comes out of DEFRA next week re new cases of infection in the wild Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 My hens are in WIR and covered but birds can get through wire fencing. Thinking of doubling up on wire. Not sure if this will stop them though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 bird flu has been found in a back yard flock of ducks and chickens in Wales http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/more-cases-bird-flu-been-12400350 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlina Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 The wales online story still says it was suspected bird flu Unfortunately the BBC is reporting that this has been confirmed: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-38500195 Doesn't bode well for the girls getting out of detention, they are most dischuffed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Had this through from DEFRA, by way of confirmation: A case of avian influenza has been confirmed near Pontyberem in Carmarthenshire and restrictions are in place. Read more at: http://bit.ly/2hMd6Oe . Reckon they might be extending the prevention period soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlina Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 I find myself wondering which birds (ducks or hens or both) had the virus in the latest Welsh incidence. And whether they had kept them under cover etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Me too Merlina Just this last weekend, I drove past a garden and could see free ranging hens in it!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clucker1 Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 But if you don't follow the news, how would you know? I heard via mother in law who had seen it on the morning tv news the day it was announced. I would have seen it online the same day but if you aren't a news junky??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 I find myself wondering which birds (ducks or hens or both) had the virus in the latest Welsh incidence.And whether they had kept them under cover etc Just had a look in the sequencing database for Influenza, but they haven't been added yet. Quite odd as none of the other finds have been added to the database yet. Last entry dates from 2014. Database normally states the species in which it was found. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clucker1 Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 I do suppose it might be more known about than I think, I've had a couple of colleagues ask me about my chickens recently. There again one of my egg customers hadn't a clue about the defra situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 But if you don't follow the news, how would you know? I heard via mother in law who had seen it on the morning tv news the day it was announced. I would have seen it online the same day but if you aren't a news junky??? You can sign up for email alerts from DEFRA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Read the Defra report today and it said that there was a case in Rutland - which was news to me. They said nothing the other day when I looked. The date was previously 6th January but the only date I could see was in the report which mentioned 9th January. I guess the final date had been removed, although I think the 9th concerned the zones which already had the flu. But I'm not too sure about that. In the meantime and as we have no idea if this is going to continue, we gave the girls a clean out (I carried them into the greenhouse for a change of scenery and back to bed in the evening, yes I paddled in the virkon) and the run is now beautiful and clean. We went for a walk today after I let them out although only Skye came down to the feeders. When we got back I took down their tea and there was a lot of whingeing. The 2 big girls hadn't even ventured out of the cube - so no food or drink all day! YOU STUPID BIRDS! So when they saw Skye tucking into the goodies they eventually came down. It wasn't until this evening I said to DH - I wonder if they thought the new aubiose was snow! It was frosty outside and the aubiose was nice and white so perhaps . . . And on the journey home from Alresford there, in a field, was a flock of about 20 chickens of various colours. "Ooh chickens!" said I - and then I said "heyyy why are they outside?!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 That's odd Val, the Rutland outbreak was a couple of weeks before Christmas. I reckon that DEFRA has had a long break! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 This was the first report I'd read - it mentioned all the others on the main part but not the Rutland bit. I didn't bother looking at the other earlier documents as I was only trying to find out if there were any more recent things. So if Rutland was a while back we can hope there won't be any more. Well, I say hope. Aaaaaaand why not indeed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 The main migration back seems to have started; skeins of geese were flapping and honking across the sky at OH's at the weekend. So fingers crossed that there are no more cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...