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Avian flu prevention

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Old Central:
This advice is emerging and seems to affect all poultry keepers:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/avian-influenza-bird-flu#prevention-zone
OC

BarriedaleNick:
Thanks for that

daveyboi:
So no free ranging till January ...
I wonder how the shops will label their goods at such short notice

Alison_Kristina:
Just heard about all this an hour ago. I have two free-range chickens in my back garden. They live in a Forsham Ark but I let them out every morning around 8.30 - 9am and they put themselves to bed around 4pm at the moment.

There have been rare occasions where I am away from home for a couple of days and at first I kept them in the Ark but even after a couple of days of being cooped up they were having behavioural issues and started pecking at each other.

Although they are quite placid, If I keep them cooped up for 30 days, well, they're not going to last that long, they are going to kill each other.

It is not fair nor right to keep them cooped up. I've just ordered some sparrow proof netting (19mm mesh size) from pestfix (an expense I can barely afford) and will construct a temporary run for them. I'll also remove the wild bird seed feeder from the garden in order to reduce the desire for them to come into the garden. I realise that wild birds will be able to poo through the netting, but there's little I can do about that - where I live (open countryside) we have high winds so a tarp roof to the temp run is not possible and I don't have the money or ability to construct a more permanent roofed structure.


--- Quote from: daveyboi on December 07, 2016, 09:59:05 ---I wonder how the shops will label their goods at such short notice

--- End quote ---

Due to it being a legal requirement beyond the control of the poultry owners it does not affect labeling requirements or egg classes. 'Free range' eggs can still be classed as free range if they met the free range requirements prior to the prevention zone order.

Ali.

Alison_Kristina:
For anyone reading this, and regarding free-range status, the official document (Biosecurity and preventing disease in captive birds within a Prevention Zone) available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/avian-influenza-bird-flu#prevention-zone says:


--- Quote ---Impact of required housing on organic and free-range status

The legal requirement to keep your birds separate from wild birds also applies to free-range and organic poultry producers.

The organic status of poultry flocks is not affected by any legal requirement to house or restrict access to open-air runs, provided that all other requirements of the Organic Standards continue to be met.

Products of free-range flocks that are required by government to be housed retain their free-range status provided the housed period does not exceed 12 weeks 3 . The current housing requirements run for 30 days. The usual free-range marketing requirements apply in all other instances .

If you have longer-term concerns about possible loss of status, for example organic or free-range, you should consult the responsible sector body or organic certification body.
--- End quote ---

Ali.

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