New restrictions for all Shropshire chicken keepers from 27 January

All chicken keepers in Shropshire should from Monday 27 January preserve their birds housed to guard them from chicken flu.

An image of a hen

The Animal and Plant Well being Company has mentioned the entire of the Shropshire Council space might be topic to an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) with necessary housing and biosecurity measures for any saved birds.

This is applicable to pet birds, business flocks and just some birds in a yard flock.

This follows the reporting of an outbreak of avian flu in a big business poultry flock close to Wem earlier this week.

The county is one in all 3 new areas nationally the place these restrictions will now apply.

All chicken keepers ought to stay vigilant and observe these housing and stringent biosecurity measures, along with following any Safety/Surveillance Zone restrictions to forestall future outbreaks.

A 3km Safety Zone and 10km surveillance zone is already in pressure across the outbreak close to Wem.

Flock keepers are being requested to search for any indicators of illnesses while making certain good ranges of biosecurity at their premises. The next recommendation will help you in figuring out and reporting any potential circumstances:

Spot the indicators of Chicken Flu:

• Uncommon quietness, decreased exercise ranges.
• Decreased ranges of vocalisation.
• Decreased ranges of feed and water consumption.
• Decreased egg manufacturing.

In case you are involved in regards to the well being of your animals, please search recommendation out of your vet.

Recommendation for chicken keepers

It’s at the moment a authorized requirement to register all flocks of birds so that data may be despatched to you. Registration of flocks may be accomplished by going to: www.gov.uk/bird-flu

There are some easy measures poultry keepers ought to take to guard their birds in opposition to the specter of avian flu. These embrace:

• Hold the realm the place birds reside clear and tidy, management rats and mice and repeatedly clear and disinfect any exhausting surfaces.
• Hold chickens and turkeys utterly separate from geese and geese.
• Conduct common upkeep checks on their sheds.
• Clear moss off the roofs, empty gutters and take away vegetation between sheds the place birds are saved.
• Draw up contingency plans for storing bedding and coping with pests.
• Place birds’ feed and water in totally enclosed areas which can be shielded from wild birds, and take away any spilled feed repeatedly.
• Put fencing round outside areas the place birds are allowed and restrict their entry to ponds or areas visited by wild waterfowl.
• Clear and disinfect footwear earlier than and after coming into premises the place birds are saved.
• Avian influenza is just not air-borne, besides over very brief distances. It’s unfold by motion of contaminated birds or contact with respiratory secretions and particularly faeces, both straight or via contaminated objects, garments and automobiles.

APHA Interactive Avian Influenza Disease Map

Councillor Chris Schofield, cupboard member for planning and regulatory providers mentioned:

“Shropshire is being added to the areas the place these measures apply as a result of we’d like everybody to work collectively to assist forestall the spead of avian flu. I ask anybody concerned in poultry farming in Shropshire to stick strictly to ensure their birds are housed they usually observe biosecurity measures to forestall any additional unfold.”