Rearing chickens can be a rewarding experience when fresh, free-range eggs are on the table in the morning. However, maintaining a pest-free home for our feathered friends is an ongoing challenge for all of us. To create a healthy environment for chickens, we need to ensure that pests are kept out of the coop to provide the best space for your feathered friends to live. It can be a challenge to nurse chickens back to health after a pest invasion, so ensuring you know how to tackle pest problems before they occur can significantly help.
With a housing order enforced in England until further notice, all domestic birds must be kept indoors to prevent the spread of bird flu (avian influenza). Whether housing a backyard flock, or a free-range commercial flock, increasing enrichment during the ‘flockdown’ period will support bird welfare and health.
Now that we are 6 weeks into the ‘hen lockdown’ as a result of avian influenza, there are several things to consider and jobs to be done to keep hens happy and content, and ensure they are prepared for when pop holes can reopen.
From the 14th December, free-range layers will need to be housed to comply with new government measures which have been put in place to reduce the spread of avian influenza.
Due to the recent cases of High Path Avian Influenza (H5N1) in both captive/commercial poultry and in the wild bird population, the governments of England, Wales and Scotland have declared Great Britain an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ).
Red mite control options always rise to front of the mind as the weather warms up. Fiona Hunt, poultry specialist at Wynnstay, reviews the pros and cons of different control options for use in free range layers.
“Most flocks experience a level of red mite pressure, which can be expected to increase in late spring and summer as temperatures warm-up and conditions are more favourable for breeding,” says Fiona.
She explains that a multifaceted approach is required to control red mite, which should include a pre housing treatment and a planned control method to use once the birds are in, to keep the numbers as low as possible.
“A prescribed medicated treatment may also be appropriate should an infestation arise,” she adds.
With UK supermarkets pledging to move away from caged eggs, a new 16,000 bird shed will need to be built each week until 2025 to meet consumer demand. This creates an opportunity for farmers looking to diversify their business by producing free range eggs.
The egg market has a strong future, however getting started in free range egg production is a big investment, both financially and in terms of time associated with obtaining planning permission and managing the shed building.
There are three key considerations for farms looking into setting up a free range system.
The risk of heat stress in laying hens can be reduced and managed by focusing on ventilation, house temperature, feed and water factors, and by creating shade.
As summer approaches and temperatures increase, the threat of red mite increases. Costing European poultry producers €360 million each year, red mite is not an issue to be swept ‘beneath the slats’. In this blog I share my insight into how to stop red mite impacting flock performance through prevention, monitoring and treatment strategies.
In our previous blog 'How to Keep Your Birds Healthy through a Bird Flu Outbreak', we listed a number of ways in which you can keep your birds healthy during the Avian Influenza housing order. One area we recommended focusing on was flock enrichment, hens must be kept active in order to help reduce stress levels and avoid destructive and aggressive behaviour.
