Egg-citing opportunity for hen fans
Farmer selling off his stock
A HIGHAM hen farmer is offering thousands of layers for adoption because they have reached their commercial ‘sell-by-date’.
John Terry of Oak Tree Farm on Stoke Golding Lane will be opening his gates to prospective poultry proponents this weekend.
Birds have a nominal cost of £2.50 each and while initially they may look a little hen-pecked they’ll soon be back to their full-feathered selves given a little TLC.
As a commercial egg producer Mr Terry only has the birds for about a year. After this while the hens will still lay they don’t provide enough eggs to make it financially viable to keep them.
For families and individuals keen on getting ‘farm fresh’ eggs however they will deliver more than enough.
Sadly if the 5,000 chickens are not snapped up they will go to slaughter.
While concerns about bird flu are ongoing people are being urged to follow advice as set out by Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
The farm is fully compliant and precautions will be implemented at the entrance and the hen house.
Measures have been in place since confirmed cases of avian flu were found in December. A dead widgeon - a type of duck - tested positive for the H5N8 strain in Leicestershire.
The same strain has been discovered in birds in Settle, North Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, a swannery in Dorset and flocks in Carmarthenshire, south west Wales. at
The Government has introduced an avian influenza prevention zone, which lasts until February 28 to help protect poultry and captive birds.
Chickens and other birds, whether kept for poultry, eggs or as pets, need to be kept from coming into contact with wild birds.
Ideally this means bringing them into a suitable building. If the birds are brought inside into bird houses, they will still be classed as free range as the prevention zone means they can be housed for up to 12 weeks.
Other measures include making sure feed and water cannot be accessed by wild birds, cleaning and disinfecting housing and equipment, vehicles and footwear.
Avian flu has been found in 14 countries across Europe.