Already a month into lockdown for chickens

TWO lockdowns are currently in place in England at the moment: one for humans and the other for birds – and my free range chickens are not happy about the latter.

While we are all cooped up in our homes as part of coronavirus restrictions, poultry across the country is cooped up in sheds and hen houses enduring confinement to protect against the spread of a different virus altogether.

Outbreaks of avian flu have resulted in the Government imposing strict rules on keeping birds, to prevent the disease passing from wild to captive flocks.

An Avian Influenza Prevention Zone has been declared across the whole of England which means that bird keepers, whether they have pet birds, commercial flocks or just a few backyard hens, are required to take a range of precautions including, from midDecember, keeping their birds indoors except in specific circumstances.

It was imposed following evidence of avian influenza in wild birds on the Continent and in England, and there have been a number of cases scattered across the country, including two confirmed infections in small Westcountry poultry flocks near Gillingham in Dorset and near Exmouth in Devon.

The Food Standards Agency has said that on the basis of current scientific evidence, avian influenza poses a very low food safety risk for UK consumers, adding that properly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, are safe to eat.

Under the guidance captive birds such as chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese and so on should be housed or kept in an enclosure totally netted to prevent any contact with wild birds.

I have three chickens that were loving life roaming free in the garden and generally making a mess, returning to their hen house at night to sleep. The trio, of the warren breed, have proven particularly good natured and excellent layers, but do like their freedom.

So, confined to a hen house coop, peering out through the fine mesh at the garden from which they are currently banished, they look thoroughly miserable, hankering for the freedom to get out grazing the grass and wrecking the flowerbeds. They much prefer foraged wild food to accompany their diet of layer’s pellets and grain, though do perk up when offered a handful of rice or spaghetti.

I’ve tried suspending lettuce on a string in their coop, which I have been told keeps them busy and stimulated, but they’re not in the mood for games it seems – and must wonder what they did wrong to end up in the chicken clink. Hopefully the poultry lockdown won’t last too long, because happy hens and free range eggs is why I keep them in the first place.