Hello and welcome back! It has been slightly quiet on our front and I’ll tell you for why..
Chicken Corner has been truly appreciative of such a sunny Easter this year, particularly as it marked the official end of “cluckdown” (A very serious pun from The Telegraph on 03/04/2021). And just pipping their human counterparts to the post! Lucky them!
But let’s whisk the lovely reader back in time.. to a very dark and cold time known as 2020. Unknown to the majority of humanity - too consumed in their own lockdown misery - since mid-December 2020 all feathered friends of the UK have undertaken their very own lockdown.. in sympathy to their 21st-century humans perhaps?
Well no, actually wild birds and poultry are fighting their very own rampant virus: Avian Influenza in strains H5N8, H5N1, H5N2 & H5N3. The compulsory cluckdown was implemented to protect flocks across the UK from the disease which was (and in fact still is) circulating in wild birds. Poultry found to be harbouring the viral strains were to be humanely culled.
You thought your lockdown was bad! Imagine the fear of certain death when receiving a ‘positive’ NHS text message! On another note, at least you received governmental updates, daily(!) in lockdown 1.0 and ok.. admittedly fading out during 2.0 and 3.0, but still! At least the freedom of ignorance was proudly practiced, particularly by those of you who actively avoided the propaganda updates at approximately 15:00 GMT+1. Also, you weren’t kept in the dark (too much) about when the masses would eventually be released. Chickens were far worse off in my opinion.
Poultry didn’t get the same treatment.. not even one news report for members of chicken corner to choose to avoid! (Ok they may not have access to an actual television but that’s not the point!) Of course there were the original gov.uk advice guidelines outlining the restrictions and how pet owners and the poultry industry in general must abide by new rules.. but after that, nothing. It got to the point that in February we were asking a vet on Instagram whether the lockdown was still going on.. as Google decided to be unhelpful.
Unsurprisingly a month and a half later (3 weeks in perpetual darkness and a month in an aviary-style enclosure) made the members all feel rather cabin-feverish and abandoned :(
Indoor facilities with sufficient ventilation, air-circulation and personal-space were lacking in the orchard. The “aviary” was undoubtedly a tenuous contraption but as Director and Manager I really had to put the welfare of my members first. Similarly to the Covid pandemic, news reports (not strictly a relevant example as no news reports for poultry as previously pointed out).. but what I’m trying to say is, we’re all very focused on Covid and preventing the spread of it, but simultaneously disregarding the idea that other life-threatening diseases still exist!
So – yes we were trying to prevent the spread of particular strains of avian influenza, but do the means really justify the end here?
For those who weren’t adequately prepared (as one might be, because one generally buys chickens with the intention of allowing them outside for 70% of their days), could the “cluckdown” and the conditions birds were being kept in actually be more detrimental to their health in the small-scale and short (& long)-term?
For example, 10 chickens in a small space with limited light and ventilation could manifest other chronic respiratory diseases & mite and lice infestations. These could lead to the same two results – 1. Death 2. Undesirable or unknown diseases entering the human food chain.
Taking the above into consideration and picturing a snowy February, the more spacious “aviary” re-arrangement was well underway (of course sticking to the enclosure rules), but ultimately with the health and best-interests of my birds at heart!
N.B. All images are taken from the “Big Release” on 1st April 2021.
Well Chicks, I hope you are as happy as these chickadees!! x
Commentaires