In The Zone

Joanna Palmer BSc Hons, nutritionist for the Smallholder Range, offers some timely advice to help keep your flock safe and healthy given the threat posed by the latest outbreaks of avian influenza.

- Joanna Palmer

At the time of writing, the UK had just been declared a Prevention Zone with regard to the seemingly relentless spread of avian influenza across mainland Europe. But due to the magazine’s publication schedule, the first chance you’ll get to read this will be on January 6th; the day on which the Prevention Zone restrictions come to an end.

However, it’s not clear at this stage whether restrictions will be lifted now, or continued beyond January 6th, but it seems likely at this stage that concerns will remain for a while yet.

So we thought it would be worthwhile to explain a little more about the Protection Zone, what it hopes to achieve, and how it affects back garden chicken keepers, and their birds, at a practical level.

Enhance biosecurity

As we’re sure you’re aware, it was the government’s Chief Veterinary Officer, Professor Nigel Gibbens, who announced the introduction of the Prevention Zone, early in December. It brought with it enhanced biosecurity requirements for poultry and captive birds in England, Scotland and Wales, designed to protect them from a strain of avian flu circulating in mainland Europe.