Bird flu, chicken lockdown, very boring!

[CloudPerson]

Our chickens are being kept in their houses so there is no contact with wild birds, in line with DEFRA's recent ruling because of bird flu.

Where we live, we are the only people who have done this, literally everyone else who normally has chickens pecking around still has chickens pecking around, no effort has been made to keep them indoors.

So my poor chickens are leading a miserable existence, cooped up compared to their normal free ranging, but if other chickens in the area catch bird flu we'll lose our chickens as well as they are close by.

I've mentioned it to a few of the people I know, but they point out that so-and-so down the road hasn't locked their birds away, so there's no point.

Do I give up and let mine out? Do I shop all the others to defra?
Bloody irresponsible wankers

Thought I'd update this.
I emailed DEFRA. Chickens are now to be kept in until 28th February, which wasn't unexpected at all.
We are still the only local poultry keepers whose chickens are being kept in their houses, which I explained on the email, asking for some advice.
I've just had an email back giving me the standard information about chickens needing to be kept indoors.

There are chickens about 100 metres away from our chickens still free ranging. What on earth is the point in publishing guidelines and updates if they are not interested in enforcing them?

Thanks for the update Cloudperson, not a surprise at all :-( and you saved me from looking it up.

Am trying to keep our little tunnel moved onto fresh grass every few days, but with my sprained wrist and now OH has broken two ribs that's not especially easy!

Oh and I'm with you on the frustration re neighbours. Especially when I think back to the King Herod-like DEFRA visits during foit and mouth: 'do you know anyone else who keeo sheep round here' etc.

Oh no - is this in relation to the Lincolnshire outbreak, or elsewhere? They were supposed to be lifting the ban today, I thought.

There's been a confirmed outbreak at Settle (NYorks) now.

They don't need to be kept "indoors" as much as they needs to be "covered", but in my mind, it's the same thing. My girls have a run in a run which is tarped but they are miserable. One has stopped laying completely and the others are laying less but I don't know if that's because they can't go out or whether it's the time of year and they lay less anyway. I know last year they all carried on laying all through the winter.

There is a school not far away that has chickens and they aren't covered up :( those kids would be devastated if they lost them because the school didn't follow the rules :(

Flucker, if there is an outbreak there and your chickens are within 3km of them, you'll lose yours too.

I think DEFRA have shot themselves in the foot by not publicising thus better and enforcing their guidelines.

Flucker, our school hasn't got a covered run either. I agree Cloud, if this developed into a pandemic the DEFRA chiefs would be hung for the way they have dealt with this.

I've been googling more and the whole thing is so confusing, different information, not that easy to find.
I imagine part of the problem is that keeping poultry is highly unregulated, and people's attitude is that "we only gave a few hens, not going to make much difference", when in reality a few hens free ranging now has the potential to bring the poultry industry to its knees.

It was different with foot and mouth because the vast majority of livestock keepers would have their livelihood affected, so saw the importance of the guidelines.

The outbreak at settle was in chickens and ducks that weren't housed. I hope they're fined

I think DEFRA need to spell out exactly what they mean. In plain English on the national news and in the newspapers.

Mine are inside in an old barn with steel Haylage racks over the top half of the door but there are a couple of nests in there, robin and a wren.

It is the only place I have got.

In December the chief vet said

"Pet bird keepers should do their best and take sensible measures to separate them from wild birds, while looking after their welfare. I don’t want people putting them in a box in the dark and keeping them there for weeks on end.”

Open to interpretation, sensible measures, we all have different measures.

I work for DEFRA, so hopefully may be able to put your minds at rest slightly. The 3K zone is a protection zone, and the 10K is a surveillance zone put in place to monitor movements. In order to move birds in the zones a licence is required, after the necessary risk assessments have been carried out (this mainly applies to large poultry conoanies). Birds within these zones won't be culled, so even if someone down the road from you ends up with AI, as long as your birds are healthy they will be left alone.
Unfortunately, many people who keep backyard flocks don't realise the implications of not following the recommendations which I agree needs to be looked at.

@petal2204 Thankyou, that's very reassuring!

Mine are in a polytunnel, and are actually laying more at the moment than they had been. We know a couple of people who havent bothered which really annoying me. One is my father in law who doesnt give a shit, and thinks we're stupid for buying the polytunnel. What annoys me is that if we keep having outbreaks due to backyard keeper not bothering to keep them inside we'll probably all end up having to register our flocks which will end up getting expensive and far more complicated. Never mind the fact that its totally unfair on the poor birds risking them getting ill when its not much effort to try to stop it

I thought there was a substantial fine if caught not having chickens enclosed.

I'm keeping mine in a roofed walk in run. Must admit though I think it will spread via wild birds, they will just keep reinfecting each other. Yes, if my three chickens were out they might also catch it but in the grand scheme of things if hundreds or thousands of wild birds die then why does it matter?

I'm really worried about my neighbours chickens, she has around twenty chucks and they have been cooped up inside a small shed for the last month, due to the chicken lockdown. They get no natural daylight at all and it must be cramped and horrid in there. They had a day's respite the other day when the original ban ended and before the new one came in and I could see them pecking around the field, like they normally do, and they looked depleted in numbers and in very poor condition compared to how they usually are.
I'm concerned that another month or more of lockdown might finish them off. My neighbour has not attempted to provide them with a covered run or anything that might comply with the lockdown but give them a bit of fresh air, she just keeps them locked in their shed.
It must be a thoroughly miserable existence.
I'm not sure that there is anything I can do. I did try to suggest that building a temporary covered run might be a good idea and offered to help her do it, but she dismissed that idea.
My neighbour generally looks after her livestock's basic needs pretty well, I've had no other welfare concerns apart from this, but she doesn't particularly care if they die, she just gets new ones.
It's all a bit sad.
Any suggestions?
The RSPCA would not care about this as they are getting their basic needs met (fed and watered, bedding changed)

Oh and my neighbour rang defra to say she would find it too difficult to keep her geese and ducks inside and if they were going to stay out then her chickens may as well stay out as well. Defra said fair enough, don't worry about it, if you can't, you can't!

Ours are in enclosed in their run which is covered over with a sort of gazebo thing ever since it really pissed it down with rain and they got soaked. I think they're pretty alright, no wild birds have been in contact with them.