to ask my neighbours to keep their chickens in?

[thepastisanothercountry]

Our neighbours who I dont' really know that well have a number of chickens (14 I think!). Normally no bother at all though perhaps slightly whiffy in the summer.

There's avian flu in the area (geese and swans in nearby park) and they've not put them inside. I'm assuming they know but it's been a couple of days now and all over the news.

They seem alright but as we dont really know them I'm a bit nervous of popping round to tell them to lock up their chickens - what do you think WIBU to do so or just interfering ?

I would inform the council. They are breaking the law.

And i am not one for reporting at all but with this I would.

Yep, there's flockdown at the moment.

Defra will take a dim view of this. Chooks should not be whiffy, so they may not be cleaning them out regularly.

There is a chicken lock down in place to protect the national flock and us! Report them. Friends birds haven't been out doors for months

Why do people keep chickens when they have neighbours close by ??? So selfish! There is a covenant where I live that stops you having live stock , quite rightly !

Oh blimey I hadn't realised it was the law - I thought it was just advisory for the good of the chickens and other birds.

Poor birds - flockdown sounds miserable and no netflix for them either :(

Do you mean they're free roaming?

I don't think they have to be locked in as in inside their hen house all day, I think they just need to be penned and under cover so bird poo can't land on their area.

My neighbors ignored the rules over Xmas, I reported to the council, they've now had a visit & their chickens have been kept inside their run with tarpaulin over the roof ever since.

Don't feel bad about reporting. The avian flu conditions are in place for a reason.

It’s the law at the moment, they can’t roam free, report to the councillor DEFRA

How “outside “ are they? Mine are still outside but with netting over the run. Defra bloke said that was fine.

@BriansTail

Do you mean they're free roaming?

I don't think they have to be locked in as in inside their hen house all day, I think they just need to be penned and under cover so bird poo can't land on their area.

Yes that's correct.

They can be in a pen but it must be covered to stop them interacting with wild birds.

It’s the law at the moment that they have to be kept under a tarp or under cover and are not allowed to roam free. It’s been like this since November.

@Everdreamer1990 ah good that's what I thought.

They're just wandering freely about the garden

@gunnersgold

Why do people keep chickens when they have neighbours close by ??? So selfish! There is a covenant where I live that stops you having live stock , quite rightly !

Why on earth is it selfish?

Report them immediately, it could have catastrophic consequences for the national flock if bird flu takes hold. They’re breaking the law and don’t sound like the understand their responsibilities. Owning livestock is a whole other ballgame from keeping domestic animals.
www.bhwt.org.uk/avian-influenza/

Illegal to let them free roam right now. I have a small flock and they're stuck in their enclosure, hating life.

If I had chickens again I'd have a large run and not have them out in the garden freely anyway. Too many foxes for that, they are pretty good at getting into coops/runs as it is.

Report them immediately. Not to be mean, but just because we don’t need another sodding pandemic or indeed any other outbreaks of anything in the human or animal communities

Noisy smelly things, it’s so selfish to keep them near neighbours. People are so inconsiderate.

@thepastisanothercountry

They're just wandering freely about the garden

report - outbreak near us due to a backyard flock.

@Charlieiscool

Noisy smelly things, it’s so selfish to keep them near neighbours. People are so inconsiderate.

Exactly how I feel about dogs.

As others have said, they shouldn't be free-roaming right now. It's safest for them to be under cover, even if they won't be happy about it (I had one who would pace like a mad thing if locked in the run).

I'd speak to your neighbour about it first, she might not realise they're at risk.

@Charlieiscool

Noisy smelly things, it’s so selfish to keep them near neighbours. People are so inconsiderate.

If they are smelly its because they are not being cleaned out or looked after properly.

@ElftonWednesday

If I had chickens again I'd have a large run and not have them out in the garden freely anyway. Too many foxes for that, they are pretty good at getting into coops/runs as it is.

Omlet coops and runs are fox proof