Bird flu - now it's here what precautions will you take?

[jmum6]

Now it's reported in Scotland it's only a matter of time before it works it way south.

So will you take any precautions?

My mum and dad keep free range chickens, bantams and parakeets, should I carry on visiting with a 7month old ds?

what can we do about it? there is no point in panicking. it never does anyone any good.

of course, the government is making a cock up of it as per usual.

i think it's wrong to feed wildlife - NEVER have - it's cruel b/c it interferes w/their natural ability to survive.

it's a vicious, avian campaign against people. i think we should threaten them w/legal action.

what about feedings birds in the parks with the kids?

I am emigrating to the Arctic Circle.

I would be concerned if I kept poultry but at a personal level not otherwise.

Not worried

People, PLEASE don't feed wildlife. With or w/o bird flu, it's doing a HUGE disservice to the animals and the ecosystem. It attracts rats and other vermin, and upsets the animals' natural ability for gather its own food.

Enjoy them! Get a good pair of binocs and a book and go bird watching, but leave them be!

The virus is VERY lethal in birds. Extremely lethal viruses tend to have a sharp curve of attenuation b/c it will start killing the host before it has a chance to transmit. Interfering w/this natural process will almost definitely end in disaster.

AGGHH, birds everywhere? Where???? Where???

Oh shit, there are penguins...
The moon, is it safe?

Not worried particuarly although I will be watching out for ill or dead ducks at work, and avoiding all the mess they make (do that anyway). For some reason, although having no ponds or river, we have loads of wild ducks at the prison!

I am worried :( We live next to a river and there are always ducks in our garden, they even try to come into the house sometimes. Ducks can apparently carry and transmit the virus without becoming sick, so this is a big worry for us, with the children always playing outside etc.

We had chickens but they all got stolen a few months ago, and because of bird flu we decided to not replace them - the ducks always hang out in the hen run and go into the henhouse etc.

expat-i wish you would tell this to my mum..sigh..
she thinks birds and wildlife are more important than humans, and shes actually admitted that she would not care if she attracted bird flu to her gsrden and she said she would be more worried about passing it to her african grey parrot

There are approx 12000 free range chickens 1/2 a mile away
There is are enormous Padleys chicken plants all over our local area
It's rural, thre are birds everywhere.
It'll be interesting to see the effect on free rnage birds - and govt advice about them being kept in.

tell her to switch to a bird bath. it will still attract plenty of birds w/o the vermin.

or plant flowers and shrubs they prefer.

my dad is a keen gardner and amatuer bird watcher, and this is what he does rather than feed them.

he also would not care if his hobby cost him his life, BUT, he has a very different sort of spirituality. he feels he has lived a full life and has no fear of death.

but at the end of her day, it is her choice if she regards them w/such fondness.

Sounds like my dad, he caught pistticosis from the parakeets a few years ago and nearly died - but did he get rid of them? No.

Have just spoken to my mum, and her reaction was 'oh well, it's not likely to get to wiltshire so we don't have to keep the chickens in just yet!!!

So I'm going to avoid going round for a while, even though she only lives 2 minutes away.

It's only 1 single swan. Loads of birds die for all kinds of reasons and nobody would bat an eyelid. But because of media hysteria everyone panics. Dead swans are not routinely tested - if they were we would probably find viruses like this in many of them, not just now, but frequently in the past, and it hasn't been a problem.

so long as people leave wildlife alone, the less chance there is for it getting into the human population to any great extent.

I agree with Expat.

Spacey!! Count yourself lucky, you know my Aunt and your mum are identical - I have to visit the birdy woman next week

My aunt will seriously be freaking out over this, she's got totally paranoid and thinks people are going to come and kill her precious birds....

if they get close enough to them to kill them, they stand a chance of contracting the virus.

once again, lifestock poultry should be vaccinated and the virus left to run its course in the wild population.

I will stop kissing swans.

sorry. really i agree with expat. But is there a vaccine yet? or is the procrastination another symptom of the NFU/food industry's dislike of anything as sensible as a vaccine?

there's a vaccine for birds.

PFFFFT I aint stopping kissing birds you can all PO