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?

We've made our chickens a luxury run. Its not wild bird proof but it stops them crapping everywhere. I'm not panicking, it's on my mind and I have to admit I've stopped my 2 year old collecting the eggs for now!

Tall
My sis's hubby made her hens a ssweeettt chicken run! The hens love it! She lets them roam most of the time, though, as she and my dad spend many hours out in the garden - both are keen gardeners.

He was able to get a coop that comes in a kit and was easy peasy to assemble w/a nail gun. They got the coop when they got the hens, though, b/c they have coyotes in the area. It's pretty luxurious, and great for their rabbits and guinea pigs as well.

Going back to measles, how old are they when they have the booster?

Just been to a 1st Birthday party and been surrupticiously checking all the toddlers for spots, coughs, sneezes, strange clucking sounds.. etc etc!!

And of course every child there had something wrong with it!

I will rinse my McTucky nuggets in cola before serving.

they're offered an MMR booster between the ages of 3-5.

hopefully another one at 11-13 years will be offered, b/c it can wear off and leave an adult exposed.

Kids are going to fall ill, jmum. Just as we adults do.

i live in fife and am not too worried about bird flu. what will be will be.

having said that, i found myself giving the pigeons a wider berth whilst out shopping today

Lots of free-range hens are being build new shelters so they can be kept inside accordong to todays paper

Back to measles-both my kids had it and had both had MMR- dd1 was misdiagnosed and went to nursery for 3 days before dd2 was diagnosed measles (we think this caused her hearing probs) My mum then got it and was seriously ill.

Bird Flu is suspected here in Jersey, C.I after a dead duck was found. It's not been confirmed yet, just suspected.

Stylish

Try not to panic, its not called bird flu for nothing (ie, it only effects birds )

Also, if it did mutate to a human form, it is unlikely to cause the widespread deaths that everyone is fearing.

If you think about it, the only thing that the HN51 strain wants to do, is to reproduce (like most living organisms/bacteria/humans/other mammals etc etc)and the only way it can do that it by finding itself a nice host to live off.

If it becomes so virulent (?sp) that it kills it's host off, then it runs the risk of being hostless, so to speak and so can't reproduce and so will eventually die out (which it doesn't want to do)

Anyway, what will probably happen, if (and that's a big IF)it does mutate to human form, is that it will hit quite hard to begin with (with possibly a fairly high percentage of deaths ), but then will gradually change it's behaviour so that it's hosts don't die (although may come ill), but remain alive and able to pass it on to another host.

Anyway, im just trying to be the voice of reason. My advis would be to spen less time reading the sun/mail/express/othr shite newspapers and buy yourself something worthwhile and rationale like the New Scientist (brilliant articles in there recently!)

anyway, off now to stock up on bottled water and tins of soup, awaiting mass hysteria!

I believe only 150 people have died worldwide just compare that to measles. Therefore am not going to panic. I honestly the media are going a bit mad about it. Do you remember all the furore about terrorist dirty bombs? Until people are dropping dead around the country I am not going to change any habits. When your time comes it comes and personally I think there is more chance of being killed in a plane crash and people are still going on holiday. I actually think all London journalists should be shut into a room until the scare is over and then we will all sleep safer.

I will not change a thing there really is no need to panic unless you own any poultry.

My mum decided a few weeks ago to sell all of her free range chickens and there huts as she thought this was all getting a little close for comfort, luckily she got rid of all of them at a nice tidy profit so has nothing to worry about.

flutterbee - there is no need to panic even if you do own poultry....sigh...

We live in Lagos, Nigeria, and they now have Bird Flu in the city as well as in the country areas. Lots of people keep chickens and you always see them running around the streets. (chickens, not people!) I don't think they are panicking much about it, Bird Flu is just another disease to add to the many which afflict Nigerians.

i did hear an expert saying that the real worry is if bird flu spreads to parts of Africa where there are large numbers of people suffering from HIV/AIDS. He thinks the virus has a much greater chance of then mutating as those people's immune systems are so weak.

Well I'm off out later to a place with ducks so I'm going to wear my mask, goggles, plastic suit and latex gloves... as will all the children

You don't often see dead ducks do you? Wonder where they go to. Some sort of ducky graveyard?

I went to a lake once in Yorkshire, someone had dumped something into it and I guess we were the first people to go since that had happened, (was only a small lake) but I think there were twenty something dead swans the same amount of dead ducks, and about 70 dead toads/frogs!!!! It freaked us out then, can you imagine coming across that now! We'd be in the shower scrubbing ourselves with disinfectant for weeks lol...

Apart from that though I've never seen a dead duck! Maybe there's a dead duck fairy who magics them away and she as just overworked that day!

i'm even more annoyed now at not having a garden, b/c i'd LOVE to have chickens! lots going spare at the local SSPCA. damn.

Handleme I don't mean panic because thay are at a great risk or anything, I mean panic because there is bound to be a large outbreak of rumour and gossip about how safe it is to eat eggs. Now my Mum who sold mainly to local markets and village people noticed a considerable drop off in sales when bird flu hit europe so now that its in this country one can only presume that this will become even more apparent and for people like my Mum this could make keeping the chickens not worth it. For very large producers it won't pose a problem though.

i have noticed the nearby canal, usually full of ducks, has become rather empty. My ds gets quite disappointed when we` walk down the tow path and only see the odd lone duck. Haven't seen any dead bodies tho. Where have they all gone?

Some feckless numpty abandoned over 30 hens and cockrels in the quarantine zone up here in Scotland in panic. B/c of his actions, all those animals had to be destroyed. Bastard is going to be prosecuted to the max if/when caught, which I hope is soon.

that is awful expatinscotland. Hope they catch him :(