bird flu...if you have pet ducks, geese, etc ... anyone worried...

[dolally]

.. I know it's maybe a hyped-up subject but a bird -breeding friend said we should keep our kids at least 30m away from our duck pen if bird flu reaches this country. Anyone taking special precautions?

We live beside lakes which have about 40-50 ducks, 8 swans and loads of geese.

Call me foolhardy, but no I'm not taking any precautions. The kids and I still feed them every morning.

I might regret it later, but the cynical side of me suspects that the drug companies are hyping it all up, whilst rubbing their hands in glee.

But would also be interested in other mnners opinions.

The World Health Org website says that ducks carry the virus but are not otherwise affected, which makes difficult any behaviour alteration on the part of humans in direct contact. Yikes. I know we have a greater risk of being runover crossing the road but I think I'd rather my kids didn't go in the duck pen. Duck excretion contain a lot of the virus.

I know exactly what your saying, but I refuse to let it spoil the life I'm leading at the moment. There is no way,we can walk out and about the area we live withough walking in duck poo

It's when they wander into the house and poo on the carpet that I get angry!!

Of course dolally, I'll probably regret later as I may regret eating cheap mince in the 80s.

OMG it's now the headline on the main news!!!

no, not worried at all. you'd have to sleep next to them and breathe in their faeces night and day.

QofQ on another thread says

Each year normal 'flu' (influenza) kills an estimated 3000-4000 people in the UK alone (and that's in a 'non epidemic year - 30000 extra died in 1989-1990)

As of 9 January, 2006, the World Health Organisation had confirmed 146 cases of H5N1 in humans in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, China and Turkey, leading to 76 deaths. And considering it was first discovered in humans in 1997 that's not really very many on a global basis.

my dh is going to kill our ducks and hens if it gets to this country

no, red, the number of fatalities is nothing so far on a global scale. But it hasn't yet mutated to a humanly transmissable disease, but it CAN.....and gets more likely with every new case of a human catching it.

Any way you know all that I'm sure.... sorry to be so gloomy... and totally agree we can't change our lives for a maybe.

juice.... my dh has suggested the same, and the kids do not like the idea one little bit. They even handreared one of the blasted ducks....

My mum is of the 'wring necks' opinion too but I am not so sure.
By the way do you know that if you have more than 50 birds (in total i.e. can be a mix) then you should register with the new Poultry Register? Details should be on the DEFRA website.

My DH was talking this morning of bringing ours in and putting them in the spare bathroom, the idea being they could use the bath, hopefully he was joking!

Build a wire chicken run for them and a proper coop for nights. Let them run free range whilst you are in the garden and keep an eye on them.

Well, that's what my sister has done. She's got 3 lovely hens, a proud cockrel and 3 ducks.

They've got coyotes that way, anyhow, so she usually keeps a close eye on them anyway.

we have 4 chickens, not panicking yet!

Does anyone know of symptoms for birds before they die?

Redtart - I 2nd you on should worry about what we ate back then!

3 chickens. Not worried yet. Might be more concerned if / when it reaches this country. Will consider cooping them up / culling them at that point.

Have you registered them with the authorities - I did .....he laughed and said he'd never done 1 chicken before...& no he didn't need her name

Lol!!!

If you're worried - eat them!