Stock Types

Like most livestock or pure breeds of animal, they are frequent sold according to a level of criteria they meet, and in this respect chickens are no different.   Show Quality Stock By definition, an example of a breed that is deemed as being of show or exhibition quality is a bird that exhibits all …

Egg producers urged to be ready to protect from ‘year round’ bird flu threat – Farming UK News

Last year I predicted this threat could well become a reality in terms of keeping birds indoors and under cover for 6 months of the year. I didn't want to imagine it could become a year round issue. There will be some tough decisions and tough times ahead for backyarders, the Fancy and poultry shows …

A Brief Appearance on BBC Midlands Today talking about Avian Flu

In case you don't live in the Midlands area or didn't get to see me pointing out of the anomalies in one country applying HRAs (High Risk Areas) and the neighbouring country not following suit.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYTZSje_yYk My thanks to David for picking up on the story, it ran for most of the day and …

Chief Vet Nigel Gibbens questions the viability of free range egg production in avian influenza high risk areas – Farming UK News

This might not be what people want but I can't deny the logic behind the fact that if you can't free range then don't free range. It's up to you to decide if that means don't keep chickens, or do keep them but in a contained environment. "UK's Chief Vet Nigel Gibbens has said that …

More sugar coating of egg production – aka Alternative Facts

So...fancy some alternate facts? Read this emotional 'plea' to 'save' spent hens. They are barely a year old and looking for new homes Source: Hens could be slaughtered - unless people don't come forward to offer them new homes - Coventry Telegraph Yep, you read it right, farmer goes and buys 5,000 hens, puts them in …

Farmers, Smallholders Warned Not to Feed Kitchen Scraps to Animals – The Poultry Site

UK - The Animal and Plant Health Agency is warning farmers and smallholders not to feed catering or kitchen waste to livestock such as pigs and poultry, even if they are being kept as pets. Source: Farmers, Smallholders Warned Not to Feed Kitchen Scraps to Animals - The Poultry Site

Chicken Nugget – The Dorking

Breed Name: Dorking Region of origin: United Kingdom  Profile: The Dorking is a very ancient British breed believed to have its ancestry rooted back in Roman Britain where five-toed Dorking like breeds were described in texts from AD 47. It is a very heavy breed but there is no evidence as yet to suggest that, as …

WorldPoultry – German parliament rejects male chick cull ban

....but is killing them before they hatch really the answer or just the cheaper option?

Race is on to rehome thousands of chickens (to increase profits?)

"CAN you make sure these chickens do not fall foul of the slaughterhouse and give them a new home?" Source: Race is on to rehome thousands of chickens (From The Argus) Yep, yet another pile of misinformation with cracking quotes like "Legally hens cannot be kept on farms for longer than 78 weeks because the …

What goes in must come out – the blindness of backyard poultry keepers?

  I’m quite vocal at times about the contrast between commercial poultry rearing and small scale or backyard keeping. I can be quite damning about some the legislation because I’m a great believer that in a large majority of cases one size doesn’t fit all. In fact the concept of one size fitting all seems …