A Stirling district free range poultry farm is hoping that the lockdown relating to bird flu will be lifted next month.
The 1100 birds at Leckie Layers at Gargunnock’s Old Leckie Farm have been part of the lockdown since December due to the risk of avian influenza (H5N1).
Last month the Scottish Government reminded bird keepers to maximise biosecurity and keep flocks housed after bird flu was confirmed in a flock of approximately 14,000 mixed gamebirds at a rearing premises at Leven, Fife.
Lockdown restrictions had come into force in mid December to keep poultry and other captive birds separate from wild birds, and follow strict biosecurity measures, to limit the spread of the virus and eradicate the disease.
Alison Younger of Leckie Layers said this week: “Our hens are normally free ranging during daylight hours on our grass pastures, but secure in their housing overnight.
“Since lockdown they have not been able to come out at all during the day meaning that we have had to work extra hard to keep them dry, clean and entertained.
“The Leckie Layers housing is light and airy and contains scratch areas for the hens – so we keep this regularly topped up with dry sawdust so they can ‘bathe’, keep their feathers clean and scratch around.
“We regularly walk through the houses chatting to the ladies and rotate toys – like footballs, and paint filled bottles, for them to give them a point of interest and some entertainment whilst not able to free range.
“By law we can still sell our eggs as free range for up to 16 weeks if they are under Government housing restrictions.
“The last time we had a lockdown [2016/17] it was left in place for the full 16 weeks to allow the risk to reduce as much as possible.
“Outbreaks seem to be reducing, so fingers crossed it will be lifted soon – we are now about 12 weeks into it – so hopefully by the start of April they will be back out and about.”
Click here for more news and sport from the Stirling area.
■ In December it was confirmed that three mute swans found in Clackmannanshire that month had died of avian flu.
One of the swans was collected on December 11 and the other two on December 15.
Clackmannanshire Council had stated that the birds’ deaths had been confirmed as avian flu, adding: “The risk to human health is extremely low, however we understand that this will cause concern for local people.”
