Christmas Poultry Update

You may have heard about cases of bird flu in the news. Along with all UK poultry suppliers, Richard Botterill has now brought his flocks under cover to protect them from the risk of infection. As always, his priority is keeping the birds safe and calm, and what follows is an update from Richard on the various precautions in place, to offer you some information and reassurance. 

At the moment, we have no reason to believe we need to be concerned about our poultry supply. If this situation changes, please know that our team will move heaven and earth to ensure you have a fantastic roast for the festive season. But in the meantime, we urge you to continue to support Richard if poultry is on the menu this Christmas.

Tim Wilson 

From Richard Botterill:

“Following a housing mandate, we brought our birds under cover last week; the team and I are doing everything we can to keep them safe and well. 

Although we’d always much prefer our birds to have full access to the outdoors, the truth is that as the colder, wetter weather comes in, they do naturally spend a lot more time in the barns. And so whilst the turkeys were a little grumpy for a couple of days, they have settled in well now. 

We are fortunate to have the indoor space to provide comfortable shelter with lots of room. Our barns have big open mesh sides which lets in plenty of fresh air and natural light, and we’ve added various things that will help keep the birds occupied and calm. They have comfortable, clean bedding straw plus lots of bales to perch on and peck at, as well as some shiny objects which really seem to keep them amused.  We are making mealtimes more interesting by supplementing their usual grains with oats and a few vegetables; the birds like the different textures and flavours, and it all helps to keep them stimulated yet calm.

From a biosecurity perspective, we have implemented strict controls around the farm to minimise risk, such as limited movement of people and vehicles, disinfectant foot dips and troughs, plus keeping bedding materials indoors and therefore free from exposure.  We are, of course, regularly checking on the birds to ensure everyone is okay, but we are not making unnecessary trips around the farm.

Government research shows that by putting these measures in place early, the risk is reduced to ‘low’, and thankfully DEFRA brought in the housing mandate and biosecurity recommendations much earlier than previous outbreaks. I don’t want to tempt fate, but things have been fairly smooth so far.

In a ‘normal’ year, the birds would gravitate indoors in these last few weeks anyway to shelter from the elements, so they are all getting on okay. They will have still spent 90% of their lives outdoors and are still considered free range, and there is no reason to be concerned about quality.

There’s never room for complacency when it comes to looking after animals and we are of course deeply concerned, as poultry farmers across the UK will be. But we are doing everything we can to keep things on track for Christmas, and will keep you updated if things develop.