At this time of the year, we thank all our clients for choosing PHS vets and placing your trust in us. We look forward to working with you throughout this year to find new opportunities and continue supporting your business.
We wish everyone a happy and successful 2025!
Avian Influenza Update
Cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza continue to appear; at the time of writing this newsletter, the latest cases of H5N1 were in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire.
Please remain vigilant and ring us if you think that your birds may be suffering from Avian Influenza; we have been involved in a number of AI cases recently and will be able to provide help and advice. Please remember that clinical symptoms include a drop in egg production, high or sudden mortality, and respiratory distress.
If you are in a restriction zone, you will need a movement licence to move your birds. These licences need to be completed by your vet within the 24 hours prior to movement. Each movement needs a licence and due to the sheer number of farms that are currently in restricted areas, please contact us as soon as you know when your movement will take place to allow us to plan accordingly and assign you a vet without compromising your biosecurity.
If your farm is still under restrictions when you place the following flock, you will also need a pre-placement vet visit to check the biosecurity of the farm. Movements of manure, eggs and Salmonella samples can be performed under a general licence.
Make sure that the disinfectants that you use on farm are DEFRA approved, and are used at the correct dilutions under the Diseases of Poultry and Avian Influenza Order. In case of doubt, please contact any of our poultry vets who will be happy to help.
Housing Order For – Norfolk, Suffolk, Lincolnshire, East Riding of Yorkshire, City of Kingston upon Hull
Housing Order (regional AIPZ with mandatory biosecurity and housing measures), in force from 12:00 noon on 23rd December 2024
A requirement to house poultry flocks across the whole of the recently declared Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (Norfolk, Suffolk, Lincolnshire, East Riding of Yorkshire, City of Kingston upon Hull) came into force at 12:00 noon on Monday 23rd December 2024. This was based on further findings of HPAI in poultry and other captive birds in Norfolk, the East Riding of Yorkshire and a further increase in the assessed risk of HPAI in wild birds and poultry.
This applies to all bird keepers in the AIPZ who must keep their birds housed to protect them from bird flu. This applies to pet birds, commercial flocks and birds in a backyard flock.
Make Your Farm Bio secure with AgriCure Farm Supplies
Our sister company, AgriCure Farm supplies, provides biosecurity solutions, including DEFRA-approved disinfectants, detergents and water sanitisers, to be used at turnaround and during the crop. We are also able to formulate cleaning & disinfection plans with cleaning product costs per shed so that you can be proactive and plan ahead; not only for when the birds are in, but before the birds arrive so that you can ensure the best possible start for them.
We can also provide farm hand sanitisers, foot dips, gloves, masks, overalls, biosecurity signs and other farm consumables. We are offering free-of-charge delivery for mixed pallets of disinfectants and detergents direct to the farm (minimum order applies) and, as a large poultry practice, we are confident that we can be very competitive in price whilst giving you professional, independent advice.
Please contact Maurice Dean (Business Development Manager) at [email protected] or 07572 985871 to discuss your requirements.
2025 Price Review
It is the time of year when suppliers apply their annual price rises for products. We continue to face challenges in the industry but PHS has always strived to give our clients an excellent service at the lowest possible prices. PHS has never implemented additional charges for services such as out-of-hours calls or telephone advice and has invested heavily in technologies such as Digiflock. Following the Autumn Budget Announcement you will have seen again that minimum wage will rise significantly this year along with the employer’s contribution to National Insurance, which will add to existing challenges. PHS continues to bring new, cheaper products to the market and, as promised, we were successful in bringing no rises in the cost of any medication throughout 2024. Early indications from pharmaceutical companies suggest that vaccines will again rise at around 5 to 7%, and for professional fees, there will be an increase of 7-10% from the 1st January 2025.
Please contact your local practice for information on specific prices for next year. These prices will remain in place for the whole of 2025 unless we receive additional charges from our suppliers, which we will have to pass on.
Wellbeing
As a company, PHS are very lucky to have our very own Wellbeing Champion Lucia & Mental Health first aiders Meaka & Sam in our branches.
Each month we aim to share our favorite fun fact, recipe & quote.
Fun fact: There are no seagulls in Hawaii.
Quote: “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”—Buddy the Elf.
If you need support with your mental health this is always available from https://rabi.org.uk/ the leading UK farming charity.
Advertise with us for free
Do you have a vacancy? Or want to sell equipment? Are you struggling to recruit? In Spring 2022, we launched the new PHS ‘Classifieds’ section – an online space for advertising jobs, equipment, services, and more for the poultry and gamebird industry in the UK. Please contact your local PHS branch for more information or to send us your advert. This service is available for free to PHS clients and for a small fee to non-clients.
Social Media
Social media is a great way for us to keep you up to date with what’s going on at PHS. We also like to share the occasional funny post, so if you’re a scroller then look us up! You can find us on Facebook, Twitter (@Poultryvets), and LinkedIn.
Our new Promo code!