Avian Influenza Update.
New cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza continue to appear; at the time of writing this newsletter, the latest confirmed case of H5N1 was in Pocklington, 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 several 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 before 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 the 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 – New Areas included – Herefordshire, Worcestershire & Cheshire, Merseyside & Lancashire.
APHA has expanded its mandatory housing order to cover more areas of England. This applies to pet birds, commercial flocks and birds in a backyard flock. Birds must be housed. This was from Sunday 16 February, farmers must follow the strict rules due to the continued spread of bird flu. The new counties are in addition to those that already have a housing order in place. These include East Yorkshire, City of Hull, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Shropshire, York and North Yorkshire.
APHA Interactive Avian Influenza Disease Map
Northern Broiler Conference.
On Tuesday 11th February, Clinical Director Sara Perez gave the vet talk at the 2025 Northern Broiler Conference at the Cedar Court Hotel, Bradford. The day included talks from growers and experts in different areas and was attended by more than 200 people. Sara’s talk focused on the reduced stocking densities on broiler farms, and their implications on health and welfare.
If you would like to know more about Sara’s talk please get in touch.
Northern Farmers Awards.
On Thursday 20th February, PHS sponsored a new category at the Northern Farmer Awards – Poultry Farmer/Producer of the Year. The winner was revealed at the glittering ceremony that took place at the Great Yorkshire Showground, it was a great event to network with colleagues and clients.
Congratulations to Herb Fed Poultry, pictured with Clinical Director Sara Perez.
The journey of Herb Fed began 14 years ago when its founder transitioned from a career in surveying to follow his roots in farming. Inspired by his aunt’s business, he recognised how a herb-based diet could not only elevate poultry welfare but also produce a richer, more distinct taste. https://www.herbfedpoultry.co.uk/about/
Up and coming events in 2025!
BFREPA is on the road in 2025!
Following 2023’s roadshow success, BFREPA is heading out again in 2025! To meet members and get their feedback on some very important projects.
For tickets and more information please check out:https://www.bfrepa.co.uk/roadshow.
Following this, in November 2025 BFREPA will be hosting the British Free Range Show again at Telford International Centre.
Lancashire Poultry Club Ladies Dinner.
The annual Lancashire Poultry Club Ball is on Friday 21st March at The Village Hotel
Blackpool (East Park Drive, Blackpool FY3 8LL). https://lancashirepoultryclub.com/
Game Bird Gazette
Game Bird Gazette is a monthly publication dedicated to news, articles, and updates about game birds, brought to you from our PHS Vets.
What is Trusted Game?
Trusted Game is an assurance scheme that has been designed by vets, alongside the game sector. It aims to improve the health and welfare of game birds and to ensure best practice and food safety. It is a cost-effective audit that is proving to be very popular. Whether you have a few hundred or several thousand birds, it is vital that we as a sector work to protect our future and enrolling in such a scheme is a great way to do this. Please phone your local branch to obtain more information, and we’d love to see you at the conference being held in April.
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: Did you know that Albatrosses have the largest wingspan of any bird, reaching up to 11 feet (3.3m)!
Recipe: Doom bar pancakes
https://www.sharpsbrewery.co.uk/blogs/recipes/doom-bar-pancakes
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!