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 Thirsk, North Yorkshire, on the 14th April 2025. 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 restricted zone, you will need a movement licence to move your birds. These licences need to be completed by your vet within 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.
Early Summer Heatwaves – Prepare yourself & protect your flock
By Lucia Hardisty BVSC MRCVS – Veterinarian – North West
Unlike 2024’s non-existent summer, this year’s long-term weather forecasts predict an unusually hot July with heat waves striking the UK. Heat stress not only hampers production but also can lead to mortality in extreme cases. Here are some tips to help deal with and prevent heat stress:
Management:
- Avoid feeding the birds at the hottest times of day.
- Thin earlier or at lighter weights if possible.
- Alter the ventilation and reduce humidity as needed.
- Walk older birds more regularly – this will allow any layers of hot air trapped under birds to disperse.
- Flush the lines more regularly for chicks to ensure that the drinking water stays cool.
- Test the quality of your water regularly. Bacteria grow faster in hot weather – review your water sanitisation regime. Water testing can be carried out by our lab, Newbridge Scientific.
- Provide supplements to the drinking water.
At PHS, we have our own brand of nutraceutical products. Our supplements are our own, specifically blended products with ratios chosen by poultry vets for use in specific circumstances. These are not only formulated for heat stress, but also for other specific stressful periods such as vaccination and thinning.
- AgriCure Chick Gel – Not only hydrates chicks on arrival and over the first few days, but also kickstarts good gut health with probiotics to give the birds the best possible start.
- AgriCure Electrovits Extra and AgriCure Hydrovits – Both can be used at any age, but are particularly useful in the 48 hours before catching. They provide energy, electrolytes, and B vitamins to promote general health and hydration and reduce stress. Hydrovits are particularly useful during hot weather as the sugars encourage birds to drink.
If you have any questions about how we can help your flock during hot weather, would like more advice about our supplement range, or would like to test the quality of your water, please phone your local PHS vets, who will be delighted to help.
Reminder – 5th May & 26th May 2025 Bank Holiday’s
Our lab will be operating as normal over both of the May bank holidays, but please be advised that the Royal Mail will not collect or deliver samples to our lab on Monday 5th May and Monday 26th May.
Please plan your sampling and posting dates to ensure your samples can be delivered within the 4-day window for Salmonella testing. If you think this might not be possible, please contact us in advance so we can try to help as best as we can.
What has Ashley Marshall been up to?
Ashley from our Sheriff Hutton branch spent an inspiring afternoon at Queen Ethelburga College, a school and sixth form college on the outskirts of York, meeting and talking to their prospective veterinary and medical students. The school runs a successful super-curricular group focusing on helping students who want to get in the veterinary and medical fields but running talks, discussions, and career-building events. This is the third time that Ashley has been lucky enough to sit on the judging panel as the veterinary representative for their annual Medical Conference, where students have done research into genomics, personalised medicine, and rare diseases (to name a few). She also hosted a lively discussion on the poultry industry and poultry medicine as a career. ‘Supporting and encouraging prospective veterinary students is an important part of our work as vets – and it is a pleasure to see so many keen young people wanting to join our industry’
Mighty Hike 2025
Last year, friends and colleagues from PHS completed the 26-mile hike in Northumberland for Macmillan Cancer Support – they raised £2000! This year, they are back (+ a few more) to take on the 26-mile Peak District Mighty Hike on the 19th of July! A JustGiving page has just been created – if you would like to support the PHS team, you can do so on the link below.
Thank You!
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!