Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Re: [CHICKENS-101] Re: Feeding food scraps the reality of it all

 

Chrissie, Nothing is worth a fine and getting into trouble. To loose having your chickens over a cup of left over rice isn't worth it. Seems like you could grow squash for them and give to them right off the vine.
I use frontline dog and cat spray on my silkies and have a vet script for all of my off use items I use on my silkies. I toss their eggs or hatch them or let my silkies hatch them.
I use poultry dust on all of my other poultry. In fact it is time to add a cup to each bathing hole in each pen and powder my roosters.
Cathryn rainbowsilkiesTM Michigan


From: chrissiebligh <chrissie@btinternet.com>
To: CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, July 25, 2012 9:51 AM
Subject: [CHICKENS-101] Re: Feeding food scraps the reality of it all

 
How odd - I thought I posted on this and my post seems to have vanished!

Anyway, I phoned DEFRA yesterday and spoke to their duty vet. She went off to find out and phoned me back - the law definitely applies to private individuals, prohibiting them from feeding to their chicken any scraps from their own kitchen. It seems plum crazy to me. I can see the sense in prohibiting the feeding of meat, but crusts of bread or leftover rice? That's just ridiculous.

I suspect that very few UK back garden chicken keepers are aware of this law (all the books on keeping chickens say you can feed them scraps) and I don't think any effort is put into enforcing it. However, because of my troublesome neighbours I have decided that I will have to abide by it. If they succeed in getting the council to come and inspect my chickens for odour, I want to be squeaky clean in all ways.

BSE was devastating to UK agriculture. Fortunately so far the incidence of the human form (CJD) has not been the epidemic that was once feared. Foot-and-mouth (circa 2001?) was also devastating to British agriculture, so I can understand why DEFRA are so vigilant.

I suppose being in island means that we can take precautions that wouldn't be possible if we were in mainland Europe - for example, until recent years any animal entering the UK had to be quarantined for 6 months, to avoid rabies.

Best wishes

Chrissie

--- In CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com, CathrynTherese Fitch Walden <cathryntherese@...> wrote:
>
> Jeanette, Until Chrissie wrote DEFRA I couldn't find the law either, and it didn't show up in my googling. I do remember the law passing and the related articles. It looks like the law has been further reinforced recently. Because the UK is an islang, they've had to take drastic moves to prevent disease in livestock. I wonder if I planted squash andn tomatoes just for my chickens if that would be considered kitchen waste if I never brought it in to the house. The law sounds really strict and it's clear they mean businenss.
>
> http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/environmentandgreenerliving/smallholders/dg_189309
> http://animalhealth.defra.gov.uk/managing-disease/animalbyproducts/collection-feeding-abp/Ban-on-feeding-of-kitchen-scraps-to-pet-poultry-and-other-pet-farmed-animals.asp
> http://animalhealth.defra.gov.uk/keeping-animals/caring/illegal-feeding/index.htm
>
>  
> CathrynrainbowsilkiesTMMichigan


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