Poultry

Bird flue

One of the most contagious diseases is avian influenza or bird flu. The disease is mainly spread by birds. Bird migration is a well-known cause for the rapid spread, for example, the migration of birds from Asia to Europe. Hunters and nature conservationists often find the first dead and infected birds in the wild. By paying close attention and testing these birds, you will know if the bird flu is present. Sometimes the government decides that all poultry should be confined indoors. Once the government decides makes the decision then also chickens and other birds such as ducks, geese and swans from private individuals have to stay inside.

Common variants of bird flu are H5N1, H7N7, H3N1. Bird flu can be high pathogenic or low pathogenic. That means very contagious (so easily transferable) or less contagious. At present, the highly pathogenic variants are usually cleared by the government as quickly as possible to prevent spread. Less strict requirements apply to low pathogenic bird flu.

Newcastle Disease, Blackhead, Genetic Disorder

Other forms of diseases that can affect poultry are ND Newcastle Disease and Blackhead. The owner of the poultry can then decide to have the herd cleared. A genetic defect may also be present in a breed. If the chicks are meant to continue breeding, it is better to stop the deviation. Here too, the owner of the poultry can decide to proceed with a culling.

How does culling of poultry work?

• If you are a contract partner, we can be on location in Western Europe within 24 hours. This depends on your contract.
• Our Front Team comes on location to make preparations such as inventory and the establishment of a clean / dirty zone. It is also determined which type of killing we will use: bigbags, containers, corral gasification, cleat gassing, electrocution or a combination of these.
• Meanwhile, the Basic Team arrives: decontamination unit, decontamination unit, transport, equipment. Everything is prepared.
• When using bigbags and containers, a catching team immediately takes action to catch the poultry and bring them to the euthanase units.
• If we gas the corral, the basic team first performs this before the catching team can safely enter the corral to remove the killed animals.
• Afterwards everything is disinfected.

It goes without saying that all our staff apply the correct personal protection: flu shot, Tamiflu, complete change of clothes, overalls, respiratory protection, glasses, gloves, etc. When leaving the contaminated location, showers and all work clothes are destroyed.

Our work is usually carried out under the supervision of a veterinarian. They keep an eye on animal welfare and whether all legal provisions are met.

Personal attention for the farmer / owner

We realize that our work has a major impact on the poultry farmer. It is often a family business in which a couple, children and other family members participate. The neighbors are also usually involved in the company. We take the emotions of the owner and those involved into account wherever possible. Most farmers realize that our work on behalf of the government is necessary.

Kill poultry if it’s not sick?

In some countries or situations, it is better to kill animals on location instead of road transport to a slaughterhouse. The owner can responsibly kill his chickens, geese, ducks or turkeys with our equipment.