Bird flu sensitization seminar and new compensation scheme.

The bird flu virus ravaging many nations is a wake up call for strict biosecurity protocols and surveillance strategies. Poultry keeping is a money spinner and a source of employment, and raw materials for many companies,but a breech in bio security measures will make a mess of the business and loss of products. In line with the go back to agriculture initiative, all hands must be on deck to support farmers,agribusiness' and feed millers to ensure there ventures are profitable to provide wholesome products for the people thus contributing to food security. The Lagos state avian influenza office is organizing a sensitization seminar on bird-flu and how to stop the virus. The scope of seminar will be ; 1) Biosecurity. 2) New compensation scheme . The seminar will hold at Johnson Agiri Complex,Oko Oba Agege on the 15/2/2017 @ 9am prompt. This is an open invite for farmers ,live-poultry-dealers,veterinarians,feed-millers and other members of the poultry value chain. Products will be on display, for your education and purchase.

First NI bird flu case found in County Derry wild swan.

The first case of bird flu has been confirmed in Northern Ireland. The avian influenza strain H5N8 was discovered in a dead wild swan near Lough Beg, County Londonderry. The swan was reported by a member of the public as part of the Department of Agriculture's dead wild bird surveillance programme. Initial testing has indicated the presence of the H5N8 strain of bird flu. However, the department has said the risk to the public is very low.Officials have been on alert for the disease since cases were confirmed in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. source

Top benefits of Greencoat wax-free boxes.

During IPPE 2017, Interstate Container highlighted the eight main reasons driving the evolution to wax-free coated poultry packaging. The company is the creator Greencoat wax-free corrugated boxes. Eight reasons to evolve with Greencoat wax-free boxes are as follows; 1) 100% recyclable and re-pulpable. Traditional wax-coated boxes are unrecyclable and end up in landfills, taking over a century to decompose. FBA-certified Greencoat wax-free boxes significantly reduce environmental impact. Since transitioning entirely to Greencoat wax-free boxes in 2010, Mountaire Farms, a leading U.S. poultry processor, has annually contributed to a carbon savings of 150,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions. This equates to the removal of 31,685 passenger vehicles from the road for one year or 48,000 tons of waste recycled instead of landfilled. 2) Customized box aizes. These boxes are not one size fits all. Poultry producers can choose the “right size” packaging that builds strength and reduces waste and costs for customers. 3) Proven quality and performance. Greencoat boxes are field-tested and customer approved. Interstate Container has partnered with poultry, meat and seafood producers, as well as Global Green USA, to continuously test Greencoat boxes under long, damp and difficult transport routes across the country. Every month, the company produces and ships over 12 million Greencoat boxes to some of the largest poultry processors in the country. 4) As strong as traditional wax boxes. With a powerful combination of eco-friendly impregnation and wax-free coating, Greencoat boxes withstand the challenges of the cold-storage supply chain, enduring tremendous exposure to moisture, rough handling, and long storage. continue

Tips for effective flea control.

1) Use Veterinarian Approved Products There have been some very safe and very effective products developed in the last several years, but they’re only available from your veterinarian. Generics and outdated technologies purchased from big box stores, feed stores, and online vendors may cost less, but do not provide the same level of effectiveness and safety as those purchased from your veterinarian. Veterinary staff members can also provide you with information and assistance if you have questions about the products you’re using while the same may not be true from online vendors or big box stores. Many manufacturers guarantee their products’ safety and effectiveness, but these guarantees may only available if purchased through your vet. 2)Be Consistent Consistency is important to getting flea infestations under control and keeping them that way. Most products are designed to be given every 30 days. If you are skipping doses or not administering a product on schedule, you are giving fleas an opportunity to continue their life cycle which guarantees you will continue to have problems. continue

Free range eggs may have to be renamed because of bird flu restrictions.

Free range eggs may have to be renamed because of bird flu restrictions. UK egg producers have warned that the future of the premium free range sector is at risk should the eggs lose their prized status because of the ongoing threat of bird flu. Flocks of free range hens are being housed indoors because of the bird flu outbreak and if they are unable to go back outside by the end of February the eggs will be downgraded to “barn produced”, the British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) has said. continue

Animal rights activists compromise birds’ health.

When activists trespass on farms, they are violating the law as well as biosecurity protocols. During the 2017 International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE), Hannah Thompson-Weeman, vice president of communications for the Animal Agriculture Alliance, talked about some of the tactics that animal rights activists use in hopes of getting their message out that they believe animals are harmed in agricultural production. But whether they realize it or not, they could be doing more harm to poultry. One animal rights group, Direct Action Everywhere, has started to conduct what it refers to “stealth visits” to turkey and layer farms, Thompson-Weeman said. What is a stealth visit? Well, it’s not exactly on the up-and-up. In layman’s terms, it is trespassing in order to obtain photographs, video footage and to free birds they think are suffering. “They go in after hours, get access to a barn, and bring in their video crew, bring in their open rescue volunteers,” she said. continue

RESEARCH: Emotional fever in fish.

RESEARCH: Emotional fever in fish. A research by a team of scientists has shown that the zebra fish are sentient and as such are capable of exhibiting emotional fever. A paper published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the team describes their experiments with stressing zebra fish, how the fish reacted, and why they believe it should now be added to the list of organisms labeled as sentient beings. RESEARCH: Emotional fever in fish. Earlier research has shown that mammals and birds and a species of lizard respond to stress by experiencing an increase in body temperature on the order of 1- 2 C°—a reaction that some have suggested indicates that the creature is a sentient being—one that is able to perceive or feels things, whether emotional or physically. The study was conducted by placing 72 zebra fish in a net in water that was 1 C° colder than was normal for them. They also had a control group that was left alone with no changes to their environment. RESEARCH: Emotional fever in fish. All of the fish were then transferred to a tank that had sections heated to different levels, which the fish could access freely if they wished. The team watched to see which section the fish would swim to, and noted that those fish that had been stressed spent more time in the sections that were slightly warmer than normal, than did the control fish. This caused the body temperature of the fish to rise from 2 to 4 C°, which the team claims showed the fish experienced elevated body temperatures in response to stress, demonstrating emotional fever, and therefore they should qualify as sentient beings.