SEPRA weekly market report 6th January 2006

Roy Kerr, with a free-range unit near Dumfries, had a Harris Hawk fly in on Saturday! The owner was out hunting rabbits when the hawk saw some of Roy’s hens out on the range.

It apparently singled one out and dived to catch it. The hen must have seen it because it scrambled through the pop hole into the veranda. But so did the Hawk! When Roy got into the veranda the hawk had the hen tightly gripped in its talons and Roy had quite a job freeing the hen.

One talking point, which this incident brings out, is the fact that the hawk was able to enter the hen house via the pop-hole ! The EU welfare regulations insist that a pop-hole has to be of a minimum size of one metre wide and 450cm high. Present SEERAD advice is that egg producers should keep all wild birds out of the hen house !

The reporting of bird flu, though still in the newspapers and on TV and radio, has recently had its story changed slightly.

The Times, The Scotsman and even the Daily Mail over the past four days have at no time mentioned how many humans had died due to A I over the past year or two. I think from memory its about 76 ?

Fordyce Maxwell had his piece headed “ So here we go again—and it’s farewell to common sense “ followed by “ If bird flu does kill anyone it won’t be from eating chicken. “

It amazes me that with human deaths in the UK around the 500 each week from pneumonia, bronchitis and influenza, the press and Media have not even given it a mention.

Yet the number of ‘76’ deaths from bird flu over the past 2 years, and in countries where some of the population live in poverty alongside their animals, has been used time and time again to hype up the danger of Avian Influenza or fowl plague as it was known, or called, as in 1878.

Many members have been asking me what they should do to insure against their flocks becoming infected ?

Normal bio-security should be in operation 24 hours per day. Keep all visitors away from your units. If a feed rep or chick salesman calls, no matter how well you know him and he tells you he hasn’t been to any other farms that day, don’t let him near your poultry.

Dry droppings on boots can bring it onto your unit. I believe you should try and limit the area covered by your feed delivery vehicles / driver etc ?

Do not take into stock any second hand egg trays or boxes. See that after a bulk feed delivery that there has not been an overflow, which has accumulated on the ground at the base of the bin.

I believe that some method of protecting hens via the drinking water may also be of benefit. One bird with a respiratory problem could easily pass it to the others via the drinking system. Very easily.

John Retson has an excellent water sanitizer which is safe for hens to drink called Aquaclean. The quantities to use are given with each one or ten litre drum. Something like this could benefit all hens who have been using the same water line over a long period ? Also for stopping the passing of any infections along the water line?

In India where they have had Avian Flu confirmed they are selling multiple human medicines, something like the Chinese health shops in the UK I told you about some weeks back.

New Delhi: Online stores are selling nasal sprays, herbal solutions, disinfectants, nano masks, and even respirators, claiming to protect against the avian flu.

An online Chinese medicine store is even selling immune system activation herbs, which it claims are effective against new virus diseases including avian influenza. |

Another one is selling a herbal preparation, claimed to be broad spectrum anti-viral which inhibits Avian Flu (H5N1) infections in vitro and blocks the uptake of Bird Flu (H5N1) virus in cells.

"The NanoMask is the first face mask in the world to utilize nanotechnology enhanced filter media to effectively isolate and destroy viral and bacterial contaminants," claims one website.

However, doctors here say "there is really no need for all these products as of now." "Till now there is no proven case of avian flu in humans in India, so there is really no need for all these herbal or Chinese combinations. The only proven vaccination is available for influenza A virus, there is no vaccination for SARS or avian flu," says Dr Asif Ali, head, emergency services, Fortis Healthcare.

"These quick-fix medications on Internet are not worth exploring," says Dr Ali noting "We really don’t know what they contain... moreover, the situation is not like small pox or plague."

It’s just a case of persons getting on the bandwagon in an effort to extract cash from members of the public.

As I have said before, it’s not a Flu Pandemic but a pandemic of fear that is being preached.

When I was visiting my doctor this week for a mini-MOT it was there that I learned of the weekly death rates for human flu in the UK. There are 10,000 deaths in the UK every week with approx 500 of those linked to flu. Yet this fact hardly registers on the Press scale of news. It does not produce calls for mass vaccination of UK humans.

The Times this morning are back to their usual horror stories with Linklater saying with regard to Bird Flu “ here is a potential pandemic that threatens the destruction of our poultry industry and death of humans beings on a horrendous scale. “

Can you remember the expert’s speculations about the BSE, salmonella and even F&M and the deaths of humans which would follow ? Professor Lacey etc in 1996.

There have been 154 deaths over 15 years which have links to BSE and nothing connected to F&M that I can find.

Salmonella like BSE was expected to produce millions. You can all remember how many egg producers went to the wall following the salmonella scare. Think of broiler producers today in some of those EU countries where demand for chicken has dropped by 80%.!

The big debate just now is whether to vaccinate against avian influenza ? DEFRA, along with their counterparts within the EU continue to discuss the effectiveness of a vaccine.

I am led to believe that a vaccinated hen is capable of voiding virus in their faeces and I guess that the odd hen which was missed in the vaccination of a flock could carry the disease.

Effective vaccination will very much depend on the expertise of the syringe holder ?

The Avian Influenza outbreaks which have occurred within the UK in 1959, 1963 and 1979 were all effectively controlled by removing the affected flocks, coupled with an effective bio-security programme.

A vaccination programme will have to continue until we are 100% clear and a lot of poultry stock export orders would be lost.

Let's be more positive about eggs

At my mini-MOT this week I was told that my cholesterol was OK and the following is taken from the Internet from a paper by a Charles Platkin (USA)

"The eggs/dietary cholesterol/heart disease debate has been going on for 38 years, and no study to date has shown that eggs are related to heart disease incidence.

Remember, eggs aren't the only food containing dietary cholesterol. "On average, an ounce of meat contains about 20 milligrams of cholesterol. Cholesterol only comes from animal sources, so pay attention to how much meat or cheese you're having on egg days. Why not go meatless and cheeseless for a meal?"

How do eggs compare with other common breakfast foods?
One egg, 1 ounce of sausage and 1 ounce of ham all have about 5 to 6 grams of protein. Ham comes in the leanest, with 2 grams of fat, compared with the egg at 5 grams and the sausage at 8 grams. Ham and sausage don't even come close to eggs when it comes to cholesterol -- ham has 17 milligrams of cholesterol, sausage has 23 and eggs 211. Surprisingly, eggs are not sodium-free: But while a large egg contains 70 milligrams, 1 ounce of sausage has 180 milligrams and ham has 370 milligrams

In TESCO today one kilo of best steak mince is £3.86, while 12 large eggs costing £1.49 are £1.82 per kilo. I leave you to guess the best buy ?

Are there any health benefits to eating eggs?
Yes. One egg packs in 6 grams of protein (a little more than half in the white). "In fact, the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] of the United Nations classifies eggs as the highest protein source, above other protein of a food by analyzing its amino acid content, its digestibility and the amino acid requirements of the animal species that eat it. With 100 as the standard for protein quality, an egg is rated at 93.7. Other foods include cow's milk (84.5), fish (76), beef (74.3) and soy (72.8). This means egg protein has the highest value for growth," says VanBeber.

Are there other reasons to eat eggs?
Eggs cook quickly and are ready within minutes. They're very easy to eat (which is especially important for the young and elderly) and store. Plus, eggs are portable when hard-boiled and make a great low-calorie snack. And they're inexpensive. "Today at the supermarket, one dozen large eggs can cost as little as $1. One egg contains the protein equivalent of 1 ounce of meat -- that's a great value for the money," says Dunn.
What are good health-conscious egg meals?
There are lots of fast, easy, healthy meals you can make with eggs. Scramble one up with low-cal cooking spray, dump it on a piece of toasted whole-wheat bread and add a slice of low- or no-fat cheese for a satisfying breakfast. Also, egg white omelettes with lots of veggies make some of the healthiest breakfasts. Chop up anything you like: peppers, mushrooms, onions, broccoli, tomatoes, and toss the ingredients in the centre of the omelette. Then fold the eggs and cook briefly on both sides. Get creative and try new combinations to keep things interesting - for instance try mixing cucumbers and avocado into your eggs for a change. Remember, as you add low-cal veggies, you increase the density and amount of food without noticeably adding calories -- so you can increase the amount of food you eat without worrying about the calorie count.

You all have a most cost effective food in every SCO egg that you produce. Tell the public. Have some leaflets printed. If you wish I can give you the whole of the USA article which is a great advert for eggs.

SEPRA have plenty of SCO posters, leaflets available. Your web site carries lots of information regarding SCO eggs. Use it. It is your own website. It is well used, perhaps not as often as some of the big nationals, but roughly 12,000 hits are recorded some months. There must be someone interested in your SCO eggs ?

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Let's be more positive about eggs