When the autumn migration brings wild waterfowl back to the estuaries and mosses of the North West, the risk of avian influenza rises and many flocks spend weeks or months indoors. Housed poultry fallen stock collection then becomes part of the daily routine on broiler, layer and free-range units, and it has to be handled in a way that protects the birds still living in the shed. Martlands is a family-run, DEFRA approved business in Burscough, Lancashire, providing fallen stock and ABP collection to poultry keepers across the region.
This guide covers what changes when birds are housed, how to manage mortality indoors, how to keep the collection point clean, and when dead birds stop being routine fallen stock and become a matter for APHA.
Housed Poultry Fallen Stock Collection When Flocks Are Housed for Avian Influenza
What an AIPZ and housing order mean on your farm
When the risk level rises, Defra and the Chief Veterinary Officer can declare an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) covering a region or the whole of England, with equivalent measures in Wales. An AIPZ makes enhanced biosecurity a legal requirement for every keeper, from large integrated sites down to a handful of hens in a garden. If the risk climbs further, mandatory housing measures can be added, meaning birds must be kept indoors or otherwise separated from wild birds. Current housing measures and reporting rules are set out in the government’s bird flu guidance.
For free-range egg producers this is a serious operational change. Birds used to ranging are now confined, stocking density in the house effectively rises, and the shed environment has to absorb the extra dust, ammonia and moisture. Our background piece on what avian influenza is explains how the virus spreads and why wild bird contact is the trigger for these measures. Check the current Defra position regularly through the season, because zones and housing orders are introduced, varied and lifted as the risk changes.
Why mortality patterns change indoors
Housing is not neutral for bird welfare. Flocks that are not used to being shut in can show stress behaviours within days. Feather pecking can escalate into vent pecking and cannibalism, particularly in laying hens, and a single injured bird can draw the rest of the group. Smothering is a real risk too: a sudden noise, a light change or a fox at the wall can cause birds to pile into a corner, and the losses from one event can be heavy. The official guidance on fallen stock and safe disposal of dead animals sets out the legal duties in full.
Ventilation is the other pressure point. Houses designed around birds spending the day outside can struggle with humidity and ammonia when the whole flock stays in, and litter quality drops quickly in wet autumn weather. Enrichment such as pecking blocks, straw bales and scattered grain helps, as does adjusting lighting and checking fans and inlets daily. None of this removes mortality, but it keeps it within the normal range for the flock, which matters because a jump above that range is the warning sign you need to be able to see.
Daily removal and sealed storage
Dead birds should be removed from the house at every inspection, not left until the end of the day. A carcass left on the litter is pecked, spreads contamination and hides the true picture of what is happening in the flock. Record each bird as you remove it, with the house number and anything unusual you noticed.
Poultry fallen stock is generally Category 2 animal by-product. It should go into a lidded, leak-proof container that is kept away from feed stores and water supplies, protected from vermin and wild birds, and positioned so the collection vehicle can reach it without coming into the production area. Our guide to managing daily mortality on broiler and laying units goes into container sizing and collection frequency in more detail. Martlands is licensed for Category 2 ABP collection, and a regular booked service through our farm and fallen stock collection keeps containers from overfilling during a long housing period.
Biosecurity at the collection point
The collection point is where your farm meets vehicles that visit other farms, so it deserves the same thought as your shed doors. The best arrangement during an AIPZ is a hardstanding at or near the farm gate, well away from the poultry houses, with the container moved there by farm staff. The vehicle then never needs to enter the clean area of the site.
Keep the route from the shed to the collection point separate from the route used for feed deliveries and egg collection where you can. Have disinfectant footdips at shed entrances changed regularly with a Defra approved product at the correct dilution, wash and disinfect containers after each collection, and do not let the area around the container become a feeding spot for gulls, corvids or rats. For poultry units on the Fylde, in West Lancashire and in the Ribble Valley, our Lancashire ABP collection service is set up to work around these farm gate arrangements.
When dead birds become a matter for APHA
This is the most important point in the whole season. Avian influenza is a notifiable disease, and if you suspect it you must report it to APHA immediately. Signs to take seriously include a sudden rise in mortality above the flock’s normal level, a drop in egg production, birds that are quiet and off their feed or water, swollen heads, discoloured combs and wattles, and breathing difficulties. In some strains birds die very quickly with few signs at all.
If you suspect avian influenza, do not move carcasses off the farm and do not book a routine collection. Leave the birds where they are, keep people and vehicles off the site, and wait for APHA’s instructions. Moving birds before the disease has been ruled out risks carrying the virus to other farms. Our guide on who APHA are explains their role, and if APHA confirm that disease is not suspected, normal fallen stock collection can resume.
Free-range producers and backyard keepers
Free-range egg producers face particular commercial pressure during long housing periods, and the marketing rules on how eggs from housed free-range flocks can be described are worth checking with your packer each season. That pressure should never lead to cutting corners on biosecurity or holding back a report of unusual deaths.
Backyard keepers are covered by the AIPZ rules too, and smaller flocks often have the least robust housing, with birds shut into sheds or runs that were never designed for weeks of confinement. A small keeper still has a legal duty to dispose of dead birds properly, as burial and burning of fallen stock are not permitted, and Martlands collects from smaller holdings as well as commercial units. Registration rules for small flocks have tightened in recent years, so check with APHA that your birds are registered.
Housed poultry fallen stock collection records that stand up to inspection
Keep a daily mortality record for each house, with numbers, dates and observations, alongside your Commercial Documents. Martlands provides a Commercial Document and a Waste Transfer Note with every collection, issued under our Waste Carrier Licence CB/QE5406MT and Animal By-Products Licence APB/CCN21/373/8002. Those records show you are disposing of fallen stock lawfully, support assurance audits, and give an investigating vet a clear picture if disease is ever suspected. Our guide to fallen stock record keeping covers what to keep and for how long.
Martlands serves poultry farms across Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside, Cumbria, Greater Manchester and North Wales, and as an NFSCO member we can collect from members nationally. To arrange a regular or same-day collection for housed birds, call 01704 776977 or contact us online.
