Veterinary surveillance: Birds
This page gives an introduction to birds in the UK, in particular those producing meat and eggs for people to eat, and has information on how we look out for diseases in birds. It has links to other pages on the Defra website. Information on wild birds can be found on the wildlife pages. You can find further information on other websites at the bottom of this page.
Birds in the UK
There are several species of birds which are reared in captivity to produce meat or eggs for human consumption. By far the most common type in the UK is the chicken. The other species are turkeys, ducks and geese. A small number of ostrich farms exist in the UK producing meat and feathers.
Chickens and hens are farmed in the UK for either meat or eggs. Turkeys are farmed for meat. Chickens reared for meat are known as ‘broilers’, and are usually ready for slaughter at 6 or 7 weeks old. Egg producing birds are known as ‘layers’ and their laying period lasts from 20 until 60 or 70 weeks of age. However meat and egg production ages depend upon the species. Turkey broilers may not be ready before 15 weeks of age and the hens can lay beyond 70 weeks of age.
In
the laying hen industry there is an increasing trend away from birds being
kept in cages and a move towards free range and barn systems. In 2002
approximately 70% of layers were in cages with 24% free range and 6% in
barn systems. Broiler chicks are generally kept in very large groups indoors.
 |
The most up to date information on the density
of poultry and premises containing outdoor poultry registered on the
Great Britain Poultry Register 
(1.49 MB) is available. |
Commercial layer and broiler chicks come from separate breeding lines. These are special flocks of breeding birds which provide either eggs for hatching into egg laying birds (layer breeders) or the chicks which are grown for meat (broiler breeders). The breeding birds themselves come from a smaller number of specialist flocks. The poultry industry is said to operate as a ‘pyramid’ structure with large numbers of commercial farms at the foot of the pyramid and much smaller numbers of specialist or ‘grandparent’ flocks at the top.
A more detailed description has been written of the commercial
poultry industry sector
(319 KB) and the risks to it's biosecurity.
There are a number of 'old fashioned' breeds such as Rhode Island Red chickens or Aylesbury ducks. Nowadays these traditional breeds are mainly kept by hobby farmers or small-holders in 'back-yard' flocks. The work of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust helps to support those breeds in danger of disappearing.
However in the commercial poultry industry the birds are invariably hybrids. These are new genetic strains that have been developed by careful breeding programmes. The new strains grow more quickly and use their feed more efficiently than the old fashioned breeds. This means that they reach the required body weight or laying maturity faster than the traditional breeds. Modern birds are also selected for their resistance to disease.
A large number of poultry are kept by people for a hobby or as
a backyard flock to supply them with eggs and meat for their own
consumption. A more detailed description has been written of the
hobby and
'fancy' poultry sector Other birds are reared as gamebirds, which are available for their respective shooting seasons. These species include pheasant and partridge. Recent research has estimated that over 500,000 people shoot game (this includes animals such as deer as well as gamebirds) in the UK. More information on the structure
of the gamebird industry in GB Pigeons may be kept and used for racing. Many homes have birds such as budgerigars, parrots and cockatiels as pets. |
The
number of birds killed for meat each year in the UK is 850 million
chickens, 23 million turkeys and 20 million ducks; relatively small
numbers of other species are killed for meat. How many birds are there in the UK?
We collect information about the numbers and types of poultry during
a census of farmers in June every year. Altogether there are about 29
million laying chickens and 116 million broilers in the UK at any one
time, with much smaller numbers of ducks, geese and turkeys. As well as
the total number in the different countries of the UK, the information
can be broken down by county. Census results are available for 2000-2005
(Excel spreadsheet - 20 KB).
We have used this information to make a report
(1.42 MB - Please note this is a large file) containing maps to show how
many poultry there are in different areas.
 |
Since 9 December 2005; commercial poultry premises with
50 or more poultry must register
by law. All other premises keeping poultry can register voluntarily.
The density
of poultry and premises registered in the GB poultry register
(1.57 MB) information is available. |
There are no accurate figures for the numbers of birds kept as pets in the home or in aviaries. However it has been estimated that around 80,000 people are involved with racing pigeons, raising almost 2 million young birds every year.
Looking for diseases in birds
Many people are involved in looking for diseases.
As well as continuous scanning surveillance we organise a scheme called the Poultry Health Scheme. Poultry flocks are monitored for certain diseases which can be passed from one generation to the next through the eggs. The results for Great Britain are published each year in the Report of the Chief Veterinary Officer.
Some of the testing and investigations are carried out by veterinary surgeons of the State Veterinary Service (SVS), the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA), the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) and the Veterinary Science Division in Northern Ireland. Other testing is carried out by poultry companies themselves. Meat inspectors of the Meat Hygiene Service look for signs of disease during the post mortem inspection of birds slaughtered for meat.
Which are the most important diseases of birds in the UK?
Different
diseases are important to different groups of people. From the point of
view of the Government, the most important infections of commercial poultry
present in the UK are salmonella
and campylobacter which
may cause problems in people. From the point of view of the poultry farmer,
other important conditions are coccidiosis, Marek’s disease, infectious
bursal disease (Gumboro disease), infectious bronchitis and lameness.
With other birds such as pigeons and parrots, avian chlamydiosis is an important disease as it is potentially a hazard for the bird owner. Paramyxovirus disease in pigeons is also important. Diseases of gamebirds, which are reared in pens before release, tend to be parasitic infections, including hexamitiasis and trichomoniasis.
What other diseases do we look for?
We also keep a look out for poultry diseases which do not usually occur in this country. The most important of these exotic diseases are Newcastle disease (fowl pest) and avian influenza (fowl plague). News from other countries about these diseases helps us plan how to keep them out.
Further information
- Glossary
- VLA Avian Disease Surveillance Reports
- Other websites - These sites may be useful if you are interested in further information about birds in the UK. Please note that Defra does not necessarily endorse the content, information or opinions of these sites.
- Wildlife and Countryside and Farming pages on the Defra website.
- Great Britain Poultry Register
- Information regarding garden
bird deaths.
Page last modified:
August 28, 2008