From Dept of Agric
There is so much debate and questions about whether you have to be registered with the Dept even for small numbers of hens, and how to dispose of the occasional dead chicken. I have been trying to get hold of someone in the Dept. who could/would answer these queries for some time. Today TA DAA! 
success, after calls to several places revealed that the local office's number had been changed! So, straight from the horse's mouth (so to speak):
Anyone who has poultry, even if it is only one or two, should be registered with the Dept of Agriculture. The form is available from your nearest Dept of Agri. office, which should be in the phone book. - and I believe Connor has it posted on here somewhere too. It's just a one page form and registration doesn't cost anything. The lady I spoke to said it is not to officially hassle people at all, it is just in case of another outbreak of something like Bird Flu, more so they can contact poultry keepers and keep them informed and advise on precautions etc.
I also spoke to a Dept. vet about disposing of occasional dead chickens in very small back garden situations - i.e. not on farms. He said that the official position is that farm animals have to be collected by dead animal collection people and go for rendering etc. - and that poultry is supposed to be put in a skip and collected likewise. But that is intended for large poultry farms. The very small garden flocks have not been thought about at all, and there are no guidelines. However, he said, unofficially, birds die in the wild every day, and they don't seem to pose a hazard! And, if you cook a chicken, you can put the carcass, well wrapped, in your bin, although he obviously can't tell anyone to put a dead chicken in their bin! There is however, he said, an allowance made for burying pets on your own property - dogs & cats. And if you have a very very small flock of chickens, then you could count them as pets!
Hope that helps clarify things for people.
success, after calls to several places revealed that the local office's number had been changed! So, straight from the horse's mouth (so to speak):Anyone who has poultry, even if it is only one or two, should be registered with the Dept of Agriculture. The form is available from your nearest Dept of Agri. office, which should be in the phone book. - and I believe Connor has it posted on here somewhere too. It's just a one page form and registration doesn't cost anything. The lady I spoke to said it is not to officially hassle people at all, it is just in case of another outbreak of something like Bird Flu, more so they can contact poultry keepers and keep them informed and advise on precautions etc.
I also spoke to a Dept. vet about disposing of occasional dead chickens in very small back garden situations - i.e. not on farms. He said that the official position is that farm animals have to be collected by dead animal collection people and go for rendering etc. - and that poultry is supposed to be put in a skip and collected likewise. But that is intended for large poultry farms. The very small garden flocks have not been thought about at all, and there are no guidelines. However, he said, unofficially, birds die in the wild every day, and they don't seem to pose a hazard! And, if you cook a chicken, you can put the carcass, well wrapped, in your bin, although he obviously can't tell anyone to put a dead chicken in their bin! There is however, he said, an allowance made for burying pets on your own property - dogs & cats. And if you have a very very small flock of chickens, then you could count them as pets!
Hope that helps clarify things for people.
Comments
If you're getting max 5 birds and aren't using them for eggs or meat or breeding ie as pets, you can bring them in under the 'movement of pet birds (member states of the european union) authorisation, 2004' form. This requires the seller to fill out a declaration form stating that his area is avian influenza free and newcastle free, he should have a registration number ie smallholder, flock id, etc and the birds need to travel with a vet-signed health cert. The importer needs to fill out an advance notice form and fax to the ag dept.
If you're getting more than 5 birds or planning on breeding or eating the birds or their eggs, it's a different form, a license, more paperwork and salmonella testing in some cases.
My pet birds are on their way and should settle into their new home with me by Thursday. Yay!
And before you ask, I'm getting breeds that are very difficult to find here, buff nankins and lincolnshire buffs. Yay buffs!
The other gal I'm trying to import from is more of a challenge to work with, I may use the 'hobby bird' form with her, will post those details if and when it comes to that.
Only question is... How do you know the maximum numbers of birds you're going to have at said location? I've no idea how many little chickies my guys and gals will be making next year...
At the moment I have a trio and a pair of bantams that probably won't be super-prolific, and 2 pairs of LF to breed for the table. Can someone give me a ballpark figure or will I just wing it and say max 100.
PS. Once you send in the form, a Dept. vet will phone you to find out exactly where you live, so they can pinpoint you on their map (at least they did me). He said it's so that they can plot out where poultry keepers are in relation to migratory birds etc.
I too took the time this week to submit my form to Dept. of Agriculture. I found that question somewhat confusing also. In total i have 95 birds Hens, Ducks, Turkeys, Pigeons but i do plan on breeding some next year also. Then bearing in mind the sale of some birds and the purchase of new ones I just put down 100 as a rough figure. I feel that all we can do is provide an estimate of what we plan on having. This will obviously vary from year to year.
John
We know how addictive keeping poultry is!
Do they actually get back to you with a registration number or anything? Or do I just assume that my form reached them in the post and I'm in their computer database somewhere...
I hate assuming.
Thanks for that
can anyone let me know do i need registration to sell quail eggs in the local Market.if yes what would be the basic requirements for that.