Avian Influenza - Update

As many of you will no doubt read in the local news today, Avian Influenza (bird flu) has made its way to our local area, following sadly deceased birds being found at the nearby Himley Hall and other areas across the borough. This is something that we have been dreading here for years.

It seems that for the past few years we have stated that it has been “the worst year ever” for bird flu, and now we are experiencing an even worse year, with (at the time of writing) 161 reported cases detected in poultry/captive birds, and 1,727 cases in the UK’s wild bird population, in 406 locations, involving 59 bird species. The virus seems to be persisting year-round now, spreading more easily among bird populations than before.

This is an immense worry to us, as if the disease reaches our sanctuary, this could lead to culls of our rescued birds. Something we simply cannot risk!

We are once again increasing our biosecurity measures to keep our bird residents safe; with new case alerts reaching us almost daily, and now the UK declared an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone, we are asking for your cooperation in this. This vigilance will not only help to protect our animals, but your pet birds, and our much-loved wildlife as well.

Our team are using disinfectant foot dips to decrease the risk of the virus being carried in on footwear and we will ask that you also use one of our foot dips/mats to further help us during your visit as well.

Unfortunately, as we cannot ask dogs to dip their delicate paws in disinfectant, we will have to temporarily stop them from visiting the animals. We pride ourselves on being a 100% Dog-Friendly organisation and this is not a decision we have taken lightly, but we simply cannot risk the lives of our birds. Your dogs will still be very welcome to use our Dog Run as this is well away from our bird residents. We’re hoping to be able to welcome them back to the rest of the sanctuary as soon as we can.

We have started to pop together a dedicated page on our website with further information about what we are doing which we will update as things progress. If you have any questions that we haven’t covered, please do ask us and we will be happy to answer them! https://www.brockswood.org.uk/avianflu

We thank you for your continued support and cooperation at this worrying time.

For the latest up-to-date information about Bird Flu and what you need to do if you keep birds yourself, please see the Government website here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/avian-influenza-bird-flu

Weekly findings of Avian Influenza in wild birds in Great Britain are published by the Government here: https://www.gov.uk/.../publ.../avian-influenza-in-wild-birds

Penny in Loving Memory

It is with the most enormous sadness that we must announce that our beloved Penny has fallen asleep and joined her friends across the Rainbow Bridge. She snuggled up cosy and warm in her stable, which you helped us to make nice and comfortable for her with your kind donations of spongy stable mats and deep straw bedding, fell asleep, and simply forgot to wake up – and we wouldn’t have wanted it any other way for this beautiful girl. We are heartbroken but so happy that her end with us came so peacefully for her.

Penny was a tower of strength; she had needed special veterinary treatment and extra care from our animal care team throughout her life, but she simply got on with this and took everything in her stride – animals never fail to astound us with their resilience, strength, and bravery. She was always kind and gentle, never the bully. She was a mother and continued to care for her daughter and friends as any good mother would. Whatever your beliefs, we like to hope that Penny is now reunited with not only her friends who went on before her but her lovely daughter Tuppence, once again happy and healthy.

Penny and Tuppence joined us almost eight years ago from another sanctuary that had sadly fallen into hardship and was having trouble paying the very high bills that these animals can generate – they just wanted the very best for them, and we think we were able to give them that in their time with us. Penny was a very old lady, and it was simply her time.

Penny has been so loved by us all – our residents are more than just animals that we care for, they are family to us. Some of us spend more time with these wonderful animals than with our own families and have built up such special bonds with them over the years together. We know that many of you care for them deeply too and this means so much to us, and of course, to them too. Thank you for helping to make a difference in her life and thank you for always showing her kindness during your visits – animals are intelligent and feel, and she will have felt your kindness.

While we will miss Penny so very much, we will put all our love into the family she has left behind; Jim, Harper, Groot, Ollie, Brian, and Pettle. Lots of extra cuddles for these guys and a special helping of Penny’s favourite treat in her honour, her special porridge.

Sweet dreams beautiful Penny xxx

Fact Friday: Sheep Teeth

A subject that comes up quite often here is our sheep teeth, and you might wonder why? So, we thought it was about time we brought you a well overdue Fact Friday and an explanation! But to begin with, assuming you’re not all ovine dentists, a little background.

Adult sheep have 32 permanent teeth which are divided into two sections. They have eight incisors in the lower front jaw and twenty-four molars. Sheep have no teeth in the front part of their upper jaw, and this instead consists of a dense, hard, fibrous pad that aids in grabbing and chewing grass. They also use their tongue to wrap, tear and chew on fibrous vegetable materials.

At birth, lambs usually have no teeth. Within a week after birth, their milk teeth appear in the front lower jaw and by two months, eight in all, have erupted. These temporary teeth are replaced by permanent incisors, which appear in pairs, starting with the two central teeth, followed by one on either side at intervals, until the eight temporary teeth have been replaced. During this time when their teeth are growing, sheep are referred to by the number of permanent incisors they have, such as two-tooth, four-tooth, six-tooth, eight-tooth or "full mouth" at around three to four years old.

The next stage after full mouth is known as "broken mouth" as their incisors will now start to spread out, wear down, break, or even fall out. This is just natural wear and tear through constant chewing of fibrous grasses, and eventually, we see what is known as a “gummer”. These sheep have no incisors left at all and are simply left with their molars, and yes, you’ve guessed it, their hard gums.

These are the sheep who are quite a topic of conversation at Brockswood as now that many of our residents are reaching old age, we are now altering many of our care routines to take these individuals into account. These sheep would very likely be culled in some settings where individual care would not be possible, but here we will simply alter their diets and care plans. We keep a close eye on the body condition of each of these sheep to ensure none are losing weight and are still able to take in both the right amounts of food, but also the same levels of nutrients. This can involve feeding separately, moving into smaller groups, feeding shorter fibres, making up mash feeds, and providing supplements, as well as health checks from both us and our veterinarians.

You will have met many of these sheep and not even know anything was different about them!

Sansa has lost her teeth now

But you would never know it!

It is just one of several issues we are working with as our residents grow older, making us think outside of the box, as many of these animals simply don’t live this long outside of sanctuaries. There is a little research as a result and so we are amazing residents here who have a lot to teach us!