Hi Guys,

We just wanted to start by saying a big thank you to all of you who came and visited over the summer. We have been busy since the summer rush catching up with all the jobs that have to be put on hold over the school holidays. One of these jobs that has been in the wings now for quite a while is updating our poultry enclosures. Those of you who have visited us over the past few weeks would have noticed that we have been busy knocking down our poultry aviaries. We felt a twinge of sadness to see them go, as they have been at Knockhatch for over 25 years and have been a staple of the farm for all that time.

However, we are excited to announce that a brand new poultry barn is currently being built next to the duck pond, the barn will be built to allow for easy viewing for you guys and will have an indoor and outdoor area to give the poultry more space, greater choice and stimulation.

Over the past few winters, unfortunately, we’ve had to move our poultry off show and into restricted housing to reduce the risk of avian influenza in order to comply with government guidelines. The risk of Avian Flu is likely to stay for the foreseeable future, for this reason the enclosure will also be designed in such a way as to reduce the risk of contamination from wild birds; this is a big relief for the keepers as it will allow us to keep the poultry out and on display all year round, while still taking all necessary precautions, our hope is that this will benefit both the animals and you guys.

In the place of the old poultry enclosures, a new and exciting attraction will be built. It is being kept a closely guarded secret at the moment, but I’m sure we will be giving out hints over the coming weeks, so be sure to keep an eye on our social media pages for those.

Thanks again for taking the time to read our blog. We hope you are as excited as we are about all the exciting new developments. If you spot any of our keepers during your visit, feel free to ask them how the animals are getting on.

See you soon,

Ben Anderson