Chris Ashton

NEARLY two-thirds of people in Britain (63 per cent) believe that foie gras should be banned, according to a new poll commissioned by the RSPCA. Unfortunately, this has not stopped the growing popularity of the product with consumers, especially when it is promoted by celebrity chefs on TV. The UK is a leading importer of foie gras from France.

THE early half of the twentieth century was ground-breaking for ducks in the UK. Ducks were really popular in the early decades, with Indian Runners fetching astronomical prices compared with average earnings. Even annual membership of the Utility Duck Club in 1915 cost five shillings - perhaps a quarter of a working man's weekly wage. £1 = 20 shillings People wrangled over the Runners more than anything else, and it was these birds that were used to produce the other light breeds: Campbells, Magpies, Orpingtons, Abacot Rangers and later on, the Welsh Harlequin. All made their mark as egg layers. These breeds from the Runner were all compared, measured, trap nested, recorded - and then the obsession with duck eggs suddenly disappeared. Luckily for the duck, the hen took her place in that invention, the battery cage.

LIVE birds at shows were a nineteenth century innovation. Birds became part of the great exhibitions, part and parcel of the showcase of the imperial world. Game cocks were removed from the cockpit (cockfighting became illegal in 1849) and, although cold carcasses of poultry were still on show, so too were the live, feathered birds.

THERE are more than a billion chickens in Asia. In 1968, the year of the last pandemic, there were 13 million* chickens in China. Now, there are more than 13 billion in mainland China alone. And since the time from hatching to slaughter is only a matter of weeks or months, depending on whether the chicken is raised for meat or eggs, there are multiple cycles of these billions passing through the system in the course of the year.

IS the incubation temperature for waterfowl the same as for chickens?

BANTAM ducks are garden ducks. Much lighter in weight than the traditional egg-laying and table birds, the bantams can make good pets. Tight sitters and fair layers, these smaller ducks will make less mess in the garden than Rouens or Indian Runners. If pets and looks are more important than performance, then bantams are a good choice.

Ducklings and goslings are enchanting. We discovered that when we were first given two goslings in 1980. Fluffy, talkative, tame and definitely outdoing chicks, these two goslings became pets for their lifetime of seven and fifteen years.

Tips for winter management - Now that the ground is getting wetter, the ducks will be dibbling, picking up more earthworms from the ground. They will also be picking up more dangerous kinds of worms.

The FAO conference in Rome examined the incidence of H5N1 in wild birds and the risk of the spread of the disease. Holland has a vaccination policy for its free range layers and outdoor birds.