Poultry back at farm show after two-year suspension

THE poultry tent will return to this year’s Henley Farm and Country Show after a two-year absence.

It had previously been excluded on the advice of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs following an outbreak of avian flu in October 2021. The UK has been free of the disease since March.

The Henley & District Agricultural Association will hold the 133rd annual show on Saturday, September 14 at the showground off Marlow Road, Hambleden.

The poultry competition will be staged by the High Wycombe & District Poultry Society and its secretary Karen Winslow is thrilled to be back.

She said: “It’s not going to be as big as our usual one but we just want to get back and show our birds and get our name back into the show because it’s an amazing day out. It will be nice to see all the friends and people we’ve seen over the years.”

“The last few years have been really bad, what with covid, followed by the avian flu epidemic where we had to lock all our birds away. It has been tough with everything in limbo until we had the all-clear to get the show up and running. We’re really looking forward to it.”

Following the flu outbreak, strict control measures to protect flocks were implemented which prohibited bird gatherings, such as shows and exhibitions.

Ms Winslow said: “It was devastating. Keeping your birds locked away created more work and you had so many biosecurity procedures in place and you didn’t let anybody on to your property that might cross contaminate anything.

“It was like when we had the foot and mouth pandemic a few years ago. That was devastating for everybody that was involved with that. We tried to keep the avian flu as contained as possible.”

Visitors to the show will be able to see a vast array of birds competing in different categories, including large fowl and ducks. Judges will also be on hand to talk about the different breeds and the standards they are looking for.

Ms Winslow said: “Expect to see various different breeds of birds, ducks and different coloured eggs. It’s one of those things that different breeds of poultry lay different coloured eggs and you have them in the competition to try and get up to six eggs that match.

“There is another section where people can enter decorated eggs, for juniors and seniors, and those are really good. How they manage to paint such intricate pictures on the eggs, I don’t know.”

Other attractions to this year’s show sees the return of the Bolddogs FMX motorcyle display team to the main ring. They will be performing an aerial stunt show at 11am and 3pm.

The show will opens at 9am with a vintage Land Rover and vehicle display in the main ring. This will be followed by two new additions: Scurry racing and Shetland pony racing.

Scurry racing heats will be held at 9.45am and 11.45am, with the final taking place at 1.15pm Shetland racing will be on at 10.15am and 3.45pm

The companion dog show also returns this year after high temperaturs cancelled it last year. The heatwave also excluded most of the livestock events from taking place, but are also expected to run as planned, along with the heavy horses.

Show secretary Jo Taylor said the welfare of the animals always has to remain the priority. She said: “There are no precautions you can take when it comes to animal welfare. If it’s too hot, it’s too hot.

“With the heat that we had last year, the vet advised very early on that the cattle should go home. I’m looking at the long-term forecast and it’s looking to be between 18c and 24c with a bit of sun and a bit of cloud. If that’s the case, it will be perfect.”

There will also be a mini pony show, archery, axe throwing, ferret racing and fairground rides.

After two year’s of low visitor numbers due to the passing of the Queen ahead of the 2022 show and the heatwave last year, Ms Taylor hopes the return of the crowd favourites will mean an increase in ticket sales.

She said: “This one’s got to be a good one and early indications are showing that will be the case. It doesn’t really take off until the weekend before, and then it builds that week.”

The show will also feature children’s rides, giant tortoises, a produce tent, as well as over 150 trade, food and wine, craft, and shopping stands.

There will be a free shuttle service running from Boots in Bell Street to the showground and back. This will be running from 8.30am.

Tickets on the gate for £15 for adults, £10 for seniors/concessions and £5 for children aged five to 15. For more information and to book, visit www.thehenleyshow.co.uk