Mainland Poultry farm in Otago lays first eggs after bird flu cull

Some 200,000 chickens at Mainland Poultry's Hillgrove Farm in Otago were culled because of bird flu. Photo / Supplied

The first eggs from an Otago farm forced to cull 200,000 chickens because of bird flu are back on supermarket shelves this week.

New Zealand’s first case of the H7N6 strain of high-pathogenic avian influenza was discovered at Mainland Poultry’s Hillgrove free range farm in December last year.

Chief executive John McKay said this marks a significant milestone.

“This is the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.

“The rearing sheds are full, our first birds are moving to our laying sheds and we just got our first eggs off the farm.”

McKay said the farm is aiming to be fully repopulated by May next year and described the past nine months as challenging.

“It’s been a tough and long road to get up and running.

“We’re farmers and we’ve had an empty farm, so it’s a huge relief to have our birds back and see eggs out of sheds and with our customers,” McKay said.

Chickens at Mainland Poultry's Hillgrove Farm in Otago. Photo / Supplied

The Ministry for Primary Industries put the Moeraki property under a strict biosecurity lockdown late last year.

A 10km buffer zone was placed around the farm, with restrictions to prevent the movement of animals, equipment and feed.

The chickens were then destroyed and items from the farm were disposed of at a Southland landfill.

McKay said the process of cleaning and disinfecting the farm was thorough.

“I’m incredibly proud of how resilient the team has been,” he said.

As operations get back up and running, the farm is set to be fully repopulated and back to normal by May next year.

McKay said the company was confident it would produce as many eggs as it used to but the experience had taught it a lot.

“It’s been a tremendous learning curve for the whole poultry industry in how to improve biosecurity systems across the sector and ensure we’re better prepared in the future.”

Rosie Leishman is a Christchurch-based reporter and multimedia journalist at Newstalk ZB.