700,000 chickens die in tidal flood
A devastating flood at two 2 Sisters farms in Lincolnshire has resulted in the deaths of 700,000 chickens.
The farms, between South Ferriby and Winteringham, beside the Humber Estuary in north Linconshire, are a joint venture between 2 Sisters and Hook 2 Sisters, and were hit by the tidal surge in the region following the storms in early December.
2 Sisters spokesman Nick Murray said: “Our hearts go out to our farmers who faced the full force of last week’s tidal surge. The sites had to be evacuated quickly and unfortunately several hundred thousands of chickens were lost.
“The clear-up operation is now complete. We will help our farmers in any way we can to get back to normality and rebuild their livelihoods.”
It is understood the birds were destined for the 2 Sisters’ Scunthorpe plant, which processes 1.8 million birds a week.
While the birds lost will make a dent in the throughput for the plant, Mr Murray said that overall the firm had a surplus at this time of year and production would not be affected.
Site of the flooded sheds
He added that, while the clean-up was now complete, repair works at the farms would not be finished until next year.