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Backyard Biosecurity: How to Keep Your Poultry Healthy
Biosecurity Basics
Having the right equipment is a great start, but the most important thing you’ll do for your flock is put preventive measures in place before they arrive—otherwise known as biosecurity measures.
Biosecurity measures are the precautions we take to protect our flock from outside pathogens and diseases. It’s something many first timers (and even some seasoned hobbyists) may overlook, but it’s the best way to ensure the livelihood and long-term success of your flock. Poultry raising can be fun and incredibly rewarding, but running a hatchery—large or small—is a bit of a science.
Keep Your Coop Clean
If you’re planning to buy chicks and raise backyard chickens, chances are you aren’t afraid to get your hands dirty. But when it comes to your poultry, you’ll need to be mindful of basic hygiene to keep them healthy.
Day-old chicks do recieve antibodies from the yolk sac, which provides them with about 2 weeks of immunity from disease. After that, biosecurity measures will protect your chicks from disease. Young chickens are susceptible to ailments like Newcastle or Coccidiosis , but these diseases can be prevented with vaccines, a clean coop, and a good biosecurity protocol.
Start Fresh
Ensure that the space you plan to house your chickens is clean and disinfected before your chickens arrive—especially if chickens have been housed in this space previously. If you are bringing home day-old chicks, you will need a clean, appropriately sized brooder to keep your chicks for about 6-8 weeks. If you plan to house your brooder in a barn, garage, or an out-building, you will need to clean those areas thoroughly as well.
This USDA checklist is a good place to start to ensure you have a clean and safe space for your chickens to live in.
Stay vigilant
Once your space is properly set up, make sure you aren’t bringing outside contaminants into the area. For example, you may not want to wear shoes that have been to your neighbor’s farm or your local agricultural supply store.
Shoes should always be cleaned and sanitized before entering, as they can transmit diseases to your flock. We recommend keeping a dedicated pair of shoes or boots that you only wear around your chickens.
Disinfect and protect
Your coop supplies will need to be regularly disinfected and sanitized as well. Feeders and waterers are a breeding ground for bacteria that can make your flock sick, including salmonella. Plan to scrub them down at least once a week with hot water and dish soap.
And of course, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly before and after handling your birds. This protects you (and your birds) from getting sick.
Keep Your Coop Contained
When they reach the appropriate age, your chickens will need time to free roam. This provides them with exercise, stimulation, and an opportunity to forage—which means less bugs in your yard.
But you don’t want your chickens to wander off too far. If they come into contact with wild birds or other animals, they could be exposed to highly contagious diseases, such as avian flu. Once your birds are infected there is no treatment or cure, so the best course of action is to keep your backyard chickens in your backyard.
Unfortunately, if you’re a fan of birds in general, this also means no more bird feeders or bird baths on your property, as wild bird droppings can spread avian flu to your birds. It’s best not to take any chances.
Another way to keep your flock isolated from wild animals is to keep their feed secure. Chicken feed is a popular snack for squirrels, rats, and raccoons. These animals carry diseases that can spread to your flock—they might even be tempted to snack on your chickens, too.
While there’s no way to keep all wildlife from interacting with your chickens, you can significantly lower your risk by taking these precautions.
Introduce Newborn Chickens Slowly
Maybe you already have some birds on your property, but you’re eyeing a new breed to round out your existing flock. Although it’s tempting, don’t introduce new poultry right away. If you must introduce new chickens, do a quarantine period to watch out for signs of disease or illness.
Some symptoms to watch out for include:
One sick bird can wipe out an entire flock and ruin all of your hard work and effort. Even a chicken that appears healthy could be harboring a deadly illness, as the incubation period may range anywhere from 15-30 days for some diseases. As a best practice, introduce new chickens slowly and make sure they are vaccinated.
If you notice any of these symptoms in your birds, isolate them immediately and contact your nearest poultry veterinarian.
Keep Visitors to a Minimum
If you have chickens, chances are you know a few other chicken people (ok, maybe a lot of chicken people). As much as you might want to commiserate with fellow poultry lovers and admire their coop setup, it’s strongly recommended that chicken owners don’t visit other farms or coops. This is an easy and common way to spread diseases from one flock to another.
If you must, be sure to follow the basic hygiene practices we outlined earlier, in addition to a few other precautionary measures:
Practice good hygiene (clean shoes, clean clothes, clean tires)
If you are planning to visit chickens outside of your flock, clean shoes aren’t an option—they are a must. You can make a boot dip, wear boot covers, or wear a new pair of shoes that have not been worn on your property or near your flock.
This goes for clothing too. If you recently wore an outfit around your chickens, it’s probably best to change into clean clothes before visiting with poultry outside of your existing flock.
Much like shoes, car tires can carry mud and dirt that may spread diseases. If you recently visited other places housing poultry (farms, fairs, etc.) you should disinfect your tires by spraying them with a high-quality disinfectant. Make sure to pressure wash your tires first to remove mud and debris before disinfecting.
Avoid chicken swaps and meets
Sure, you might bring home a new chicken—or you could bring home a disease that sickens your entire flock. Be aware of the risks before going and take all necessary precautions.
Buy chicks from a reputable poultry supplier
A good poultry supplier will have extensive biosecurity measures in place and vaccinate their chickens. Always buy newborn chickens from an NPIP certified hatchery or source, as this will give your flock the best chance of survival.
Make a Biosecurity Plan and Stick to It
While this all might sound a bit daunting at first, pretty soon these biosecurity measures will become a habit. Good biosecurity is simply the best way to protect your flock—and to keep your coop going strong.
If you ordered your day-old chicks from Myers Poultry and you have questions about backyard biosecurity, don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly . We have a knowledgeable team that will assist you on your journey of raising healthy backyard poultry.