Biosecurity: Is There a ‘Wolf’ at Your Poultry House Door?
GLOBAL - We all know the tail of the three little pigs, whilst things went badly for two out of three of them; they at least knew not to open the door. In Red Riding Hood on the other hand, says Aviagen, Grandma not only opens the door to the wolf but gets eaten! The wolf then disguises itself as Grandma, so when Red Riding Hood knocks on the door, the immediate threat is not obvious.
7 February 2014
2 minute read
As an analogy, this is very close to one of the main ways biosecurity is breached on farms – visitors who bring health challenges that are not always obvious!
There are simple ways to stop the ‘wolf’ getting amongst your chickens. The first is clear: minimise the number of people who have access to the farm. This can be done, for example, by positioning reception and administration areas well away from the poultry houses.
Lock gates, post no entry signs and, unless someone absolutely has to be on the farm, then there is no need to take the risk and invite them in. If someone does have to come on to the farm, be sure they have not been in recent contact with other poultry or wild birds, if possible.
Other checks include:
- All people visiting the farm should read and follow the biosecurity procedure
- Maintain a record of visitors
- Workers and visitors should wash their hands and sanitise boots whenever they enter/leave a poultry house
- Clean and disinfect tools used in the poultry houses
- It is recommended only one farm visit per day.
You can find out further information online at the Aviagen Tech Center.
