Cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) typically rise at this time of year. England confirmed its first case of the season in a commercial layer flock mid-October.
This is a timely reminder for farmers to review biosecurity practices. Good biosecurity is essential year-round, not just when bird flu rears its head, and make improvements where necessary.
Good biosecurity is essential every day to prevent disease and protect bird health, safety and welfare. We also know that high levels of biosecurity improve flock performance and production.
Get the basics right
Biosecurity doesn’t always require significant financial investment; it’s about getting the basics right. For example, control visitor access by keeping entrance gates closed, allowing access to necessary vehicles only, providing easy-to-use wheel washers and keeping visitor records up to date to trace people, if needed.
Top tips
Biosecurity covers many areas, but these are the key ones to focus on first.
- Control visitors. Allow only necessary people onto site.
- Have footdips at all biosecure entry points. Use a covered container with a Defra or DAERA-approved disinfectant at the correct concentration. Replenish at least twice weekly, or more often if contaminated. Remember: dirt cannot be disinfected. Clean soiled footwear with a boot washer or high-pressure hose before dipping.
- Keep poultry houses locked. This means only those with a genuine reason, who know the biosecurity requirements, go in.
- Check for shed defects that could let in wild birds, vermin or water. Check perimeter fencing where birds range.
- Have house-specific footwear and clothing.
- Best practice is a double step-over barrier to separate the outside, an ‘unknown disease challenge’ area, from the shed interior.
- Have a clean and tidy site. Remove excess vegetation, equipment and other things that don’t need to be there. If a notifiable disease is confirmed, equipment and waste must be cleansed and disinfected, or destroyed if that’s not possible hampering Defra or DAERA’s primary cleansing and disinfection.
Ultimately, control the controllables and view biosecurity from your birds’ perspective. While you can’t control wild animals, birds or vermin, you can make your site less attractive to them.
Focus on what you can control – your poultry-specific area – including the people in and out, shed maintenance, and other inputs and outputs. Inputs like equipment should be clean and capable of being disinfected before it gets on site. Likewise, surfaces it travels over, such as concrete areas, should be clean and disinfected.
For advice on your site’s biosecurity, contact our team.