29/12/2024
What it takes to keep your poultry farm disease-free
Biosecurity is a management practice designed to prevent entry of diseases into a farm, and limit spread. It is an essential element to a good animal husbandry process.
It is the cheapest and most-effective method of disease control. Biosecurity ensures that the health and well being of your birds are protected hence improving the immunity and performance of your flock.
It is important that every poultry farmer checks if their biosecurity plans are strong enough to keep out diseases. Infectious diseases are introduced on farms through:
• Introducing diseased or carrier birds.
• Visitors’ and farmers clothing, shoes and vehicles
• Poor disposal of dead birds’ carcasses and litter
• Contaminated drinking water provided to the birds
• Rodents and wild birds
• Egg transmission
• Contaminated feeds and feeding equipment
• Farmer’s pets
• Airborne infections
For an effective biosecurity plan, there are three aspects that should be considered: Isolation, Human traffic control and sanitation.
This is done through confining the birds in a controlled environment and keeping all other animals out. This is achieved through:
• Construction of fences,
• Practising all-in-all-out poultry management. That is birds are kept as a flock from day-old chicks till they are slaughtered. After slaughter, the house is washed, disinfected and rested for at least two weeks to ensure that pathogens are killed before introducing any new flock.
New birds should be day-old chicks as old birds are likely to be carriers. If you have to introduce any bird or birds’ into the farm, ensure that there is an isolation unit far as possible from the resident birds: These new birds should be isolated for 2-4 weeks; during this period the birds will be observed for signs of diseases and treated if any is seen.
Farmers should handle the new birds last after all the others. Ensure you obtain new birds from a reliable source.
• Keeping birds of same
