When Raising Chickens, the most important key is to keep your chickens safe and healthy.

The aim of the following article is to introduce your to Biosecurity. In other terms, the best way to keep chickens or any poultry animals health.
It is focus more on prevention, because prevention costs less than remedy.

For more information about Risk & Precaution, read als?11 High Risk Points To Watch When Raising Chickens: Risks & Precautions.

Discloser: All the information is found for FOA Report about BioSecurity. The reference is mentionned at the end of the article.

What is Biosecurity Plan

Biosecurity plan is a set of practices designed to prevent the entry and spread of infectious diseases into and from a poultry farm.

The Biosecurity requires the adoption of a set of attitudes Biosecurity requires the adoption of a set of attitudes and behaviours by people, to reduce risk in all activities involving poultry production and marketing activities involving poultry production and marketing

Biosecurity is the most effective and the cheapest way to protect your Biosecurity Biosecurity is the most effective effective and the cheapest cheapest way to protect protect your chickens.

Biosecurity plan should focus on

Preventing disease agents from entering the farm By keeping potentially infected animals infected animals and contaminated objects away from healthy poultry.

This requires formation of barriers

– Physical and/or
– Conceptual

The 3 elements of biosecurity

• A- Segregation & Traffic Control
• B- Cleaning
• C- Disinfection

A- Segregation & Traffic Control

The most effective form of biosecurity prevent contamination prevent contamination.
The strongest form of biosecurity and where all effort should be placed

Preventing disease agents from entering the farm by keeping potentially infected animals and contaminated objects such as clothing footwear vehicles equipment objects such as clothing, footwear, vehicles, equipment, etc, away from healthy poultry.

The least reliable step – depends on the quality of cleaning might kill any remaining contamination kill any remaining contamination.
Nothing crosses these barriers unless it has to.

The barriers can be:

• Physical – lock on doors, fence & gate, distance
• Temporal – time break in between farms? visits
• Procedural – washing hands and feet washing hands and feet, changing footwear and outer clothes, vehicles kept off the farm

What are the most efficiant?Barriers for Chicken Coop ?

1. Locks + Chains

Prevent unauthorized people from entering into the chicken house, entering entering into the chicken chicken house, risking the transmission of diseases

2. Screened walls and windows

Prevent contact of poultry inside the chicken house with wild and domestic animals and birds from the outside

3. Strict procedures Strict procedures ? for farm entry

Prevent contact of poultry inside the chicken house with diseases agents that might be carried from the outside on people hands cloth or footwear on people hands, cloth or footwear

B. Cleaning

Cleaning of housing, vehicles and equipment is the next most effective step, cleaning remove 80% of contaminants.

When all dirt is removed, there is little organic material left in which disease agent may be protected and carried in which disease agent may be protected and carried

Cleaning means that the surfaces of the object must be visibly clean with no dirt left that is visible to the eye

Cleaning needs effort ? scrubbing, brushing and high pressure washing with detergent and water

C. Disinfection

Disinfection the least reliable step of biosecurity, depends on the quality of cleaning, water hardness, etc. might kill any remaining contamination:

• removal of all dirt during the cleaning process
• usage of only approved disinfectant
• preparation of disinfectant solution in correct concentration preparation of disinfectant solution in correct concentration
• application of disinfectant in the correct volume to ensure effective contact time and to cover the entire surface
• preparation and application of disinfectant in a safe manner

Source: https://www.fao.org/docrep/014/al875e/al875e00.pdf.