Biosecurity Methods Vary from Farm to Farm

The recent avian influenza discovery in Tennessee has many producers reviewing their biosecurity options.

USDA Chief Veterinarian Dr. Jack Shere said it can be simple, cleaning everyone and anything who goes in or out of the coop, but it can also be more complex such as heat tents.

“So they can heat their equipment so that even if they share the equipment, basically in that heat tent it gets disinfected.”

Others have built large-scale wash stations, there’s even a farm in Iowa that is using an air-cleaning system.

Shere said some are changing how they handle dead birds.

“They move their mortality off the farm to the edge of the farm so that the mortality trucks, when they come to pick up the birds, they don’t bring disease to the farm.”

For more ideas on how to keep your bird safe, Google Defend the Flock online.