Let's discuss "Biosecurity in poultry" briefly today. If you are thinking of going into poultry as a business and not as one charity organizations, then biosecurity should not only exist in your dictionary but be visible on your farm. Many will argue that they don't have enough

space or birds to warrant taking biosecurity measures. Let me reiterate it, business is for profit and biosecurity measures help prevent loss. Someone would ask, what is biosecurity?
Biosecurity in poultry simply refers the procedures used or put in place to prevent the

introduction or spread of disease-causing organisms in poultry flocks. Biosecurity is not for those that have 10000 birds and above alone. It is for every farmer that has set out to make profit whether big or small. It has nothing to do with landmass. Enough said!
These are

simple to ways achieve biosecurity on your farm;
1. Have a biosecurity coordinator. If you are the only one running your poultry then you must adhere strictly to normal biosecurity measures. If you have attendants and you are the farm manager, it will be your

responsibility to make them stick to the biosecurity measures. If it looks difficult, draw a plan and make it visible for all. Let there be a fine to be paid if you flout rules.
2. Organize training for employees: Let the coordinator educate employees on biosecurity. Information

must be disseminated and logged or recorded.

Biosecurity measures are;
a.) Make sure that where you accommodate visitors, buyers or well wishers is not closer to the pen. Separate production area from visitors zone or office. I have seen a poultry that has land but egg sellers

will enter the pen to buy eggs. This is wrong because egg sellers don't buy from you alone. They go to different farms. Imagine a seller that visits a farm with disease crisis and the owner allows the seller into his farm. She comes out without sanitizing and visits your own farm

This activity alone can affect your farm. There are details on how diseases can spread but I will leave that for now.
b.) Workers must sanitize before they enter the production area. Foot bath( where water and disinfectant is poured for attendants to dip their feet each time they

are to enter the poultry house) must be provided. This is very important especially for those that have different pens and different breeds of birds on their farm. It prevents transfer of diseases.
c.) Provide farm shoes and PPEs for employees. Make sure the shoes are always

sanitized.
d.) Have a plan in place to stop insects, rodents, wild birds and even pets from entering the pen. These are vector agents and you must be very vigilant.
e.) How do you handle mortality? Do you just throw them away or you bury them? The safe thing to do is to bury

dead birds. Nobody should dump dead birds indiscriminately on the farm. Who does that in this age and time? O wrong na.
f.) Make sure that, if equipment is being shared between production areas and farms, it is being properly sanitized in between uses.
g.) Manage old

litters properly. Some people will allow manure or maggot collectors to enter their farms with used sacks or bags that they don't know how they got them. Make money with sense ooo.
h.) Manage water very well. Check that the water your birds are drinking is not contaminated

i.) Replacement/ New stocking: If you are planning to replace your old birds with new ones or you are stocking new birds but have some birds on your farm, make sure you quarantine the new birds.
j.) Manage feed and new materials delivered to your farm in a way that will minimize

the risk of disease transmission.

Let me stop here. I hope I have helped someone. Thanks for coming to class my peeps.