Biosecurity is the name of necessary preventative strategies and safety measures protecting animals against pathogens, germs, diseases, and other lethal substances threatening their welfare. This article will discuss the main components of Biosecurity in poultry farms and how poultry farmers can practice Biosecurity.
Biosecurity for the Environment:
The components of Biosecurity in poultry farms are not just relevant to animals but instead have a considerable impact on various segments of our world, such as economics, food quality, and the ecosystem at large. It is critical to human health that strict measures ensure the health and quality of the poultry.
Biosecurity is the most cost-effective disease prevention and control approach for poultry, pork, and other livestock farms worldwide. A study conducted in Finland stated that when measuring the costs of Biosecurity on poultry farms, they found that for a batch of 75,000 broilers, the total cost would be €2,700. Read more about Biosecurity-the Ultimate guide on the informative blog of Folio3.
What Are the Main Components of Biosecurity in Poultry Farms?
The main components of Biosecurity in poultry farms are three:
Farm Management:
This level of Biosecurity has to do with the location of the farm, its layout, and its adequacy as a safe and healthy abode for the animals and farmers have to ensure the farm is free from disease and infections. Biosecurity Enhance Poultry Farm Productivity and Efficiency.
Farm management, as a central component of Biosecurity, involves locating the farm in an area that is not densely populated and does not receive a lot of traffic.
Secondly, the farm structure must be wired/fenced or gated enough to protect the poultry from feral animals, wild birds, and rodents.
There must be separate areas for deliveries and visitors that are not near the designated portions for the poultry animals.
The animals’ packed feed and water ponds must be checked for standard quality and stored in a safe, non-toxic region. Fumes, toxic waste, and animal carcasses should be removed from poultry houses and treated sustainably.
The sheds need to have much lighting, ventilation, and optimal temperature.
Flock Management:
The second principal component of Biosecurity for poultry farms focuses on the micro-level, the poultry itself.
Biosecurity begins with the active purchase of animals in the first place. The Poultry farmers should choose healthy chicks that have been vaccinated for diseases early on, such as Marek’s disease.
Each bird should be individually examined by certified vets and should not be placed with the existing flock until after 10 days of isolation.
A reliable preventative measure in flock management is the all-in-all-out method. Batches of birds habituating together will permanently inhabit the same flock house simultaneously and will not be mixed with other clusters.
Moreover, Biosecurity for poultry farms obligates farmers to schedule routine checkups with vets and keep track of vaccinations that require subsequent doses.
Flock Management ensures protection against lethal diseases such as Newcastle’s disease, Salmonellosis, Coccidiosis, Mycoplasmas, and Coli bacillus, among others.
Disease Control:
What happens when all the protective steps are taken, yet an animal falls sick? An infected bird poses a severe threat to the rest of the livestock. Now, the third principal component of poultry management, Disease control, comes into practice.
Disease management is a reactive approach and comes into play once the disease has touched the farm and needs to be urgently managed and eliminated.
Once a bird is sick, it must be isolated from the rest of the flock and farmland workers. Moreover, the henhouses must be evacuated and disinfected before birds can inhabit them.
Disease control constitutes, along with treatment measures, the subtraction of potential carriers for the disease, for example, blood, animal corpse that has not been removed for some hours, wet feed, litter, bird droppings, and animals such as rats, mice, and insects such as betting flies and pests can endanger animal health in a poultry farm.
Biosecurity Basics for Poultry Growers:
Here are ten essential factors that every poultry grower should consider for the maintenance of animal health and security:
Stay informed: A poultry farmer must be equipped with relevant information on biosecurity guidelines set by International standard-setting organizations and bodies like the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
- Stay Informed: The poultry grower should be familiar with some common symptoms in disease-afflicted animals and be driven by substantial training to detect illnesses early on.
- Training of caretaking staff: Every person working in the poultry farm must be adequately trained to manage and care for the poultry. The team should also be prepared to maintain hygiene on both personal and environmental levels.
Sanitation Training Is Necessary for the Cleaning Staff:
- Stay on top of your schedules and plan proactively: Poultry farmers should have up-to-date records of vaccinations, vet visits, and follow-ups ready to be viewed instantly. Using animal safety software in this regard would enable the poultry grower to keep track of every batch on the poultry farm.
- Every area in a poultry farm requires special attention, but specific biosecurity practices are needed for safe, disease-free hatcheries.
There Are Three Main Elements of Biosecurity in Hatcheries:
1. Cleaning:
Cleaning the hatcheries before disinfection is crucial because organic matter such as shells, dust, feathers, and litter can hide harmful microorganisms under them and elevate the growth of such pathogens. Every surface, including the incubators’ walls, insides, exteriors, and floors, must be swept and mopped thoroughly.
2. Disinfection:
Disinfecting chemicals such as alcohol-based disinfectants, Hydrogen peroxide, and Peracetic acid can be used as powerful germ-killers. Disinfectant chemicals must not be used while the chicks are still in the hatcheries.
3. Fumigation:
For this process, a lethal gas called Formaldehyde is used. The hatchery is closed to create humidity and block any leaks from the gas. About 24-30 C is optimal for the fumigation, which exterminates all pests from the hatchery.
What Is Biosecurity Preparedness Analysis for Poultry on Large and Small Farms?
A detailed survey conducted in UAE with over 37 licensed commercial poultry farms examined the readiness of poultry farms to prevent biological hazards and contain transmissible diseases.
The survey considered four factors: quarantining, human and traffic flow, cleaning and disinfection, and adhering to vaccination schedules.
The 10-volume Agriculture journal of MDPI UAE states that the methods used for this survey were Cumulative Distribution Functions (CDFs) and Artificial Neural Network statistical (ANN) to categorize Biosecurity on farms, including segregation for large and small farms and to recognize areas requiring improvements. The ANN correlates preparedness in the critical areas to the poultry farms’ biophysical and business features, such as the number of annual livestock cycles, farm capacity, the total size of the farms, compactness, and the number of biosecurity workers.
This study finds that more firm implementation of vaccination protocol, isolation, and human and vehicle-flow controls for disinfection are direly needed.
The study also found that poultry farms address biosecurity preparedness differently based on the various forms of production on large or small farms and for broilers or layers.
Conclusion:
Biosecurity measures are increasingly implemented worldwide, and poultry farmers now realize the importance of disease prevention strategies for not just the livestock but for economic security and the smooth running of the supply chain.
It is only with a strict following of farm management regulations, disinfection, and contact control that Biosecurity can be certainly achieved.
However, Antibiotic resistance, evolving pathogens, and advanced mutations in microorganisms have challenged Biosecurity and called for an alliance between modern technology and strategic poultry farmworkers to ensure animals are kept safe from health hazards.
Thanks to Food Safety Software, maintaining Biosecurity procedures and tracking produce on farms is simpler than ever.
Folio3 has pioneered the art of delivering sophisticated, personalized software to agriculture and Food Businesses, optimizing their business efficiency exponentially.
Folio3 has successfully developed and delivered traceability, as well as Food Safety software for poultry farms as well as software for Biosecurity Management on Pig Farms.
FAQS:
1) What constitutes flock management?
It involves various practices such as proper and frequent livestock testing, timely vaccination and medication, and quarantining of affected animals until full recovery is achieved.
2) How is Disease Control Achieved?
It is achieved by the early detection and treatment of infected birds. Culling and disposal of infected birds is imperative.
3) Do all poultry farms have the same Biosecurity plan?
No. The Biosecurity plan adopted by any farm depends on various factors such as the specific risks present on that farm, bird types, climate, and location. These factors, among others, are considered when a Biosecurity plan is devised.
