How to Protect Flock from Bird Flu

[Birdiee]

Any suggestions to keep a flock protected from bird flu? How to keep wild birds far enough away?

 

[Sally PB]

Keep your chickens in a covered run. Do not let anyone else who has/interacts chickens in with your flock. Do not visit anyone else's flock and then go into your flock without changing/disinfecting your clothes and shoes.

HPAI has been found in some mammals too. Secure your run against raccoons, possums, mice, rats, anything that can get in. That's just basic security, but it's even more important now.

 

[FowlProtector]

Keep your chickens in a covered run. Do not let anyone else who has/interacts chickens in with your flock. Do not visit anyone else's flock and then go into your flock without changing/disinfecting your clothes and shoes.

HPAI has been found in some mammals too. Secure your run against raccoons, possums, mice, rats, anything that can get in. That's just basic security, but it's even more important now.

I would agree with @Sally PB but the only problem with that is that you either have to get a really big run or they're also always kinda enclose which I don't like. I like my chickens to have freedom. May be able to free range.

 

[Sally PB]

I would love to free range my chickens. But I have always had predator pressure in the form of dogs, raccoons, possums, hawks, and eagles, so my birds have been in a covered run their entire lives.

I recently heard that raptors (hawks and eagles, etc.) have been found dead with HPAI. I have those and geese, ducks, and cranes flying around overhead. Their poop is also a vector for HPAI.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

My chickens are in a safe coop and have a very large run. That is to say, the coop is safe from most predators, although I did have a couple of snakes this past fall; and the run is open. But it sounds like I have a sparrow nest in the coop - I have a baby monitor out there so I can hear when I am in the house. I've looked for a nest but I've not found it yet. The door to the coop is open all day, so there's really no way to give the chickens access without exposure to wild birds. The only real protection my flock has is my faith in God. Malachi 3:8-12.

 

[Eggcessive]

My chickens are in a safe coop and have a very large run. That is to say, the coop is safe from most predators, although I did have a couple of snakes this past fall; and the run is open. But it sounds like I have a sparrow nest in the coop - I have a baby monitor out there so I can hear when I am in the house. I've looked for a nest but I've not found it yet. The door to the coop is open all day, so there's really no way to give the chickens access without exposure to wild birds. The only real protection my flock has is my faith in God. Malachi 3:8-12.

I agree that it can be hard to keep every wild bird out of a coop. I have a good size large coop with windows covered by 1/2 inch hardware cloth. But my roof vents can allow small birds in. I tried putting poultry netting over them, and they started building nests or getting caught and dying in it. Covering your run in 1/2 inch hardware cloth and roof is best when trying to keep them inside. Most of us do not have large enough runs. I have always tried to let me chickens have some time outside in the yard daily, but it is a risk.