Reduced risk of infection and sickness among hatchlings can be achieved through good biosecurity and hygiene techniques.
Backyard poultry owners, educators, and others may be getting ready for hatching season as spring approaches, which also entails preventing the spread of disease.
Samantha Lahman, a 4-H youth development specialist in animal science at North Dakota State University Extension, asserts that biosecurity hazards exist even in tiny, controlled environments. “It is crucial that those who work with poultry are prepared to maintain the health of both the newly hatched birds and the people who come into touch with them.”
There are communities of germs and other organisms on and in the bodies of all people and animals. Zoonotic organisms are ones that can be harmful to both people and animals’ health. Certain zoonotic organisms can infect humans even if they are harmless to the animals that carry them.
Dr. Gerald Stokka, a veterinarian with NDSU Extension, claims that germs frequently cause illness in backyard chicken.
Dr. Stokka warns that even birds that appear healthy and clean can spread germs like Salmonella, E. coli, and Campylobacter. These bacteria can be discovered on a bird’s body even if it is not unwell and are also present in chicken droppings.
The germs can get into workstations, counters, bird handlers’ hands, bedding, cages, water dishes, and feeders. While eating raw or undercooked poultry is frequently linked to these bacterial diseases, contamination can also occur when handling eggs, poultry, or infected equipment. Fever, diarrheas’, vomiting, and stomach pain are just a few of the signs and symptoms of infections.
Best practices of Biosecurity
Effective biosecurity and hygiene practices can significantly lower the risk of contamination and sickness. For hatching small batches of poultry, good hatching procedures include:
- Keep bird enclosures, brooding facilities, and incubators away from areas where people consume food or water.
- Provide a specific location where birds will be kept and handled after the chicks have hatched. This area has to have nonporous surfaces that are easy to clean and have enough airflow.
- Clean the chicken coops completely on a regular basis. Dry and wet cleaning should both be done. Dry cleaning is the process of removing caked-on materials such as dried dung, feathers, bedding, and other items. Following dry cleaning, wet cleaning should be done using water, detergents, and disinfectants.
- Limit the holding and handling of young birds to ensure the safety of both the handlers and the baby chicks.
- Hands should be washed before handling birds and right after after coming into contact with cages, feeders, and waterers, among other poultry equipment.
- Make sure children avoid putting their hands near their faces or mouths when near chickens.
Any chicken bites or scratches should be treated right away. - Examine the flooring, shoes, and surrounding surfaces for particles once lessons or duties are finished.
When done correctly, raising chicken from egg to chick is a tremendously satisfying process, according to Lahman. Make sure you have correct biosecurity policies in place and everyone involved is trained on proper hygiene practises as you prepare for this thrilling encounter. Baby chicks in the spring can still be a yearly tradition for families and classrooms if the necessary precautions are taken to ensure safe chicken hatching.