Biosecurity is the management of risks to the economy, the environment, and the community, of pests and diseases entering, emerging, establishing or spreading. Biosecurity can be implemented off-shore, at the border and on-farm. By implementing the recommended measures in your day-to-day operations, you will improve your own biosecurity and that of your region, while minimising production losses and unnecessary costs.
Biosecurity is a practice designed to prevent the spread of disease onto your farm. It is accomplished by maintaining the facility in such a way that there is minimal traffic of biological organisms (viruses, bacteria, rodents, etc.) across its borders. Biosecurity is the cheapest, most effective means of disease control available. No disease prevention program will work without it.
What is biosecurity?Biosecurity has three major components:
Isolation refers to the confinement of animals within a controlled environment. A fence keeps your birds in, but it also keeps other animals out. Isolation also applies to the practice of separating birds by age group. In large poultry operations, all-in/all-out management styles allow simultaneous depopulation of facilities between flocks and allow time for periodic clean-up and disinfection to break the cycle of disease. Traffic Control includes both the traffic onto your farm and the traffic patterns within the farm. Sanitation addresses the disinfection of materials, people and equipment entering the farm and the cleanliness of the personnel on the farm. Infectious diseases can be spread from farm to farm by:
Of all the possible breakdowns in biosecurity, the introduction of new birds and traffic pose the greatest risk to bird health. Properly managing these two factors should be a top priority on your farm. How much biosecurity do I need?In order to assess how much biosecurity is practical for your farm, look at these three factors.
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