BIOSECURITY-How important it is to Keep Disease out of Your Existing Flock and Keep Them Healthy!!

Oct 8, 2024
7 min read

Welsummer Rooster standing in the grass with a wooden fence in the background — Our Welsummer Rooster

What Is Biosecurity? - and Why Does It Matter?

Biosecurity is the set of preventative practices designed to reduce the introduction and spread of infectious diseases.

In backyard poultry, biosecurity is your first — and often only — line of defense. In Canada, access to poultry veterinarians and medications is limited. That means prevention carries far more weight than treatment.

Proper biosecurity reduces the risk of devastating diseases such as:

Avian influenza
Marek's disease
Infectious bronchitis
Newcastle disease

These diseases can decrease egg production, affect fertility, cause chronic illness, and in some cases result in mortality.

Biosecurity protects not only your birds — but your time, genetics, and investment.

For information on Marek's and MG (Mycoplasmosis) vaccinations read here

The Most Important Rule: Quarantine

Failure to quarantine new birds can — and often does — result in the loss of an entire flock.

A chicken can appear perfectly healthy while harboring underlying disease or parasites. Stress from relocation weakens the immune system and can activate dormant infections. Birds that looked fine at pickup may begin shedding pathogens days or weeks later.

Minimum Quarantine Recommendations:

Absolute minimum: 2 weeks
Preferred: 30–60 days

It can take up to three weeks for some diseases to show symptoms.

Quality Quarantine = D.I.T.O.

Distance – Isolation – Time – Observation

During quarantine, you should:

Monitor droppings
Watch for respiratory symptoms
Check for mites or lice
Observe appetite and energy levels

Moving birds between homes is one of the biggest stressors they experience. Stress is often what triggers disease expression.

Understanding the Types of Disease Threats

There are several categories of disease that pose risk to backyard flocks.

Bacterial Diseases

Salmonella – Spread through droppings and contaminated soil.

E. coli – Commonly picked up from contaminated water or damp litter. This is one of the reasons we a use closed, heated poultry nipple drinkers. After using various systems over the years, I have found them to be the most effective way to maintain clean water at all times. Clean water is foundational to flock health.

Mycoplasmosis (MG) – A respiratory bacterial disease spread by direct contact or contaminated surfaces.

Symptoms may include:

Watery eyes
Sneezing
Nasal discharge
Facial swelling
Thick discharge in sinuses

Birds that recover remain carriers for life. In Canada, there are no readily available antibiotics to eliminate MG. Birds may appear healthy when purchased, but after relocation stress, symptoms can resurface and spread to the existing flock.

Respiratory Disease: Viral or Bacterial?

Respiratory illness is one of the most common — and most misunderstood — problems in backyard chickens. Sneezing, coughing, wheezing, watery eyes, and nasal discharge may all look similar, but the causes can be very different.

Respiratory disease can be:

Viral – caused by a virus
Bacterial – caused by bacteria
Or a combination of both (viral infection complicated by secondary bacterial infection)

Without laboratory testing or veterinary diagnostics, it is nearly impossible to know the exact cause. This distinction is important because treatment depends on it: antibiotics only work against bacteria, not viruses. Using antibiotics on a viral infection is ineffective, and without knowing the exact bacterial strain, treatment may still fail.

Here are two examples to help illustrate the difference:

Viral Example: Infectious Bronchitis (IB)

Cause: Coronavirus (viral)
Transmission: Airborne, contaminated surfaces, equipment, or water
Symptoms: Gasping, coughing, sneezing, nasal discharge, and in laying hens, thin-shelled or misshapen eggs
Treatment: There is no cure; supportive care is the only option. Antibiotics may be used only to manage secondary bacterial infections.

Bacterial Example: Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG)

Cause: Mycoplasma bacterium (bacterial)
Transmission: Direct contact, contaminated surfaces, aerosolized droplets
Symptoms: Watery eyes, sneezing, coughing, crusty nostrils, swelling around eyes and face
Special Note: Birds that recover remain carriers for life, meaning they can spread MG to other birds even if they appear healthy.
Treatment: In Canada, there are no approved antibiotics to eliminate MG; supportive care can reduce symptoms, but carriers remain.

Supporting Birds Naturally During Respiratory Stress

Because respiratory illnesses cannot always be cured — especially viral infections — supportive care becomes extremely important.

Chick’N Pulmo is an all-natural product designed to reduce respiratory symptoms and support the bird’s immune system. It helps birds breathe easier and feel more comfortable, but it does not cure viral or bacterial disease and cannot eliminate carrier status.

Benefits include:

Strengthening their immune system
Reducing respiratory discomfort
Promoting easier breathing
Improving overall comfort during periods of respiratory issues

Directions for Use: Chick’N Pulmo should be added to drinking water. Offer for 3–7 days, depending on the severity of the respiratory issue. Using it at the first signs of symptoms will help support the bird’s immune system and reduce discomfort.

Parasitic Threats

Coccidiosis – A protozoal infection thriving in damp litter and soil. Chicks may continue eating but suffer intestinal damage leading to decline.

Treatment: Amprolium (Corid)

Mites and Lice – Brought in by wild birds, rodents, rabbits, and squirrels. These parasites cause irritation, anemia, and stress.

Elector PSP is one of the most effective treatments available for mites and lice and is part of our parasite management recommendations.

Internal Parasites – Roundworms and tapeworms are common. Birds ingest infected insects and earthworms from soil. Treatment for roundworms: Piperazine Dihydrochloride

Fungal Infections (Brooder Pneumonia)

Caused by inhaling fungal spores from contaminated litter or hatchers. Most common around three weeks of age, with potentially high mortality.

Prevention includes:

Cleaning incubators and hatchers thoroughly
Keeping litter dry
Providing clean water

Open waterers quickly become contaminated with bedding and droppings. This is why we strongly recommend chick nipple drinkers — chicks cannot build strong immune systems if they are drinking dirty water.

Training is simple: tap the chick’s beak to the pin. Once they swallow a drop, they are trained for life. Chickens mimic one another, so usually only a few need to be shown.

Core Biosecurity Practices

Restrict access to your property
Avoid bird feeders on your property
Change clothing and footwear when visiting other poultry locations
Control rodents
Clean and disinfect feeders and waterers
Quarantine all new birds

Feeders and Waterers: Keeping Disease Out of Your Flock

Open feeders and waterers are a common source of disease. They attract rodents, wild birds, and other pests — all of which can introduce bacteria, viruses, and parasites to your flock.

Using closed feeders and waterers is a simple but highly effective biosecurity practice. They keep feed dry, prevent contamination, and minimize the risk of disease transmission.

Grampa’s Feeder is widely regarded as the best-quality closed feeder available. Its durable materials and design make it ideal for long-term use and easy cleaning. For those looking for a more economical option, there are alternative closed feeders that work just as well in keeping feed clean and rodents out. While the quality of materials may be slightly higher in Grampa’s Feeder, these alternatives are still excellent and provide the same biosecurity benefits for your flock.

Paired with poultry nipple drinkers for water, this combination ensures your birds are drinking clean water and eating uncontaminated feed — critical for keeping them healthy, especially during brooding and grow-out.

How We Practice Biosecurity When Raising Pullets for Sale

Because we hatch and raise pullets for purchase at our ranch, backyard chicken biosecurity is something we implement strictly.

Here is how we protect both our flock and yours:

Separate Grow-Out Areas

Pullets are raised separately from our breeding flock in a redesigned section of my barn with multiple controlled spaces.

No Grass or Yard Exposure

Our grow-out birds do not step into yard or grass areas.

Pathogens differ from yard to yard. While limited exposure builds immunity to local organisms, it does not protect birds when moved to a new property.

Relocation stress combined with unfamiliar pathogens can create serious problems.

Sand Litter System

We use sand as litter because:

It does not decompose
It reduces bacterial buildup
It maintains a cleaner, more hygienic, drier environment

Clean Water Systems

Every bird we own drinks from poultry nipple drinkers, ensuring clean water 100% of the time.

Careful Sourcing

When adding genetics, we:

Introduce day-old chicks from reputable breeders
Purchase hatching eggs from reputable breeders

We do not introduce adult birds into our flock.

No matter how attractive a bird may be, protecting the health of our flock comes first.

Final Thoughts

Canada does not provide NPIP (National Poultry Improvement Plan) flock certification testing as done in the United States. That makes personal responsibility even more important.

With limited veterinary access and limited medications available, prevention is your strongest defense.

Biosecurity is not excessive. It is responsible.

One bird can change everything.

Healthy flocks begin with informed owners.

These photos show the dedicated grow-out space within the barn where we carefully raise our pullets, following biosecurity practices.

"Next year, we plan to expand our started pullet area to offer more birds to our customers."

Grow-out Area # 1

Grow-out space for pullets with sand for litter and clean pens in backyard chicken barn — This is the smallest closed in space that I bring the chicks after about 3-4 weeks of age, after growing out of the foldable puppy playpen brooder.