have been proposed Permin and Detmer 2007 These four have been employed Essay

have been proposed (Permin and Detmer, 2007). These four have been employed in the management of indigenous chickens even in the sub-regions (Nyaga, 2007b). Meanwhile, there is an assumption over the years that higher levels of biosecurity results in enhanced health of chickens and higher productivity of flocks thereby increasing profitability (Ribbens et al., 2008). Poultry (chickens) farmers are generally aware that biosecurity measures are of principal significance in preventing diseases, but they moreover overlook taking them or take the wrong ones. Some factors associated with the non-compliance with the measures are poor training of farm personnel, lack of communication among the personnel, lack of motivation for following the rules, poor record keeping, and no audit of biosecurity-related activities (Vaillancourt and Carver, 1998).

Quite recently, a quantitative result became available in Belgium to support this assertion (Laanen et al., 2013), as clear associations were found between biosecurity at farm level and productivity( daily weight gain and feed conversion efficiency of fattening pigs and the usage of antimicrobial drugs.

Contrary to popular beliefs, the practice of biosecurity on farm of diverse animal production units has been described as moderate to low per reports from ( Well, 2000; Boklund et al., 2004; Heffernam et al., 2008; Ribbens et al., 2008; Ellis-Iversen et al., 2010; Van Steenwinkel et al., 2011; Laanen et al., 2013) 2.4.1 Isolation Isolation has to do with quarantining chickens within a controlled environment. Building a fence or boundary preserves your birds in as it also keeps other animals out and away from your chickens. This also relates to the practice of separating birds based on their age group. In commercial poultry (chickens) production operations, an all-in/all-out type of management style allows concurrent evacuation leading to depopulation of facilities between flocks and makes available time for intermittent clean-up and disinfection to break the cycle of disease. (Jeffery., 1997) . However, while all-in/all-out management does not look quite possible for many breeding farms or the ones raising exotic chickens for commercial purposes or game birds. It is possible to especially retain a different pen or place for isolation and quarantining all new, in-coming chickens away from the resident population. It is advised that isolation pens should be as far from the resident birds as possible. Recommendations are that at least 2 weeks of confinement is suggested and 4 weeks is better as you watch the birds to observe any signs of illness or occurrence of disease. There can be diagnostic blood tests conducted aimed at infectious diseases which may be present at this time (Jeffery., 1997)2.4.2 Sanitation and DisinfectionAfter poultry (chickens) are removed from the pens, it must be washed and disinfected before the next production. The sanitation and disinfection procedures are quite different depending on the floor type and type of poultry (chickens) pen. Quite a lot of disinfectants are available and can be used to clean and sanitize the poultry house (Hamra., 2010). (Jeffery., 1997) also advised that: poultry farmers should desist from putting new birds, together with baby chicks, in contact with droppings, feathers, dust, and debris which are left over from previous birds. Certain disease-causing organisms are liable to die quickly, whiles others may survive over a long period of time. The following measures are recommended to be strictly adhered to, to ensure proper sanitation and disinfection; do well to wash your hands after you have handled birds in the isolation pen or birds of diverse groups in the farm and even elsewhere. Disinfecting water troughs and feeders should be done daily. There should be a periodic plan to clean-out, clean-up and disinfection of houses and equipment been used on the farm and this should be done at least once a year. Use this time to institute rodent and pest control procedures. Recall that drying and sunlight are very important and effective in controlling several disease-causing organisms (Jeffery, 1997). 2.4.3 Traffic ControlAccording to Jeffery, 1997, this includes both the traffic onto your farm and the traffic patterns which lie within the farm and of all the likely breakdowns in biosecurity; the introduction of new birds and traffic poses the highest risk to the health of the birds. It is also advised that adequately dealing with these two factors should be of utmost importance to you on your farm. In some areas, predators can be a crucial cause of the loss of young as well as adult birds. Predators can consist of birds of prey, reptiles, mammals such as foxes, and human thieves. (Bell 2008). In the 1983-84 the reported outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza (AI) in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New Jersey, as many professionals believed that the AI virus was introduced into the commercial poultry farms by the traffic related to people who visited farms, vehicles, and equipment connected with the live bird market system in New York. (Tablante et al, 2002).To guarantee a suitable control, direct the flow of on-farm traffic from the youngest to the oldest birds in addition to directing the traffic flow from the inhabitants to the isolation area. Ensure that there is a clear zone established which should be free of vegetation around buildings to discourage rodent and insect traffic into the buildings or pens. Use a different pair of foot-covers in the isolation area and in the resident bird area to prevent the mechanical transfer of disease organisms on footwear and footwear should be disinfected at each site. Disinfectant footbaths may help to decrease the dose of organisms on boots. But, because footbaths can be hard to correctly maintain it is a good idea to have a supply of cleanable rubber boots or strong-soled plastic boots for visitors. (Jeffery., 1997)

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