• Cover coops and runs.
• Wear dedicated clothing and shoes.
• Wash hands before and after entering coop.
• Lock all birds in coop and run.
• Change food and water daily.
• Remove birdhouses, feeders, and baths.
• Clean and disinfect equipment in contact with birds or droppings.
• Avoid feed stores, vet offices, and other places with small flocks, as much as possible.

What is avian influenza?

• Virus is carried by migratory waterfowl (ducks and geese).
• Domestic poultry (chickens and turkeys) are susceptible.
• Virus originated in Asia and spread into Canada through wild geese and ducks.
• Migratory bird flyways cross the United States.

How is the disease transmitted?

• Foot traffic.
• Secretions from mouth, nostrils, eyes, excrement.
• Contact with infected droppings.
• Movement of infected birds.
• Contaminated clothing and equipment.

Download a PDF of Protecting Backyard Flocks, ANR-2399, infographic.