USDA’s Defend the Flock Q&A

USDA’s Defend the Flock education program offers free tools and resources to help everyone who works with or handles poultry follow best practices in biosecurity. Biosecurity refers to everything people do to keep diseases – and the viruses, bacteria, funguses, parasites, and other microorganisms that cause disease – away from birds, property, and people.

The Defend the Flock Resource Center brings together biosecurity information and free resources from USDA and other experts, including growers, veterinarians, state agencies, scientists, and industry professionals, including checklists, resource guides, videos, and other tools.

The “Navigating Avian Influenza: Your Questions Answered” webinar will take place on Tuesday, February 28 from 2:30-3:30 PM EST. Register for this FREE webinar at https://bit.ly/APHISWebinar_Feb2023.

As part of Bird Health Awareness Week, February 28-March 3, APHIS will release additional new Defend the Flock resources:

• New Flock Defender Youth Program resources, including an interactive game and educator handbook.
• New translations of Defend the Flock Biosecurity Checklists in Arabic and Hmong. Based on the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) principles, the 15 biosecurity planning checklists are also available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Tagalog.
• “Biosecurity Workbook,” a biosecurity planning workbook designed especially for new and experienced backyard poultry owners to help them protect and care for their birds throughout the year.