Free webinar and Twitter chat offer expert tips for healthy backyard poultry
COSHOCTON – While good biosecurity is always a good way to protect the health of backyard poultry, it is even more important right now. Highly pathogenic avian influenza cases were confirmed in some areas of the country earlier this year and proper biosecurity is essential to prevent this disease from entering a flock or spreading to new flocks. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is encouraging all backyard bird owners to practice good biosecurity and is offering a free webinar and Twitter chat to help new and veteran poultry owners learn more about maintaining healthy flocks.
The hour-long webinar will take place on Thursday, Aug. 6 at 7 p.m. To guarantee a place at the webinar, register now at healthybirdswebinar.com and then enter the password: Chickens. Your local OSU Extension Office will be a host site for those who wish to view the webinar but have limited or non-existent Internet capabilities. The OSU Extension Office is located in the Coshocton County Services Building at 724 South 7th Street. If you wish to attend, please RSVP to the OSU Extension office at 740-622-2265 as space is limited.
A Twitter chat will run alongside the webinar. Join the Twitter chat using #Chickenchat 2015 to get answers to your questions. To submit advance questions for either event, post them Healthy Harry’s Facebook page.
The event is hosted by Andy Schneider, also known as “The Chicken Whisperer®,” a national media personality who serves as the Biosecurity For Birds campaign spokesperson and Dr. Jo Anna Quinn, a veterinary medical officer and poultry health specialist with the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Dr. Megin Nichols, a health investigator from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also will participate.
These experts will share information and answer questions about raising backyard poultry, how to keep your flocks free from disease and predators and how to protect your family from disease your birds might spread. They will explore such topics as what to expect from your birds during the fall and ways to protect your flock during cold winter months.
The USDA webinar and chat is part of its Biosecurity For Birds outreach campaign to help educate backyard bird owners about steps they can take to protect their flocks from disease.
For more information about Biosecurity for Birds please visit, http://healthybirds.aphis.usda.gov.
Category: Education
