Ongoing challenges in backyard poultry health and management

THE concept of keeping poultry is far from new, as people have been raising poultry for meat and eggs for thousands of years. Since the Second World War, poultry keeping in the UK has transitioned away from backyard flocks into the modern food industry we know today, with birds typically kept in large commercial flocks. However, in the 1970s, the number of backyard poultry flocks began to increase due to a growing interest in the ‘good life’ and achieving some degree of self-sufficiency. That interest has shown no sign of waning in the intervening years, with approximately 1.3 million chickens now kept in a domestic setting in the UK and 1.6 per cent of households having at least one bird.1 Backyard poultry numbers are difficult to quantify accurately. However, this may become easier in future due to new mandatory registration requirements coming into force on 1 October 2024.2 Under these rules, all poultry keepers in Great Britain, regardless of flock size, must register their birds and update their details at least annually. The main reason for this is to enable the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to know precisely where all poultry are kept so they can contact keepers with guidance when there is a disease outbreak in their area. In addition, mandatory registration should supply valuable information on the numbers and distribution of poultry across the country. Obviously, the output data obtained from the mandatory poultry register will only be as good as the inputs. As such, we are not likely to gain a complete picture due to a combination of a lack of awareness that such a register applies to all domestic poultry, even those kept as pets, and some suspicion among keepers that the data may be misused by the government.3 The recent publication of two articles on backyard poultry health and welfare in Vet Record is therefore timely. Given the zoonotic risk associated with diseases such as avian influenza, there is an urgent need for keepers and their veterinarians to engage in further education and knowledge exchange in areas relating to poultry health and biosecurity practices Similarly, an earlier investigation by Singleton and colleagues6 highlighted a number of welfare issues in backyard poultry, with keepers often showing a lack of awareness of routine health management, not helped by the perceived difficulties in obtaining veterinary support. The study found that euthanasia was the most common ‘treatment’ option applied for backyard poultry, primarily due to the late presentation of sick birds to a veterinarian.6 The introduction of mandatory registration may increase keepers' awareness of the health status of their birds and give the profession a steer as to the scale of poultry keeping it has a responsibility to support. Although 69 per cent of respondents in Baldrey and colleagues' study stated awareness of the poultry registration scheme, this was much less for those keeping smaller flocks, which are much more common in urban settings.3 The government will need to keep this in mind as mandatory registration is rolled out and ensure awareness campaigns are targeted accordingly. Respondents appeared to take biosecurity seriously, with the isolating of new stock before introduction to existing stock. However, 99 per cent gave their flocks outside access, and many conceded that the provision of food and water outside was freely accessed by wild birds and rodents, indicating a lack of awareness of the importance of this access in terms of zoonotic risk and the potential introduction of significant diseases such as avian influenza.3 This awareness (or otherwise) of the risks posed by avian influenza is further explored in a recent study by Jewitt and colleagues.7 They also undertook an online survey, this time assessing veterinarians' confidence in dealing with avian influenza and the more general treatment of avian species. Overall, respondents reported lacking confidence in both areas.7 As veterinarians are best placed to advise poultry keepers on the health and welfare of their stock and any potential zoonotic risk factors, these are worrying findings. The authors highlight a need for clearer guidance on the handling and reporting of highly pathogenic avian influenza cases, but helpfully point out that advice is provided by the RCVS,8 BVA9 and British Veterinary Poultry Association,10 although this needs to be kept up to date and made easily available to the profession. Both the paper by Baldrey and colleagues3 and that by Jewitt and colleagues7 highlight the extent of small-scale poultry keeping in the UK and the risks posed for the flocks involved, other backyard flocks, the wider commercial poultry industry and public health. They also provide clear evidence that there remains an urgent need for keepers and their veterinarians to engage in further education and knowledge exchange in areas relating to poultry health, welfare, management and treatment. Although poultry keepers have a duty to understand the needs of the animals under their care, it must also be the responsibility of the veterinary profession to step up and justify their position of trust in the care of all animals, including poultry flocks, big and small.