Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Defend the Flock Program
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The U.S. poultry industry is one of the largest in the world and an important sector of our agricultural economy. Keeping birds safe from infectious disease is a top priority and responsibility for all owners, growers, workers, and enthusiasts involved in raising poultry. Disease outbreaks lead to devastation of our flocks and result in job and financial losses, quarantines limiting trade, and affecting prices on eggs, prepared poultry, and other staples.
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is committed to helping everyone protect our poultry – from commercial enterprises that raise the poultry and eggs that we consume to individuals who raise chickens and other breeds in their backyards to bird lovers who participate in shows and fairs.
We invite you to join the effort to defend our nation’s flocks. APHIS offers the Defend the Flock education program to provide the tools and resources you need to make sure that you are doing everything possible to keep your birds healthy and reduce the risk that an infectious disease will spread from your property to other flocks.
Defend the Flock resources reflect the knowledge, insights, and experience of USDA, veterinarians, professional owners and growers, scientists, and other experts about the practice of good biosecurity. Biosecurity means using all available means and methods to keep diseases and the pathogens that carry them away from birds, property and people.
Through the Defend the Flock program, APHIS is encouraging and preparing all poultry owners, including backyard growers, to implement diligent biosecurity practices. The program offers checklists and other tools, videos, webinars and educational resources to help you keep your flocks safe and healthy. All materials are available 24/7 at the Defend the Flock Resource Center. Follow Defend the Flock on Facebook and Twitter for up-to-the-minute news and information.
Defend the Flock | Biosecurity | Outbreak/Illness | Resource Center
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