A new project wants to know more about the health of backyard chickens and help owners to give them the best care possible.
Photo: Unsplash / Luke Syres
The School of Veterinary Science is setting up a national poultry health information system, where chicken owners can register and provide information about their flock.
Massey University Associate Professor of Veterinary Epidemiology Carolyn Gates is leading the project, which involves people with backyard chickens filling in a series of surveys.
Under current regulations, anyone who owned fewer than 100 birds did not have to register their flock in a national database, leaving a huge knowledge gap, she said.
"The most information we have comes from the 2020 Companion Animals New Zealand survey and they estimated that about 6 percent of New Zealand's 1.8 million households own birds.
"There could be over half a million backyard birds out there, but we just don't know at the moment."
Gates said preventative advice could reduce the chances of chickens getting sick, as many poultry keepers said they struggled to find vets that would treat sick birds.
The information would be helpful in the event of an infectious disease outbreak, she said.
"If for example, we have an outbreak of Avian Influenza, like the United Kingdom is currently going through, we just have no way to reach these individuals to get information out there.
"We know from the surveys we did last year of veterinarians and backyard poultry keepers, that there are a lot of issues with preventative care with these flocks.
"Issues like the type of plan you have in place to manage their nutrition and their housing and their environment."
That could lead to backyard birds getting sick from preventable diseases, with owners then turning to social media for solutions, which could cause further harm, Gates said.
"We're seeing a lot of diseases crop up, just because people are well-meaning but not necessarily providing the best care for their birds."
Anyone who keeps less than 100 birds for companionship, meat or eggs for personal use, hobbies, showing, breeding, pest control, and/or supplemental income is encouraged to take part in the confidential surveys.