With reports about "Bird-Flu" in the news again, I thought I would share information with you since you may be curious or at some time someone will ask you how it impacts you or your backyard flock.
First, your back yard chickens don't have a lot of interaction with other chickens do they? I doubt there are many 'play-dates' taking place between your chickens and other birds in town. There are those who raise chickens as show birds and they would be ones that get exposed to other poultry that are not under their care. The rest of us have chickens that spend time in their coop and maybe free ranging around our back yard and that is about the extent. So, if you think about exposure to birds infected with Avian Influenza, it probably doesn't happen much...but now think about what exposure YOU have with other poultry. If you visit friends flocks or poultry shows, you may be putting your own flock at risk. As with human infections, prevention is key.
Below is an article from the North Carolina State University Extension's website with some helpful information. This article can be found directly at http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/poulsci/tech_manuals/preventing_avian_influenza_backyard.pdf.
Another article by Utah State University which discusses various diseases which may impact your backyard flock can be found at http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/AG_Poultry_2012-04pr.pdf