Backyard Birds + Bird Flu:

Simple ways to protect your backyard birds and reduce the spread of Bird Flu.

If you keep chickens, ducks, geese or other birds at home, now is the time to strengthen your biosecurity to avoid the risk of them getting H5N1 Avian Influenza (Bird Flu).

Backyard birds can become infected through contact with wild birds, contaminated water, droppings, footwear and equipment.

Here are some tips to keep them safe:

A chicken inside a wire cage outdoors, with sunlight illuminating its reddish-brown feathers and a blurred background of a building and greenery.

Bird-proof their enclosure

Keep chickens, ducks and other backyard birds in a secure enclosure where possible. Use netting or mesh to stop wild birds entering and regularly check for gaps or damage. Could a bird fly in, squeeze through a gap or perch directly above your flock? If so, it’s time to make some changes.

Tips on how to bird-proof enclosures >

A bird pecking at food in a large, shallow clay dish on a dirt ground, with dry twigs and sparse green leaves in the background.

Good hygiene can help stop disease being carried into your flock on shoes, clothing, hands or equipment. Keep dedicated footwear for the coop, wash your hands before and after handling birds, clean equipment regularly and avoid sharing gear unless it has been properly cleaned and disinfected. It’s also a good idea to limit visitors who have recently been around other poultry.

Don’t make your backyard
a wild bird hotspot

Make your yard less inviting to wild birds by cleaning up spilled feed, storing food securely, avoiding wild bird feeding and reducing shared food or water sources. If wild birds regularly gather or leave droppings near your flock, clean the area and try to limit your birds’ access.

Young woman in a brown jacket standing in a chicken coop, tending to chickens outdoors surrounded by greenery.

Keep things clean

Good hygiene can help stop disease being carried into your flock on shoes, clothing, hands or equipment. Keep dedicated footwear for the coop, wash your hands before and after handling birds, clean equipment regularly and avoid sharing gear unless it has been properly cleaned and disinfected. It’s also a good idea to limit visitors who have recently been around other poultry.

A bird with orange and black feathers standing in a muddy, wet area with green grass and plants, with its reflection visible in the water.

Avoid shared ponds and waterways

Keep your birds away from ponds, creeks, dams and standing water used by wild birds. This is especially important for ducks, as contaminated water can increase their risk of exposure.

Several chickens peck at food on the ground and walk around on dirt, with a blue water container in the background.

Protect their food and water

Keep feeders and drinkers under cover and out of reach of wild birds. Store feed in sealed containers, clean up spills and refresh drinking water regularly.

A close-up of a chicken resting on rocky ground with a blurred dark background.

Watch for signs of illness

Check your birds every day and act quickly if something doesn’t look right. If you suspect Bird Flu, keep people, pets and other animals away, avoid unnecessary handling and call the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.

Learn more about the signs of Bird Flu >

A group of chickens near a wooden ramp leading to a chicken coop, with a green wire fence in the background.

Worried about the risk to your backyard chickens? Take a fresh look at their enclosure.

Walk around your coop or run and look at it from a wild bird’s point of view.

Could a bird fly in, squeeze through a gap or perch directly above your flock?

You may be able to improve your existing setup by:

covering open runs with secure bird-proof netting or mesh
repairing gaps, holes or damaged sections
adding a covered or solid roof over high-use areas
blocking common entry points
checking netting and structures after storms or bad weather.

You don’t have to make your backyard completely bird-proof overnight. Focus first on the areas where your flock spends the most time.

The goal is simple: as little contact with wild birds as possible.

If your chickens usually free-range…

This may be one of the biggest changes for some backyard flocks.

While Bird Flu is present in wild bird populations, consider reducing or temporarily stopping unrestricted free-ranging and giving your chickens a secure, covered area instead.

They can still have plenty of opportunity to behave naturally.

Make their enclosed space more interesting with:

room to scratch and forage
dust-bathing areas
perches, logs and different levels
scattered food or other suitable foraging activities
enrichment that you rotate regularly

The aim isn’t to take away everything they enjoy, it’s to give them those opportunities in a safer environment.

If fully enclosing a large area isn’t possible, prioritise the places your flock uses most and limit access to parts of the yard regularly visited by wild birds.

A little less freedom to roam now can mean a lot more protection for your flock.

A close-up view of a chicken's head with a red comb and orange-brown feathers, standing in front of a wire mesh fence.

Several fluffy yellow baby chicks are gathered together in a wooden nesting box or coop.

Adding new birds to your flock?

New chickens or ducks can introduce disease before they show any signs of being unwell.

Keep new birds separate from your existing flock for at least four weeks, with their own food, water and equipment. Monitor them closely for any signs of illness before introducing them.

During this time, care for your existing flock first and new birds last, and wash your hands and clean footwear between enclosures.

If you keep both chickens and ducks, keep them separate where possible to further reduce the risk of disease spreading.

Keep them away from shared waterways

Ponds, creeks, dams and other standing water can attract wild birds and may become contaminated with droppings, feathers or other material from infected birds. Backyard poultry can then be exposed by drinking, swimming or foraging in the same water.

This is particularly important for ducks, which naturally spend more time in water. If your ducks usually have access to a dam, pond, creek or other waterway that wild birds can also visit, consider temporarily preventing access and providing a clean water source within their protected enclosure instead.

Where possible, make sure drinking and bathing water is:

provided inside a protected area that wild birds cannot access
refreshed regularly, particularly if it becomes dirty or contaminated
kept separate from natural waterways, puddles and standing water used by wild birds
positioned under cover or within bird-proof netting to reduce contamination from droppings.

After rain, also check your yard for puddles or newly formed areas of standing water that wild birds may have visited.

If wild birds can access the water, it’s safest to keep your birds away from it.

A bird standing in a muddy, grassy area near a body of water, with some trash floating on the water surface.

Line illustrating social distancing between a bird on the left and a person with a dog on the right.

Found a sick or dead bird? Here’s what to do:

Blue line drawing of a smartphone with a camera icon on the screen, a bird lying on the ground with an 'X' over its eye, and a location pin symbol.

Avoid

Do not touch the bird. Leave it where it is and make sure you keep pets away.

Record

Note the location of the bird and take a photo or video from a safe distance.

Blue phone icon with an exclamation mark indicating a phone warning or error

Report

Call the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 785 888.

The hotline will advise you on next steps.
Do not dispose of the bird,
unless you are advised to.

How to spot bird flu

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