Assessment of veterinarians' engagement with backyard poultry and small-scale livestock operations in four western states

Assessment of the knowledge and behavior of backyard and small-scale producers in California regarding disease prevention, biosecurity practices and antibiotics use

The number and popularity of backyard poultry and livestock farming have rapidly increased in California as well as other states in the United States following consumers' preference for local and organic products in the last few years. This study aimed to investigate current on-farm management and farmers' understanding of Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) and California Senate Bill (SB) 27 implications for disease prevention, biosecurity procedures, and antimicrobial use in small-scale and backyard farms in California. The survey consisted of 38 questions. The responses of 242 backyard and small-scale livestock owners were investigated in this study. Descriptive statistics summarized survey responses, and multivariable logistic regression evaluated the association of antibiotics purchase and use, and the impact of VFD and SB27 on antibiotic use with demographics and on-farm management. Backyard and small-scale farmers in California mostly raised chickens or small ruminants with small herd sizes kept for personal use. Antibiotics were generally used for individual treatment of a sick animal with the guidance of a veterinarian. VFD and SB27 implementation promoted the judicious use of antibiotics, specifically, by enhancing the relationship between backyard and small-scale farmers with veterinarians and treating fewer animals with antibiotics under veterinary oversight. Therefore, better access to veterinary service in backyard and small-scale farms will improve the farmer's knowledge of good husbandry practices with judicious antimicrobial use in livestock and finally contribute to reducing the risk of antimicrobial resistance in California.

Cross-sectional survey of barriers and opportunities for engaging backyard poultry producers and veterinarians in addressing poultry health

AIMS

To assess the current level of engagement between backyard poultry keepers and veterinarians in New Zealand; to understand the opportunities and barriers for improving access to poultry health care; and to gauge the interest of backyard poultry keepers in participating in a voluntary national poultry health information system.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Backyard poultry were defined as any bird species kept for non-commercial purposes. Separate cross-sectional surveys were administered to backyard poultry keepers and veterinarians in New Zealand over 12-week periods starting 22 March 2021 and 03 May 2021 respectively. The veterinarian survey was advertised in the monthly update e-mail from the Veterinary Council of New Zealand, while the survey for backyard poultry keepers was advertised on various online platforms that focus on raising backyard poultry. Results for quantitative variables were reported as basic descriptive statistics, while qualitative free-text responses from open-ended questions were explored using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 125 backyard poultry keepers and 35 veterinarians completed the survey. Almost half (56/125; 44.8%) of backyard poultry keepers reported that they had never taken their birds to a veterinarian, with common reasons being difficulty finding a veterinarian, cost of treatment, and perceptions that most visits result in the bird being euthanised. The majority (113/125; 90.4%) of backyard poultry keepers reported that a general internet search was their primary source for poultry health advice. However, it remains unclear if owners were satisfied with the advice found online, as many cited that having access to reliable health information would be an incentive for registering with a poultry health information system. Of the veterinarian responses, 29/35 (82.9%) reported treating an increasing number of poultry in the last 5 years, although many (27/35; 77.1%) suggested they would be hesitant to increase their poultry caseload due to concerns over their lack of knowledge and confidence in poultry medicine; a lack of clinic resources to treat poultry; concerns over the cost-effectiveness of treatments; and a general feeling of helplessness when treating poultry, with most consultations being for end-stage disease and euthanasia.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study highlight opportunities for increased engagement between backyard poultry keepers and veterinarians, including making available accurate poultry health information and providing veterinarians with improved training in poultry medicine. The results also support the development of a poultry health information system in New Zealand to further enhance health and welfare in backyard poultry populations.

Assessing Backyard Poultry versus Small Animal Knowledge of Veterinary Students regarding Husbandry, Prescription Drug Use, and Antimicrobial Resistance

As backyard poultry (BYP) ownership has increased in the US, the demand for veterinarians who treat BYP has also increased. However, veterinarians who treat BYP remain scarce and are mostly small animal veterinarians and exotic animal practitioners who have limited training in food animal regulatory practices. To gauge whether veterinary students are interested in learning more about BYP and what BYP topics to include in an online training program for veterinary students, a BYP knowledge assessment was conducted. Pre-clinical veterinary students were asked to self-rate their level of knowledge on various topics for both small animal practice and BYP using Likert-type ordinal scales. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests of those Likert data showed significant differences (p < .01 at α = .05) between self-assessed knowledge of poultry and small animal medicine for all surveyed topics. Specifically, veterinary students ranked themselves as less knowledgeable on poultry concepts than on small animal medicine concepts. Nevertheless, students expressed interest in an online training program for treating BYP and drug residue avoidance in BYP, despite having chosen future career tracks that are not exclusively poultry. Specific topics students expressed interest in with respect to BYP training included anatomy, husbandry, prescribing medications, treatment options, food safety, antimicrobial resistance, and extra-label drug use.