Avian vet urges owners to microchip backyard chooks and birds

Would you microchip your chicken or budgie just as you would a cat or dog? A vet has issued a warning for future avian flu outbreaks.

A Melbourne avian vet clinic has issued a call for owners of backyard birds to microchip their flocks, fearing an incoming bird flu outbreak this summer.

The unusual request comes as new research shows more people are keeping backyard chickens, both as companion animals and a source of eggs in the face of cost of living pressures.

Bird Vet Melbourne, an avian vet clinic based in Burwood, published a blog post this month warning bird owners to be “ready for the arrival of highly pathogenic avian influenza” HPAI H5NI strain and recommending people microchip their birds.

“We’re not saying this because we’re desperate to track your birds. We’re saying this because in the current climate, if you lose your bird a microchip could save your bird’s life,” the post stated.

The call to microchip pet birds highlighted the gaping hole in Victorian biosecurity, where flocks of 49 birds or fewer are not required to have a property identification code, nor be vaccinated.

Egg producer Brian Ahmed, who has more than 50 years’ industry experience, said a PIC was key to assisting in managing disease outbreaks, “but it will not avoid the inevitable”.

“While backyard flocks are at risk, the big risks are from large free-range farms … the system was not designed for volume production,” Mr Ahmed said.

Backyard chickens remain a popular pet and livestock choice for families nationwide, a new study shows. Picture: Supplied.

New research from the University of Adelaide shows backyard chickens remain popular as “both companion animals and as a source of food”.

But despite the emotional attachment to their chickens, University of Adelaide researcher Emily Buddle said research participants were found to be unlikely to take their birds to the vet.

“They were unable to justify the veterinary cost versus the monetary value of the chicken,” Dr Buddle said.