Are “free-range” poultry in the United States at risk of getting avian influenza?
In “free-range” systems in the United States, chickens or turkeys are raised in production houses but have access to a fenced area just outside — a pen. Chickens or turkeys are not actually allowed to cover a large area but are kept within the pen, and there is nothing in the pen to attract wild birds. If there is any threat in the environment, the chickens or turkeys can always be brought indoors. Most producers feel that a conventional operation, in which chickens or turkeys are kept inside all the time, is easier to manage from the biosecurity of view, but the risk of “free-range” birds getting avian influenza is generally believed to be low.
