An important factor in keeping poultry healthy is maintaining good hygiene. A healthy parent-generation flock and hygienic hatchery conditions go a long way in starting with "disease-free" chicks, but farm hygiene is critical to maintaining a healthy broiler flock throughout the formative period. Farm hygiene means more than just choosing the right disinfectant. The key to farm hygiene is efficient cleaning. Disinfectants are inactivated by organic matter. The following are the basic steps for effective farm hygiene. However, not all of these steps apply when bedding is reused.

Maintain rodent control procedures after broiler culling.

Remove all unused feed from the feed system, including all bins and auger.

Carefully consider the health of depleted flocks before transferring feed to another farm.

Clean all bedding in each house and move it into a covered vehicle.

Remove all dust and dirt from the building, paying special attention to less obvious areas such as air intakes, fan boxes, and the tops of walls and beams.

Dry clean equipment that cannot be cleaned directly (e.g. electrical equipment) and cover it completely to protect it from the washing process.

Open gutters and water runoff paths. Clean all internal surfaces of the house and fixtures with a general detergent through a pressure washer. If using a foam or gel, use the recommended soaking time to give the product enough time to work. Wash from the top of the house to the bottom (ceiling to floor). If the fan is on the roof, it should be cleaned before the ceiling.

Clean the house from end to end (paying special attention to fans and air intakes), working towards the end with good drainage. After completion, there should be no standing water around the poultry house. Each farm must have an adequate drainage system to meet local environmental and legal requirements.

Carefully clean the house control room and pay attention to the electrical system. The area can be cleaned with an electric blower, a vacuum cleaner, and a damp cloth wipe. Always be aware of the dangers associated with working around power supplies.

If there is a water storage, vaccination or collection tank, open it and scrub it clean with detergent.

Before adding the cleaning solution, completely empty the drinking water system and collection tank.

Detachable equipment should first be cleaned with a cleaner (or, if needed, a scale remover) and then disinfected.

Equipment or materials that cannot be cleaned, such as fiber chick shields or feeder covers, should not be reused in the next flock and should be safely disposed of.

External areas such as gutters, fan boxes, roofs, passageways, and concrete areas should be cleaned and maintained. Remove washed bedding or organic matter from the farm yard. Unused equipment should be removed from the field.

Perform equipment or facility repairs and re-plug/fill drains opened before and during washing.

The exterior concrete area and the end of the house should be completely cleaned.

Drying after disinfection is advantageous. Heat and/or fans can be used to speed up drying.

Staff areas, cafeterias, changing areas and offices should also be cleaned. All footwear and clothing should be washed and disinfected.

When choosing which disinfection product to use, check the label to determine the recommended ambient temperature to get product results. Also verify the efficacy of the product against bacteria and viruses of concern.

Apply an effective broad-spectrum disinfectant through a pressure washer with a fan jet nozzle. Soak all inner surfaces and equipment working from top to bottom. Fan boxes, inlets, support beams and columns require special attention.

After disinfection, biosecurity controls must be restored at the entrance to the house.

Adequate isolation time between flocks will improve the effectiveness of health programs.

To monitor the effectiveness of the health plan, visual inspection and sampling of microorganisms are recommended. The effectiveness of health programs can be measured by quantitative laboratory tests. It is not practical to sterilize the facility, but microbiological monitoring can confirm that unwanted organisms such as salmonella have been eliminated. Documented audits, including microbiological monitoring and attention to subsequent flock performance, help determine the effectiveness and value of the health program.