Advanced Flock Management

This capstone unit builds on foundational husbandry to focus on reproduction, flock health, food safety, and animal welfare for backyard poultry. Students will learn and practice breeding and hatching, biosecurity and disease response, egg and meat handling/packaging, and ethical considerations for mortality and human–bird interactions.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze common disease transmission pathways and implement appropriate biosecurity actions—including quarantine, vaccination, parasite control, and mandated reporting—to reduce risk in a backyard flock
• Demonstrate selection, preparation, and management techniques for breeding stock and incubation by successfully planning mating, operating an incubator, and documenting chick hatching and early growth stages
• Apply food safety and handling protocols for eggs and home-butchered poultry by practicing proper storage, cleaning, packaging, labeling, and compliance with local regulations
• Evaluate animal welfare and ethical responsibilities related to grooming, mortality events, humane euthanasia, and interactions with children and pets, and communicate accurate consumer-facing information about egg claims and backyard poultry benefits