How should I look after my backyard hens during the COVID-19 pandemic?

It is your responsibility to protect the welfare of any animal in your care at all times. Not only does this include your pets like dogs and cats, but also any other animal under your care like your backyard hens.

You have a legal obligation to ensure all the animals under your care are provided with proper and sufficient food, water, shelter and veterinary treatment when necessary. It is an offence under the law to abandon any animal under your care.

Owning backyard hens

Backyard hens can be cared for and kept healthy while being contained to your property.

Just like adding a companion animal such as a dog or cat to your family, the decision to own backyard hens comes with a lot of responsibility to make sure they are cared for appropriately. When deciding to own backyard hens it is important for you to consider why you want hens and whether you are able to provide them with the care they require.

To learn more about what you need to consider when keeping and caring for backyard hens, click here.

There are some COVID-19 related situations that anyone who owns an animal should prepare for, to safeguard their animal’s welfare, including if:

• You are practising social distancing
• You are self-isolating but are not sick or suspected of having COVID-19 infection
• You or someone in your household is has or is suspected of having, COVID-19
• You require hospitalisation due to COVID-19

Experimental evidence suggests that poultry (chicken, ducks, and turkeys) are not susceptible to infection with SARS-CoV-2 [1, 2]. There is no evidence to suggest that hens play any role in the spread of COVID-19.

General advice on preparing for emergencies

You can take a number of steps to prepare for emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a good idea to make some preparations for if you need to self-isolate, become sick or have to be hospitalised, to help you safeguard your hens’ welfare during that time.

• Make sure you have at least two weeks’ worth of supplies for your hens, including litter, food, preventative health care and any medications they might need.
• If you cannot get supplies personally, order products online or ask friends, family, or neighbours to help. If necessary, avoid direct contact with other people (e.g., get them to drop off any supplies outside your gate or door).
• If your hens are on any medication or preventative health care, document instructions for this (include dosages, method of administration, and how often to give the medication) in case someone else needs to care for your hens. Ideally, have a prescription for any medication in case you cannot look after your hens for longer than you had planned.
• Ensure that you some way of transporting your hens available, in case this is necessary (e.g., to take a hen to a veterinarian).
• Have a plan in place in case you cannot care for your hens yourself. It is important to make these plans in advance.

Hen Emergency Plan

• Make a plan to cover the event that you need to be hospitalised, or cannot care for your hens for other reasons. Ensure that you have organised for a trusted person/s to be ready to provide your hens with proper and sufficient food, fresh water, shelter, welfare checks, and, when necessary, veterinary treatment.
• Let your neighbours and next of kin know about the care arrangements you have made for your animals.
• Make sure the person caring for your hens is able to clean out their house and replace litter and bedding at least weekly.
• If your hens are laying eggs, organise to have someone come and collect their eggs every one to two days.
• If you have a secure yard where your hens roam during the day, make sure there is someone who will secure them in their house every night to keep them safe from predators. If your hen house is large enough to keep them comfortably contained during the day, then while you are away it may be more appropriate to keep them contained at all times. If you are containing your hens, remember it is still important that they have adequate outdoor space to express their normal behaviours and have access to fresh air and sunlight.
• Make sure that you give the following to the person/s who is going to be caring for your animals:
  • A minimum of two weeks’ supplies for your hens, including litter, food, preventative health care and any medications they might need.
  • Written instructions on exactly how to care for your animals. For example, include the following:
    • Food – what, when, and how to feed your hens.
    • If your hens are on any medication or preventative health care, make sure you leave written detailed information on how and when it should be administered (include dosages, method of administration, and how often to give the medication). Ideally, have a prescription for any medication.
    • Your animals’ routines – for example, when they should be let out to roam in a secure yard and when they should be secured them in their house every night; how often their house should be cleaned out and litter replaced; what enrichment should be provided for the hens; and how often eggs should be collected.
    • A contact list that includes your hens’ veterinarian and anyone else who might be necessary or helpful for your hens’ care. Make sure you also leave any relevant medical history for your hens in the event one of them becomes ill or is injured, so that the person caring for them can take them to their veterinarian for treatment or to be euthanased, if this is necessary.

What to do if you are practising social distancing

One way for people to minimise risk to themselves, their animals, and their community from COVID-19 is social distancing and good hygiene.

Make sure you wash your hands before and after handling your animals and, when practising social distancing, wear an effective mask or respirator in accordance with health guidelines and, where possible, ensure you remain at least 1.5 metres away from other people.

If you are practising social distancing, aim to contain your hens to your property. If your hen house is large enough, you may be able to keep them safe and contained in their house. Remember that while your hens are contained, it is still important that they have adequate outdoor space to express their normal behaviours and have access to fresh air and sunlight.

If your hens usually roam around your property or yard during the day, make sure you can keep them contained to your yard or that you supervise them while they are roaming and do not let them leave your property. Remember to make sure your hens are still kept enclosed in their house like usual during the night to keep them safe.

If any of your hens needs to go to the veterinarian, call ahead and follow the instructions and COVID-safe protocols of the veterinary clinic.

All government restrictions, social distancing, and hygiene requirements must be adhered to.

What to do if you are in self-isolation but are not sick or suspected of having COVID-19 infection

People may be self-isolating because they have been directed to self-isolate or may have chosen to self-isolate because they are at high risk from COVID-19.

If you have been directed to self-isolate, you should check your relevant government website for current mandatory requirements before leaving your property during self-isolation, as state/territory government requirements for self-isolation may vary.

If you are self-isolating but are not sick or suspected of having COVID-19 infection, in addition to the general advice under social distancing provided above, you should minimise contact with animals other than your own at this time.

Ring your veterinarian to ask for advice if you are concerned about your hens’ health while you are self-isolating, rather than going to the veterinarian directly. Your veterinarian will be able to work with you to ensure your animal receives the care they need while keeping you and the veterinary staff safe from COVID-19 infection.

If you have to self-isolate, there are some things to consider so that your hens are appropriately cared for. These include making sure that:

• you have enough supplies for your hens, such as having enough litter and food for your hens for the period you are self-isolating, or that you organise for someone to drop off supplies when required.
• your hens are up to date with any preventative health care treatment they may require.
• in the event that one of your hens becomes ill or injured, there is someone that you can call to take your hen to a veterinarian for treatment or euthanasia.

If you or your family cannot care for your hens yourself, activate your plan for this situation – see the Hen Emergency Plan above.

You require hospitalisation due to COVID-19

If you require hospitalisation due to COVID-19, your hens will need to be cared for while you are in hospital. So, activate your plan for the situation where you cannot care for your hens yourself – see the Hen Emergency Plan above.

What to do if you need to leave your home to care for your hens

If you have been directed to stay at home and self-isolate, if you are sick with or suspected of having COVID-19, or you require hospitalisation, and you normally care for hens not located at your place of residence, then you must organise alternative arrangements for their care. In this case, activate your plan for the situation where you cannot care for your hens yourself – see the Hen Emergency Plan above.

If you are facing challenges caring for your animals, please get in touch with your local RSPCA to discuss options; we are here to offer support and help if possible.

Please note that this information has been prepared with the best and most current information available at the time but things are changing rapidly as the situation evolves.