Chick hatcheries and Avian Influenza

[iustin]

Are chicks coming out of hatcheries safe from AI?
I’m on the fence with ordering chicks, reason being I live in Hawaii and want to make sure my flock is safe and my neighbors flocks are safe.

Which would be my best option hatching eggs or chicks?

 

[DobieLover]

Are chicks coming out of hatcheries safe from AI?
I’m on the fence with ordering chicks, reason being I live in Hawaii and want to make sure my flock is safe and my neighbors flocks are safe.

Which would be my best option hatching eggs or chicks?

The survivability of HPAI is extremely low for adult birds and 100% fatal to embryonic eggs.
There is essentially no chance you could get a chick infected with it from a hatchery. If HPAI is found in a hatchery, the every single bird at the facility would have to be depopulated.
Because of this, these facilities practice rigid bio-security.
I think you'll have a more difficult time finding one that will ship to Hawaii.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Getting chicks from reputable hatcheries is about as safe as you can get from AI - they test constantly, and are monitored, unlike NPIP certified breeders such as myself who are tested once yearly and are required to test unusual death events.

Now, that's the general rule. You are in an odd situation. Hawaii is, in essence, self quarantined and outside any of the major migratory pathways. I don't think there has been a single AI case in your state, meaning a local hatchery should be perfectly fine.