Protect your flock
Biosecurity New Zealand's advice is the advice to follow. Start with their pages and printed guidance below. Everything further down this page is a quick reference we have written to point you at them, and it is no substitute for the official material.
Official advice from Biosecurity New Zealand
- Bird flu and the risk to New Zealand
- Advice for commercial poultry farmers
- Protecting your birds and other pets
- Fact sheets, newsletters and science reports (PDFs)
- Information for vets
- Protecting native species (DOC and MPI)
- Food safety and human health
- Staying safe and alert when outdoors
- Guidance for Māori communities
- DOC bird flu updates
Printable guidance
The basics, in short
Our own summary, for a quick read. Bird flu reaches poultry through wild birds, and through whatever people carry in on boots, tyres and gear. Where this and the official advice differ, the official advice wins.
Keep wild birds away from your birds
Wild birds are how it arrives. Feed and water under cover, keep feed in sealed containers, and net or cover any outdoor run if you can.
Keep water sources separate
Do not let your birds drink from ponds or troughs that wild birds use. Use mains or tank water.
Clean boots and gear between sheds
The virus travels on footwear, tyres, feed bags and equipment. Keep dedicated boots for the bird area and scrub them.
Limit who goes near your birds
Fewer visitors means fewer ways in. Anyone who keeps birds themselves is a higher risk, not a lower one.
Know what to look for
Sudden deaths, several birds off their feed, swollen heads, or a twisted or tilted head. Report it rather than waiting to see.
Housing free-range birds
Bringing free-range birds inside for a while is a precaution the government supports, and it is what New Zealand's largest egg producer did after the first cases. It stays a decision for each business, and nobody has been ordered to house their birds. In the words of the ministers' release of 17 July 2026: "While it's an individual decision for businesses, we support free range farmers taking precautionary action to protect their birds by temporarily housing them."
A biosecurity plan is going to be required
Cabinet has approved regulations under which anyone keeping more than 100 birds will have to develop, register and follow a farm biosecurity plan for avian disease. It will also mean keeping records, being audited, and having clear plans for humane culling, disposal, cleaning and disinfection if your operation is affected.
None of it is law yet. The regulations are being drafted and shared with industry bodies before coming into force by the end of 2026, so biosecurity stays voluntary until then. Doing the steps above now is what a plan will ask of you anyway, and MPI's On Farm Support team will help smaller operators write one.
From the government's release of 28 July 2026.