Some people are concerned that chickens kept in their backyard may be a risk for becoming infected with bird flu. However, the risk of bird flu is higher in developing countries where measures to prevent disease are not taken, usually due to poverty, lack of infrastructure, and ignorance. Essentially, people in developing countries are forced to take more bird flu risks in order to survive.
See this article on the controversy swirling around backyard chickens and bird flu. The article also lists the sources used for this Top 10 list.
1. You Like Eating Chicken, but Not the Ones Found Dead in Your Yard
In many countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam, the hardest hit countries by bird flu, people have slaughtered sick chickens and eaten them. In some cases, chickens were eaten after dying of bird flu.2. You Don't Drink Chicken Blood from a Sick Chicken.
Although properly cooked chicken and poultry products cannot cause bird flu, some people were reported to have drank uncooked chicken blood in Vietnam. Blood from infected poultry contains avian flu viruses, bu it's not clear how people may become infected with any kind of flu via the gastrointestinal tract.3. You Don't Pluck Your Sick Chickens or Save their Feathers.
Even feathers from an infected chicken contain avian flu virus. Many people who have contracted bird flu are thought to have gotten the virus from plucking the feathers of an infected bird. Probably H5N1 virus is made airborne in the plucking process and breathed in. It is unlikely that anyone in a developed country would pluck a chicken that has died from an illness, although a fly fisherman may be tempted if the feathers are especially pretty.4. You Don't Sell Sick Chickens to the Supermarket or Overseas
Small farmers and even large commercial poultry operations in Asia have dumped infected fowl on the market in order to not lose money, and sometimes infected products, such as eggs, chicks and meat arrive to lands far away. In most developed countries controls are pretty tight on commercial poultry producers and people are not usually so desperate for money as to sell sick chickens.5. Your Kid Doesn't Play with Dead Chickens
Children in many countries such as Indonesia have been infected with bird flu by being in direct contact with infected fowl. Even on a farm in a developed country parents are likely to note that a chicken is ill and prohibit their children from getting close.6. You Wash your Hands Properly after Handling Dead Chickens
In developed countries citizens have access to clean water free of human, bird and other feces that can contain high levels of virus. Washing hands properly goes a long way in preventing avian flu, any other kind of flu and many other infectious diseases.7. You Contact the Vet if a lot of Chickens Call it a Life and Go Feathers Up
Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu is evident in chickens within 12-24 hours of infection. And most chickens die within 24 hours. Ruffled feathers, blue combs, wobbly legs, a hen that doesn’t lay eggs and glazed over eyes are clear signs a chicken is sick. In developed countries, farmers are likely to call in a vet. Veterinarians are likely to give advice on how to properly dispose of the chickens and provide a phone number for the USDA Biosecurity Unit. The veterinarian may also be obligated to report suspicious bird deaths to a national center such as the Centers for Disease Control in the US.8. You Don't Share a Bed with Your Chickens
In developing countries, people often live with their animals, in part, to prevent predation at night. Sharing spaces with animals leave people exposed to possible transfers of diseases, such as bird flu, through feathers, feces, or direct contact with infected animals. See bird to human transmission of bird flu.9. You Purchase Chicks and Eggs from Legal Hatcheries
Sometimes infected poultry products are thought to spread to other countries by skipping border controls with smugglers. Bird flu among backyard birds in some villages in Indonesia has been blamed on birds brought in from outside the village. Nigerian officials believe bird flu arrived to their country in illegal shipments of poultry products.Even if poultry products come from a legal hatchery, it is wise to quarantine newly purchased birds until being sure of their health before introducing them to the rest of the flock. See bird to bird transmission of avian flu.
10. You or Your Children Won’t Go Hungry if You Have to Cull All of Your Chickens
Finally, the poverty level developing countries means people are reluctant to eliminate chickens without receiving some compensation for them, not the least being the possibility to ingest some animal protein. Poultry accounts for up to 30 per cent of all protein ingested in many Asian countries.Some countries do attempt to compensate farmers for the price of the fowl lost, but normally do not compensate for loss of production (eggs, for example). Indonesia, for example, plans to compensate farmers around one dollar forty cents for each animal (poultry) sacrificed that tests positive for H5N1 avian flu.