Why Can’t I own Birds if I Work at MacFarlane Pheasants?

Health and safety are topics that are always at the forefront of our planning at MacFarlane Pheasants. Health and safety go hand in hand with biosecurity. That is why it states specifically in our employee handbook that employees are forbidden to own birds of any kind. There are many backyard flocks that are not tested regularly, like our flock is, for Avian Influenza and other diseases. Interacting with a backyard flock and then coming into our flock at MacFarlane Pheasants is dangerous for our birds. The ownership of birds is one of the many biosecurity issues on a game bird farm.

Another common issue is that diseases can be carried on your boots. That is why employees cannot wear their boots off the farm. Even if they don’t own birds but they take a walk in the woods and pick up contaminates on their boots, the worker would bring the risk back to our farm. Employees must change into their work boots as soon as they get here. Incoming delivery drivers wear booties and clean off their tires with disinfectant before entering the grounds. Even in our workrooms, each crew member has dedicated coveralls and dedicated footwear for each bird room they enter. All footwear is disinfected before workers enter a workroom. This just names a few of our precautions beyond the rule that anyone working on our farm cannot own birds of any type.

It is sometimes difficult to find employees who are willing to work outdoors year-round and understand and follow our biosecurity guidelines. Once we find a prospective employee who is willing to do so, we ask if they own birds of any type and explain our rules regarding bird ownership and all other biosecurity guidelines. MacFarlane Pheasants offer great benefits and competitive wages. It is a great place to work. If you are interested in working here, please read more about employment and biosecurity on our blog site.