Checklist for Using a 

Perimeter Buffer Area

If you see signs of illness, take action right away! Phone Number

Veterinarian 

Cooperative Extension Office 

State Veterinarian/Animal or Poultry Diagnostic Lab 

USDA 866.536.7593

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

When caring for your poultry, you need to access everyday supplies and equipment. At the same 

time, you need to avoid carrying around germs that could make your birds sick. Having clear 

separation between your poultry area (where your birds are kept) and the rest of the world will 

help you meet both of these needs. You can establish a perimeter buffer area: a zone outside 

of your bird enclosures that gives you space to work in while caring for your birds, but is 

separate from the rest of your property. On small farms and in backyards, this might just be 

some ground around a coop or barn where you keep your feed bin and equipment. On larger 

farms, the perimeter buffer area might include feed bins, manure sheds, composting areas, 

egg rooms, generators, and pump rooms. Whether you’re part of a large commercial enterprise 

or raise birds as a hobby, keeping bird-related activities within the perimeter buffer area—and 

non-bird activities out of it—can help keep your poultry from getting sick.

If you see or suspect anything unusual, call your flock supervisor, veterinarian, or cooperative 

extension office right away. Use this form to record phone numbers for contacts in your area. 

The earlier you act, the easier it is to contain the disease to a single flock.

Report Sick Birds

Check the list on the back for tips 

to help keep your flocks healthy. √
Checklist:Tips for Using a 

Perimeter Buffer Area

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Program Aid No. 2235-8 | Issued July 2019

This checklist is a general guide to practicing good biosecurity, but if you have a site-specific 

biosecurity plan, please follow it. Commercial growers should be sure their site-specific plans 

follow the National Poultry Improvement Plan biosecurity principles.

√

Establish the perimeter buffer area with 

enough space to complete all of your 

normal bird-related tasks (except the removal 

of dead birds) without leaving the buffer area. 

Include a map that clearly outlines the 

perimeter buffer area in your biosecurity 

plan. List the rules people must follow when 

entering or leaving this area. Give training and 

post signs to remind people of the steps they 

need to take.

Keep non-essential people and items, 

including vehicles, from entering the 

buffer area. Have a parking area outside the 

buffer area, with a clear entrance to the buffer 

area nearby.

For more information about how to keep your flocks healthy, follow Defend the Flock on 

Facebook and Twitter and visit www.aphis.usda.gov/animalhealth/defendtheflock.

Require any vehicle or equipment that enters the 

perimeter buffer area to be cleaned and disinfected

before entering and before leaving the buffer area.

Consider a locked barrier at the site entrance. If 

this is not possible, place signs at the entrance to the 

perimeter buffer area to prevent unauthorized access.