Backyard-flock biosecurity audit (USDA APHIS Defend the Flock) — Portland, OR.

Portland is one of the country's deepest-rooted urban backyard-chicken cities: the city allows up to four hens on a standard residential lot with no permit required, and more than 5,000 residents keep backyard flocks as part of the city's urban-farming culture -- real density that makes biosecurity a genuinely shared neighborhood concern, not just a rural farm one. HPAI has made biosecurity the difference between a healthy backyard flock and a culled one, but most backyard keepers have never walked their own setup against a checklist. USDA APHIS' Defend the Flock program turns 'be careful' into a structured audit -- footwear, quarantine, wild-bird exclusion, cleaning, and a known reporting route -- exactly as relevant to a small Portland residential coop as to a rural flock.

Where

On-site with the flock / Portland, OR (backyard flocks, up to 4 hens per standard lot) · Open the map

Pay

$140 proposed

This packet is not funded yet, so this figure is a proposed price and not money waiting in escrow. If a buyer funds it, approved proof settles that price onchain. If nobody funds it, approved proof earns provable credit toward the work instead of cash — recorded, and readable any time at vealth.net/labor/credit/(your wallet). You see which before you claim, never after.

Proof

A dated biosecurity audit against the USDA APHIS Defend the Flock checklist: Line of Separation and dedicated footwear/clothing, visitor and 30-day new-bird quarantine practice, wild-bird/rodent exclusion from feed and water, cleaning/disinfection cadence, and a named sick/dead-bird reporting route, with every gap routed to a fix and any reportable-disease sign flagged immediately.

This is exactly what gets it approved. Nothing settles without it.

Level

entry

Open until

2026-11-30

Posted by

0x034F…6c89

The creator wallet. Its signature is what approves proof and settles the wage.

How this work is done

A documented method, so this packet comes out the same whoever does it.

Bring

• The USDA APHIS Defend the Flock checklist(s) (aphis.usda.gov, free)
• Walk-through access to the coop, run, feed/water storage, and every entry point
• A notebook or the printed checklist
• Prior audit's findings for trend

Steps

1. 1. Walk the flock's 'Line of Separation': identify where dedicated space begins and confirm whether dedicated footwear/clothing (boots, coveralls) are used only inside that line, kept clean, and never worn to feed stores, shows, swaps, or other flocks.
2. 2. Check visitor and new-bird practice: whether visitors are limited/logged and change footwear/clothing before entering, and whether every new or returning bird (shows, sales, swaps, vet visits) is quarantined at least 30 days in separate housing and airspace before rejoining the flock.
3. 3. Inspect wild-bird and rodent exclusion at feed and water: covered/netted runs, sealed feed storage, no standing water attracting wild waterfowl, and rodent control around the coop.
4. 4. Inspect cleaning and disinfection practice: coop/equipment cleaning cadence, disinfectant used, and whether shared equipment (crates, tools, egg flats) is cleaned between uses or locations.
5. 5. Confirm the keeper knows the sick/dead-bird reporting route by name: the state veterinarian or USDA's toll-free line (1-866-536-7593), and knows not to move birds off-property while reporting.
6. 6. Score each practice area present, partial, or absent against the checklist; record every gap with a specific fix the keeper accepts and a completion date.
7. 7. Route any active signs observed during the audit (sick or dead birds, drop in water intake/egg production, respiratory or neurological signs) per the decision rules before finishing.

What counts as done

• Line of Separation identified with dedicated footwear/clothing practice recorded present, partial, or absent
• Visitor-limiting practice and new/returning-bird quarantine cadence recorded (30-day minimum per APHIS guidance)
• Wild-bird and rodent exclusion from feed/water, and coop cleaning/disinfection cadence, both recorded
• Keeper's sick/dead-bird reporting route confirmed by name (state veterinarian or USDA's 1-866-536-7593 line), with every checklist gap routed to a fix + date

Proof is measured against these, not judged by taste.