Elements and Performance Criteria

The Range of Variables explains the contexts within which the performance and knowledge requirements of this standard may be assessed. The scope of variables chosen in training and assessment requirements may depend on the work situations available.

How might poultry be checked?
Poultry can be checked visually during a floor walk, including checking stock housed above floor level, picking up or handling stock for closer investigation.

What guidance is available to determine welfare of poultry?
Welfare of poultry is maintained in accordance with the appropriate codes of practice, industry quality assurance procedures.

What are the occupational health and safety hazards that might exist?
Hazards might include:
accidental infection of skin lacerations by employees handling birds
accidental inoculation or stabbing with needles or scalpels
accidental poisoning or burning with hygiene agents
cleaning areas above head level
killed vaccines may cause severe tissue reactions in humans if accidentally injected.
These may be eliminated or minimised through:
safe operating procedures
safe manual handling systems and procedures
safe systems and procedures for outdoor work, including protection from solar radiation
selection, use and maintenance of relevant personal protective equipment
all working routines must be carried out in line with the provisions of the Workplace Health and Safety Acts and relevant animal Codes of Welfare, Biosecurity Code and industry quality assurance programs.

What personal protective clothing and equipment may be relevant to this standard?
This may include boots, helmet, overalls, gloves, protective eyewear, hearing protection, respirator or face mask, and sun protection (sun hat, sunscreen).

What should be cleaned in the and around the shed?
Complex equipment should be dismantled and re-assembled to assess areas to be cleaned, routine cleaning programs should be performed such as sweeping, dusting and vacuuming, washing amenities and facilities, including protective clothing, hand basins, toilets, showers, offices, dusting superstructure, cleaning air filters and ducts.

What is involved in poultry production cleanliness?
It involves the hygiene of amenities and facilities, fly control and tidiness, sweeping, dusting, lawn and environment maintenance, checking incoming equipment for cleanliness (such as hatchery fillers).

What determines quarantine and control strategies?
Quarantine and disease control strategies are determined by legislation addressing animal health issues, industry quality assurance programs Biosecurity Code and organisational procedures.

What agents do disease prevention procedures use?
Such agents as vaccines, sprays, medicated feed and water, nutrient drenches and injections, antibiotics and therapeutic drugs.

What forms may vaccination include?
Vaccination is carried out by several methods, depending on the disease, including injection, spraying, stabbing and in water.

How must vaccines be stored?
Vaccine types change and have critical storage requirements if potency is to be assured. Vaccines must be stored in accordance with manufacturers' instructions.

What is required to enable laboratory testing?
Swabs and samples for laboratory testing are collected and packed as required including blood and tissue together with routine swabs.

When should post mortems be performed?
Routine post mortems should be performed on freshly dead poultry.

How is disease treated?
Treatments may include vaccination, medicating water, adding medication to feed, euthanasia.

What relevant information might be recorded and reported?
Dates, times and periods of operation and maintenance, hatched chicks per flock, chemicals and other substances used, including quantities and methods, and readings from temperature and flow-rate gauges.

Why is sample collection necessary?
Sample collection is often a result of verbal instructions from employer, unit manager or veterinary staff. Samples required for disease diagnosis may vary depending upon the disease, the herd / flock type, or the breed.

How might information be documented?
Recordkeeping systems used may be either paper-based or digital, and information will be recorded into logbooks or other records.

How might poultry be checked?
Poultry can be checked visually during a floor walk, including checking stock housed above floor level, picking up or handling stock for closer investigation.

What guidance is available to determine welfare of poultry?
Welfare of poultry is maintained in accordance with the appropriate codes of practice, industry quality assurance procedures.

What are the occupational health and safety hazards that might exist?
Hazards might include:
accidental infection of skin lacerations by employees handling birds
accidental inoculation or stabbing with needles or scalpels
accidental poisoning or burning with hygiene agents
cleaning areas above head level
killed vaccines may cause severe tissue reactions in humans if accidentally injected.
These may be eliminated or minimised through:
safe operating procedures
safe manual handling systems and procedures
safe systems and procedures for outdoor work, including protection from solar radiation
selection, use and maintenance of relevant personal protective equipment
all working routines must be carried out in line with the provisions of the Workplace Health and Safety Acts and relevant animal Codes of Welfare, Biosecurity Code and industry quality assurance programs.

What personal protective clothing and equipment may be relevant to this standard?
This may include boots, helmet, overalls, gloves, protective eyewear, hearing protection, respirator or face mask, and sun protection (sun hat, sunscreen).

What should be cleaned in the and around the shed?
Complex equipment should be dismantled and re-assembled to assess areas to be cleaned, routine cleaning programs should be performed such as sweeping, dusting and vacuuming, washing amenities and facilities, including protective clothing, hand basins, toilets, showers, offices, dusting superstructure, cleaning air filters and ducts.

What is involved in poultry production cleanliness?
It involves the hygiene of amenities and facilities, fly control and tidiness, sweeping, dusting, lawn and environment maintenance, checking incoming equipment for cleanliness (such as hatchery fillers).

What determines quarantine and control strategies?
Quarantine and disease control strategies are determined by legislation addressing animal health issues, industry quality assurance programs Biosecurity Code and organisational procedures.

What agents do disease prevention procedures use?
Such agents as vaccines, sprays, medicated feed and water, nutrient drenches and injections, antibiotics and therapeutic drugs.

What forms may vaccination include?
Vaccination is carried out by several methods, depending on the disease, including injection, spraying, stabbing and in water.

How must vaccines be stored?
Vaccine types change and have critical storage requirements if potency is to be assured. Vaccines must be stored in accordance with manufacturers' instructions.

What is required to enable laboratory testing?
Swabs and samples for laboratory testing are collected and packed as required including blood and tissue together with routine swabs.

When should post mortems be performed?
Routine post mortems should be performed on freshly dead poultry.

How is disease treated?
Treatments may include vaccination, medicating water, adding medication to feed, euthanasia.

What relevant information might be recorded and reported?
Dates, times and periods of operation and maintenance, hatched chicks per flock, chemicals and other substances used, including quantities and methods, and readings from temperature and flow-rate gauges.

Why is sample collection necessary?
Sample collection is often a result of verbal instructions from employer, unit manager or veterinary staff. Samples required for disease diagnosis may vary depending upon the disease, the herd / flock type, or the breed.

How might information be documented?
Recordkeeping systems used may be either paper-based or digital, and information will be recorded into logbooks or other records.

What evidence is required to demonstrate competence for this standard as a whole?
Competence in maintaining health and welfare of poultry requires evidence that birds remain at optimum health and welfare and that outbreaks of disease are minimised through the effective use of hygiene and quarantine procedures.
The skills and knowledge required to maintain good health and welfare for poultry must be transferable to a different work environment. For example, across a range of breeds and classes of poultry, and a range of shed and production system types.
What specific knowledge is needed to achieve the performance criteria?

Knowledge and understanding are essential to apply this standard in the workplace, to transfer the skills to other contexts and to deal with unplanned events. The knowledge requirements for this competency standard are listed below:

symptoms of ill-health in poultry
relevant codes of animal welfare
the range of diseases affecting the class and age of poultry
vaccination programs, vaccines and mode of action in use in the organisation
withholding periods for use of antibiotics
zoonotic diseases and mode of transmission
environmental controls and codes of practice applicable to the enterprise
the organisations poultry production and management plans. Sound management practices and processes to minimise noise, odours and debris from the poultry operations
relevant legislation and regulations relating to waste and environment management, animal health and welfare, and employment of staff and contractors
relevant occupational health and safety legislation, regulations and codes of practice.

What specific skills are needed to achieve the performance criteria?

To achieve the performance criteria, appropriate literacy and numeracy levels as well as some complementary skills are required. These include the ability to:

accurately assess bird numbers and hatch
complete worksheets clearly and accurately
detect possibility of disease through parameters such as behaviour, length of time required to eat food
recognise clinical symptoms (normal vs. abnormal)
survey workplace for hygiene and occupational health and safety issues
tag poultry of varying ages
use computing technology to create, maintain and amend workplace records
observe, identify and react appropriately to environmental implications and occupational health and safety hazards
observe the welfare of poultry and take action in accordance with organisational procedures, codes of welfare and industry quality assurance programs.

Are there other competency standards that could be assessed with this one?
This competency standard

Essential Assessment Information
There is essential information about

What specific knowledge is needed to achieve the performance criteria?

Knowledge and understanding are essential to apply this standard in the workplace, to transfer the skills to other contexts and to deal with unplanned events. The knowledge requirements for this competency standard are listed below:

symptoms of ill-health in poultry
relevant codes of animal welfare
the range of diseases affecting the class and age of poultry
vaccination programs, vaccines and mode of action in use in the organisation
withholding periods for use of antibiotics
zoonotic diseases and mode of transmission
environmental controls and codes of practice applicable to the enterprise
the organisations poultry production and management plans. Sound management practices and processes to minimise noise, odours and debris from the poultry operations
relevant legislation and regulations relating to waste and environment management, animal health and welfare, and employment of staff and contractors
relevant occupational health and safety legislation, regulations and codes of practice.

What specific skills are needed to achieve the performance criteria?

To achieve the performance criteria, appropriate literacy and numeracy levels as well as some complementary skills are required. These include the ability to:

accurately assess bird numbers and hatch
complete worksheets clearly and accurately
detect possibility of disease through parameters such as behaviour, length of time required to eat food
recognise clinical symptoms (normal vs. abnormal)
survey workplace for hygiene and occupational health and safety issues
tag poultry of varying ages
use computing technology to create, maintain and amend workplace records
observe, identify and react appropriately to environmental implications and occupational health and safety hazards
observe the welfare of poultry and take action in accordance with organisational procedures, codes of welfare and industry quality assurance programs.

Are there other competency standards that could be assessed with this one?
This competency standard

Essential Assessment Information
There is essential information about

There are a number of processes that are learnt throughout work and life, which are required in all jobs. They are fundamental processes and generally transferable to other work functions. Some of these are covered by the key competencies, although others may be added. The questions below highlight how these processes are applied in this competency standard. Following each question a number in brackets indicates the level to which the key competency needs to be demonstrated where 0 = not required, 1 = perform the process, 2 = perform and administer the process and 3 = perform, administer and design the process.
Communicating ideas and information
In interpreting and clarifying the work that is to be done and the specific requirements that there are for a particular situation. (1)

Communicating ideas and information
In interpreting and clarifying the work that is to be done and the specific requirements that there are for a particular situation. (1)

Collecting analysing and organising information
In working with information that details feed amounts and times of feeding, medication records, animal losses, stocking rates, shed temperatures, stocking rates, and other details critical to the health of the poultry. (2)

Collecting analysing and organising information
In working with information that details feed amounts and times of feeding, medication records, animal losses, stocking rates, shed temperatures, stocking rates, and other details critical to the health of the poultry. (2)

Planning and organising activities
In preparing to administer medications according to the schedules provided. (1)

Planning and organising activities
In preparing to administer medications according to the schedules provided. (1)

Working with others and in teams
When working alongside other operators to ensure that required team outcomes are achieved. (1)

Working with others and in teams
When working alongside other operators to ensure that required team outcomes are achieved. (1)

Using mathematical ideas and techniques
In calculating ratios, percentages, and amounts required when dealing with medications and other chemical compounds. (2)

Using mathematical ideas and techniques
In calculating ratios, percentages, and amounts required when dealing with medications and other chemical compounds. (2)

Solving problems
In providing an optimal environment including temperature control and ventilation rates. Also to ensure that stocking rates for the season are adjusted appropriately. (2)

Solving problems
In providing an optimal environment including temperature control and ventilation rates. Also to ensure that stocking rates for the season are adjusted appropriately. (2)

Using technology
In measuring and calculating amounts required when dealing with either medications or cleaning compounds. (1)

Using technology
In measuring and calculating amounts required when dealing with either medications or cleaning compounds. (1)