Research Notes

ABSTRACT Current control strategies for avian influ-enza virus, exotic Newcastle disease, and other highly virulent poultry diseases often include surveillance, quarantine, depopulation, disposal, and disinfection. On-farm depopulation and disposal methods reduce po-tential movement of virus and improve biosecurity. Wa-ter-based foam depopulation was developed as a poten-tial alternative mass emergency poultry depopulation procedure. The use of water-based foam is condition-ally approved by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for use with floor-reared birds. This study reports on the use of water-based foam to de-populate other species including call ducks, chukars, Pekin ducks, and Japanese quail. Foam caused a rapid onset of airway occlusion. Although all species tested were depopulated with water-based foam, the time to cessation of activity varied by species, with quail being faster than chukars, broilers, and ducks. Use of water-based foam to depopulate ducks and other specie