Story in Brief
Interest in small flock poultry production has increased over the past 10 years with ever more people seeking advice and information through UGA Extension educational programs. Addressing the need for information during the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the increased use of virtual technology to reach citizens of Georgia. Six County Extension agents, with the assistance of UGA poultry scientists as subject matter experts, developed a series of webinars focusing on management and health issues for the small flock poultry enthusiasts. The agents from Lincoln, Lanier, Carroll, and Clayton counties hosted four webinar series which covered much of the state of Georgia in its outreach. Extension poultry specialists assisted the agents in delivering the program content information to the online audiences. Each webinar series consisted from one to six sessions addressing numerous small flock management, health and processing topics. Combined together, 15 webinar sessions were conducted, with people who registered for the webinar sections representing 17 Georgia counties as well as an additional 14 states. One webinar series even included a registrant from Australia, who participated in real-time despite a 15-hour time zone difference. In total, 350 households received small flock poultry information through the combined efforts of the four-webinar series.