Vaccines control the spread of infectious diseases and are an important part of managing your birds’ health. Vaccines work by triggering the bird’s immune system to develop cells that are trained to fight against a specific disease, providing protection against future disease exposure and potential illness. They should be integral to your flock management plan as we head into the breeding season.
Birds that have been caught up will have been exposed to many pathogens over the winter months. We often see outbreaks of disease as the birds are weak and pathogen pressure increases as a single population gets brought together in the rearing pens*. Likewise, birds that have been overwintered will now have run out of their immune protection from their parents.
The most common disease to cause clinical issues in laying stock are Infectious Bronchitis, Avian Rhinotracheitis and Mycoplasma. We can develop a vaccine program that can give some protection from these pathogens, leading to fitter, healthier laying stock, giving better production and a better quality of chick.
To make sure the birds have the best levels of protection, our vets develop a vaccine plan that is flock-specific based on any previous challenges, results from blood testing, and the environment.
Vaccines can be produced in different ways, but they all have the end goal of providing future protection. Drug companies produce high quantities of commercially available vaccines that are formed from commonly seen pathogens from the poultry industry. We see cross-protection when used in game birds; however, we can see breakthroughs.
An alternative is the creation of autogenous vaccines, or a ‘custom vaccine’, where isolates of specific pathogens are collected from birds or site and are used to create a vaccine specifically designed to give protection against that disease. Autogenous vaccines have their benefits, especially when looking at pathogens like Mycoplasma.
Whether your stock is caught up or overwintered the same principles apply:
- Investigate and Test: Work with your local veterinary surgeon to identify the diseases that birds might currently have or have been exposed to.
- Vaccinate: Introducing a vaccine protocol with your vet to cover the highest risk diseases is advised as the best practice. Your vet will be able to discuss the best vaccine protocol for you.
- Prevention and Planning: Ask your vet to work with you on a Veterinary Health Plan (VHP). This will ensure that the correct preventative measures are in place to look after your birds for the season and limit the risk of disease.
Get in touch with your vet to organise your vaccination plan.
For more information, get in touch with your local practice or call head office on 01392 872932
*Different rules apply according to where your site is under current Avian Influenza rules – please refer to Defra for more information and speak to your vet.
