Vaccines are widely used to control the spread of infectious diseases and form an important role in the management of your birds’ health. They should be integral to your flock management plan – specifically for the laying stock at this time of year – to protect them against ill health as we head into the breeding season.
Laying Stock
Birds that have been caught up for the forthcoming laying season will have been exposed to many pathogens over the winter months. We often see outbreaks of disease at this time as the birds are weak and pathogen pressure increases as a single population gets brought together in the rearing pens*.
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.
Vaccines can be produced in multiple different ways, but they all have the end goal of stimulating the birds’ immune system to bring about future protection. Drug companies produce high quantities of commercially available vaccine that are formed from commonly seen pathogens from the poultry industry. We see cross protection when used in the game birds however we can see break throughs.
An alternative is the creation of autogenous vaccines – or a ‘custom vaccine’ – where isolates of specific pathogens are collected from a bird or site and are used to formulate a vaccine specifically designed to give protection against those disease. Autogenous vaccines have their benefits, especially when looking at pathogens like Mycoplasma.
Whether your stock is caught up or overwintered the same principles stand:
- Investigate and Test: Work with your local veterinary surgeon to identify what diseases that birds might currently have or have been exposed. This can be done through serology testing (blood tests).
- Vaccinate: Introducing a vaccine protocol with your vet to cover the highest risk diseases is advised as 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.
It’s important to discuss your vaccine programs with your vet, along with your Veterinary Health 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 in under current Avian Influenza rules – please refer to Defra for more information and speak to your vet.
