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Vaccination plays an essential role in protecting the health of laying flocks in the UK.
Pullets are given a comprehensive programme of vaccines during the rearing period.
The vaccination programme is designed to :
Protect the pullets from disease challenges in rear
Viral, bacterial or parasitic disease challenge to flocks in rear can result in significant problems including increased mortality, suppression of the immune system, stunting , poor growth and damage to the reproductive tract. Thus it is important that birds are well protected by an appropriate vaccine programme which linked with good biosecurity, management and nutrition will ensure a healthy robust pullet at point of lay.
Protect pullets from disease challenges in lay
The rearing vaccination programme helps to provide the pullet with long lasting immunity to protect her not only through the rearing period, but also into the laying period. This protection helps to maintain not only healthy birds but " healthy" egg quality and production, as good cover against respiratory viruses such as Infectious Bronchitis (IB) and Avian Rhinotracheitis (ART) will reduce the risk of drops in production or problems with shell quality associated with viral challenge.
Protect pullets against diseases of human health significance
As producers will be only too well aware following the introduction of the National Control Programme for Salmonella in laying flocks it is advisable to vaccinate birds against Salmonella typhimurium and Salmonella enteritidis to reduce the risk of these infections and to protect the end consumer.
A typical rearing vaccination programme will include vaccination against :
√ Mareks Disease (MDV)
√ Infectious Bronchitis and Infectious
√ Bronchitis variants (IB)
√ Newcastle Disease (NDV)
√ Gumboro Disease ( Infectious Bursal
Disease-IBD)
√ Avian Encephalomyelitis (AE)
√ Avian Rhinotracheitis (ART)
√ Infectious Laryngotracheitis (ILT)
√ Egg Drop Syndrome (EDS)
√ Salmonella enteritidis and typhimurium
(SE and ST)
In addition many pullets will receive vaccination against coccidiosis.
Other vaccinations may be added to the rearing programme in response to problems identified on a particular laying site – for example vaccination against Mycoplasma gallisepticum , E Coli. Erysipelas and Pasteurella multocida.
Depending on the type of vaccine used vaccines may be given by injection, spray , or via drinking water
As can be seen from the above it is quite a challenge to fit all the required vaccinations into the rearing period particularly if additional vaccines are required.
The timings of vaccines in the rearing programme tend to be a compromise to achieve the best protection but at the same time to safeguard the welfare of the pullet as there is some degree of "stress" associated with all vaccinations and in particular injectable vaccinations so this has to be taken into account in planning.
Research into novel vaccines and vaccination administration techniques is ongoing and it is likely that in the future we will see significant advances in rearing vaccination programmes.
Vaccination on the laying farm
The rearing vaccination programme should provide very good immunity for your pullets however on some farms – particularly on multi age sites or sites in areas of high poultry density- additional "top up " vaccination in lay may be of benefit.
Flocks on multi age sites or in areas of high poultry density may be more at risk of respiratory viral challenge with IB , IB variants and ART. These viral infections can have a significant effect on the oviduct resulting in drops in egg production and/or shell quality problems. It may take several weeks for an affected flock to recover in terms of egg production and shell quality and thus can lead to a marked drop in income for the producer.
If your veterinary surgeon has identified a problem in your laying flock with respiratory viral challenge, or examination of blood samples taken post housing indicates low antibody titres for these viruses, additional vaccination on the laying site may be recommended .
It must be stressed that such vaccines are not licensed for use in flocks in lay and must only be used after consultation with your veterinary surgeon. It is also very important the flocks in lay are never given live viral vaccines unless they have already received vaccination with the same vaccine during the rearing period.
Vaccination should never be carried out if birds are sick
If Mycoplasma infection is suspected in your flock administration of live viral vaccines may trigger a reaction in the birds.
How should I give vaccines to my laying flock?
If "top up " vaccination is recommended on your laying site advice will be given by your veterinary surgeon. Excellent advice and technical assistance is also available from poultry vaccine manufacturers and it will often be possible for a technical advisor from a vaccine company to visit your farm to demonstrate vaccine application technique.
Vaccines can be administered to laying flocks in drinking water or by spray. Generally spray vaccination is preferred as delivering vaccine to the upper respiratory tract provides better immunity against respiratory viral challenge and "boosts" the immunity provided by the rearing vaccination programme.
There are various types of sprayer available – your veterinary surgeon or vaccine supplier will be able to advise you on the most appropriate for your farm.
For effective spray vaccination the following points are important
√ Store vaccine in a fridge at recommended temperature
√ Check that you are using the correct vaccine and the correct amount of vaccine and that the vaccine is in date.
√ Only clean distilled water should be used to dilute vaccine ( do not use water for car batteries)
√ You should keep a dedicated, non metallic container/jug for mixing vaccine with water. This should be clean and free from any trace of disinfectant ( as disinfectant would inactivate vaccine)
√ Mix up vaccine in a clean room on a
clean surface ( not on the floor)
√ When adding vaccine to water remove metal cap from vial then submerge vaccine vial in water and remove the rubber cap to let vaccine dissolve in water.
√ Once mixed up vaccine should be used within 1-2 hours
√ Sprayer should be kept for use with vaccine only and should also be kept clean and free from any trace of disinfectant. When not in use store sprayer in a dust free area.
√ Calibrate sprayer to check flow rate and volume of stock solution required.
√ Before spraying turn off fans in shed and dim lights as low as possible.
√ Volume of water used will depend to some extent on the type of sprayer used. Time taken to vaccinate must not be too long as it is important to restore shed ventilation as soon as possible. Generally it is recommended to have a "dummy run" using just distilled water in the spayer to judge how long it will take to walk the shed with the sprayer ensuring that you deliver vaccine to all the birds.
√ Avoid vaccinating birds if the weather is very hot and house temperature is high.
√ Do not vaccinate birds if the flock show any signs of disease or are "stressed" in some way.
Many producers find that giving additional vaccination to flocks during the laying period provides good protection against egg drops and shell quality problems. Commonly vaccination is carried out every 6-8 weeks with a programme tailored to each individual farm based on serological results from blood samples from previous flocks and f
