Disease control – what does it mean to me?

As avian influenza continues to steal the headlines, we all take a little extra time to think about the impact of such a potentially devastating disease on our own birds and livelihoods.

In fact, on the basis that ‘common things are common’, there are a mass of other more mundane bugs that are far more likely to hit your birds and your pocket before we experience something like avian flu in Europe again. However, anything that makes us review our disease control and security serves a useful purpose. But for individual producers just what can you do to safeguard the health of your birds?

Developing a disease control strategy

The scientific view is to go for an ‘all-in, all-out’ strategy, removing all birds, their muck and other contaminated material from the site, sterilising or at least disinfecting everything before bringing in a new batch of birds. An alternative view—well illustrated in the Ranger recently by the producer rearing his pullets in close proximity to his laying birds—is to ‘keep it in the family’. The basis of the argument is that a little bit of dirt is good for you and that birds exposed to a wide range of bugs before they go into lay can be protected against the clinical or performance effects in lay.

So who is right? As usual, the answer is seldom simple and in practical terms the solution lies somewhere in the middle.

The argument about the benefits of day old to death mixed rearing and laying flocks is well founded for diseases such as Infectious bronchitis (IB). Classical and variant IB strains, which may be circulating in older birds, can act as a good source of exposure to birds in rear giving you the benefits of homemade ‘vaccination’ before they go into lay. This sounds an attractive proposition and, at least anecdotally, appears to serve some producers well.

However, you seldom get something for nothing! On the one hand the degree and efficiency of passing on that protection can be very hit and miss. Secondly, you may be passing on far more than helpful IB protection. If other unwanted bugs have found their way unseen into one of your flocks you may not be able to get rid of them until all birds have been removed from the site. Good examples here are mycoplasmas, salmonella, Pasteurella and ILT to name but a few. Therefore such policies need a lot of thought, planning and discussion with your veterinarian.

What is biosecurity?

Whichever policy you adopt there are some general precautions you can take which can prevent or reduce the likelihood of ‘nasties’ entering and persisting on your site, be it single-age or multi-age. This all revolves around the concept of biosecurity. One useful definition of biosecurity to work with is as follows: Biosecurity is a set of management practices that, when followed, will reduce the potential for the introduction of disease causing organisms onto your site.

The three important aspects of this concept are:

‘a set of management practices’

Biosecurity is not just one activity. It includes effective cleansing and disinfection at turnaround, ongoing disease security, limiting visitors, effective vermin control, well thought out vaccination programmes, provision of clean water and feed, discouraging wild birds etc.

‘when followed’

It is no use writing down a strategy if you don’t actually follow it, or ensure that all visitors also comply.

‘will reduce’

Remember that all these procedures are aimed at reducing challenge rather than sterilising the environment, tipping the balance in favour of your birds rather than the bugs.

Setting up a biosecurity programme

Setting up an effective and practical biosecurity programme may seem a daunting task. However, most of it is simply common sense and the key is to sit down with your veterinarian, discuss your farming practise and look for all the potential weak spots. Before you know it you will be well on your way to developing a simple HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) programme!

The art is to identify all the critical control points (CCPs) on your farm. This is also simpler than the jargon suggests. You just have to produce a list of things that can gain access to your farm and then think about how they can be prevented from entering or can be rendered harmless if they must come in.

Below are possible areas to consider:

People Vehicles

Equipment Keyes trays

Birds Feed

Water Shavings/litter

Wild birds Vermin

So what can you do about these risks?

Limit visitors and vehicles on site to ‘essentials’. Keep the farm gate closed, have disinfectant wheel sprays and protective clothing (boots and overalls) available for all visitors.

All equipment at house set-up should have been effectively cleansed and disinfected and then stored appropriately to prevent recontamination before reintroduction into the house. Similarly, crates and vehicles used to transport birds must be effectively cleansed and disinfected between sites and deliveries.

Keyes trays are a controversial subject but the sensible view must be that if trays cannot be effectively disinfected and restricted for return only to the site they came from, then disposable ‘one trip only’ trays should be used!

Birds coming on site, whether day-olds or point-of-lay, should be of the highest quality, vaccinated well against the diseases you and your vet want them vaccinated against. Dispose of any dead birds by incineration or prompt removal from the site.

Feed should be of the highest quality, delivered in vehicles cleaned, designed and operated in a manner likely to prevent disease introduction.

Water at source and in your drinking system should be of the highest drinkable quality, free from dangers of recontamination. Consider the use of acidifiers or sanitisers. Puddles and poached areas should be drained or fenced off.

Shavings should come from a reputable source, stored away from vermin and treated as necessary against salmonella and fungal contamination.

Wild birds should be kept out of houses, even free range, to prevent roosting and heavy faecal contamination in housing. Avoid feed spillages, which may encourage visiting migratory species.

Vermin can carry salmonella, Pasteurella and other bugs. An effective rodent control programme, regularly monitored and maintained, is essential.

Cleansing and disinfection at turnaround

And if all that is not enough to think about, you should also spend time developing an effective and achievable cleansing and disinfection programme at turnaround. Take expert advice and use high quality products with a proven track record, effectively applied.

Conclusions

Disease control and biosecurity mean different things to different people.

Seek expert advice to produce a programme tailored to your expectations and goals.

Make biosecurity a practical and achievable procedure for you, your staff and your suppliers.

Take time to identify your critical weak points and ways to plug holes in your biosecurity programme.

Maintain an effective early warning system with your veterinary surgeon to identify disease challenges and risks on your farm.

Regularly update your programme in the light of this monitoring to fine tune procedures.

Make sure that staff and suppliers buy into your programme and follow it.

Establish an effective vaccination policy.

Establish an effective cleansing and disinfection policy.

The last word…

To quote an American website: ”Do not bring germs to poultry and do not bring poultry to germs. Block the bug before it bugs your flock!”