Poultry Farming

Vaccination techniques in poultry Farming

Introduction

The vaccine is a biological substance.
The purpose of its use in poultry is to introduce protective immunity in the latter against the targeted pathologies.

Three points are essential to achieving this objective:

The choice of vaccine and its quality,
The usage program,
,How a vaccine is given

Type of vaccines

The two main types of vaccine used in poultry farming are; live attenuated and inactivated vaccines.

	Living attenuated	inactivated
Safety	GOOD	GOOD
Multiplication in the organism	YES	MODERATE
Sensitivity to antibodies of maternal origin	YES	LOW
Mass vaccination	YES	NO
Sensitivity to heat	VERY STRONG	MODERATE
Adjuvant	NO	YES

In addition to these two types of vaccines, new generation vaccines are increasingly used, in particular, vector vaccines which combine the efficacy of living organisms with the safety of inactivates.

The choice of vaccination method

It is dictated by a set of points:
pathology:

* Favor vaccination by nebulization for pathologies with respiratory tropism.

* Vaccination in drinking water for the Gumboro Vivant vaccine.

* Vaccination by injection for the Marek vaccine.

The type of vaccines:

Live or inactivated
Imperatives linked to the strain used in the vaccine

Animals:
Type of production , age…

Field conditions:

Labor, material

Vaccination by drinking water

This vaccination technique can only be applied to birds over 5 days of age, due to the variability of water consumption during the first days of life.

Preparation of the vaccine solution:

- Use clean drinking water without any trace of disinfectant.
- Add the skimmed milk powder at the rate of 2.5 g / liter in order to preserve the vaccine solution.
- Open the vials of vaccine in water, dissolve the contents in a small amount of water and rinse each vial well.
- Shake and complete the vaccine solution with the amount of water necessary for consumption in 1 h 30 to 2 hours.

Crucial points:

Drinking water:

- Drinking water (without trace of disinfectant)

- Ph slightly acid between 5.5 and 6.5 (otherwise add an acidifier)

- Absence of bacteria, organic and mineral matter (mainly for drilling water).

- Fresh water.

Cleaning the watering circuit :

- Descale and clean the pipes regularly to eliminate the biofilm.

- Clean the drinkers with a sponge without disinfectant and check that they are working properly.

The animal appetite:

Thirsty animals (1:30) before the distribution of the vaccine solution (pay attention to the duration of thirsty animals in periods of high temperature).

Draining the water circuit:

Empty the circuit of the remaining water, for pipettes purge the lines at the end of the ramp and for bell drinkers empty the water present in a bucket.

Water volume:

Estimated at around 20% of the previous day's consumption.

Volume per 1000 subjects (in liters)	Age (weeks)
15 20 28 35 42 45	2 3 4 5 6 7

Preservation of vaccine and neutralization of chlorine

- Add sodium thiosulfate at the rate of 3.2g / 200 liters of water.

- Addition of skimmed milk powder at the rate of 2.5g / liter of water.

Distribution of the vaccine:

* Supply the bell drinkers with plastic watering cans.

* Purge at the end of the ramp until the vaccine solution appears for the pipettes.

* Circulate slowly in the building so as to encourage birds to consume the vaccine solution.

* Once the vaccine solution has been drunk, fill the water tank with potable water without any trace of disinfectant.

Vaccination control:

- Whitish coloring of the water following the use of skim or blue milk if coloring, at the end of the circuit and / or in the drinkers,

- To control, use a dye and take 25 to 50 birds from 5 to 6 different places in the building to see the coloration of the crop,

- A vaccination in drinking water is considered satisfactory when at least 90% of the subjects present a blue coloration on the level of the tongue or the crop.

Vaccination by nebulization

This vaccination technique consists of spraying a vaccine solution in the form of droplets which come into contact with the mucous membranes of the eye and the respiratory system so that the vaccine virus multiplies.
The immune response will first be local. Then general.
This technique is indicated for viruses with respiratory tropism (BI, NDV, TRT / SIGT…)

Preparation of the vaccine solution:

* Use a good bacteriological quality water, without trace of disinfectant, slightly acid (mineral or table water)

* Open the vials of vaccine in water, dissolve the contents in a small amount of water and rinse each vial well.

* Shake and complete the vaccine solution with the amount of water required to vaccinate the entire building population.

Crucial points:

The size and homogeneity of the droplets:

The size of the droplets and their homogeneity is a function of many parameters:

The type of nebulizer;
The nozzle model;
Ambient factors of the building: the time taken by the droplets to reach the head of the poultry depends on the ambient conditions (temperature, humidity, ventilation, etc.)

The size of the droplets actually in contact with the eye or the respiratory system of poultry partly determines the effectiveness of nebulized vaccination and influences the intensity of post-vaccination respiratory reactions.

Vaccination procedure:

* Vaccinate in the morning or late in the evening (cooler hours).

* Vaccinate by nebulization only poultry with good health.

* Use clean equipment, without trace of disinfectant, well maintained, perfectly adjusted and reserved exclusively for vaccination.

* One dose of vaccine = one bird (example: 10,000 doses for 9,800 chickens).

* Lower the light intensity, stop the radiators and stop the ventilation during the vaccination.

* Nebulize the head of the poultry by making at least two passes.

* Switch on the light again. Ventilation (open curtain in open building) and radians 15 to 30 minutes after vaccination.

Injection vaccination

This technique consists of injecting the vaccine intramuscularly in the muscles of the breastbone or thigh, or subcutaneously in the neck (case of bacterial vaccines in oily adjuvant).

The vaccines to be injected are either resuspended in their diluent before being injected (live vaccines), or ready to use (inactivated vaccines).

Crucial points:

For oily vaccines:

* Take the vials out of the refrigerator 6 to 8 hours before use, to improve the fluidity of the vaccine.

* Use the cleanest injection equipment possible.

* Adjust the syringes to the dose indicated for each vaccine by checking the quantity delivered at the level of a graduated tube after ten injections.

* Use needles suitable for the age and type of vaccine to be administered (1.25mm x 12mm or 0.90mm x 6mm).

* Change the needles frequently and check the conformity of the bevel during the vaccination work.

* Shake the bottle regularly to homogenize its content.

* Pay attention to the injection site.

* Check that each bird has taken its dose and that the total number of doses used corresponds to the number of subjects vaccinated.

Vaccination by injection of Marek vaccines at the hatchery

Marek vaccine should be stored in liquid nitrogen
The vaccine should be thawed in less than a minute by gently shaking the vial in the water bath at 27 ° C.
Reconstitution of the vaccine in its diluent must be done immediately after thawing.
The use of the vaccine bag must be done in less than an hour.
The volume injected subcutaneously is 0.2 ml.
The injection can be done either at the neck or the thigh.

EYE INSTILLATION

This very precise vaccination technique makes it possible to develop local and general immunity, given to the Harder's gland which is located just behind the third eyelid, it is obligatorily indicated for the infectious Laryngo-tracheitis vaccine, and can be used for the vaccination against other pathologies (ND. BI. TRT / SIGT…)

Crucial points

* Hold the bottle vertically, avoiding contact with the mucous membranes.

30 ml = 1000 drops

* Use a colored diluent to better visualize the proper administration of the vaccine solution.

* Place a single drop on the eyeball, wait for its diffusion.

* Respect the maximum duration of use of the vaccine after it has been dissolved (1 hour)

OTHER VACCINATION TECHNIQUES

Beak
dipping : This technique is used on chicks less than a week old, it consists of soaking the beak to the nostrils in order to make the vaccine solution penetrate into the nasal passages.
Vaccine solution from 150 to 200 ml / 1000 chicks.

Wing transfixion:

This method is reserved for vaccination against fowl pox, it is applied to the wing membrane using a double fluted needle.
Respect the time of use of the vaccine preparation (less than an hour).
Vaccination is considered satisfactory when at least 90% of subjects have pustules at the injection sites 7 to 10 days post-vaccination

Injection in ovo:

This technique consists of injecting a live vaccine (Marek, Gumboro ,,,) into the embryonated egg when the eggs are transferred from the incubator to the hatcher (18 days after 'incubation).

RECOMMENDATIONS

- The objective of vaccination is to try to vaccinate 100% of the livestock with the simplest method and the most adapted to the context of breeding.

- Each vaccine has its specificities which must be respected by following the manufacturer's recommendations.

It is essential to ensure the cleanliness and equipment used during vaccination.

- The success of a vaccination largely depends on the professionalism of the vaccination team.

- Biosecurity in farms is a key element for the success of the effectiveness of a vaccine prophylaxis program.

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