Chicken vaccination is extremely important to ensure the lowest mortality rate possible among chickens and to increase production. Vaccination can be done from the first day the chick is born after the egg is hatched and should be done occasionally during its entire lifetime.
Vaccines are a live form of the virus that should be handled with utmost care. The following should be observed when buying a live vaccine from a poultry or Agrivet supply store.
- Make sure to buy vaccines from the nearest store to minimize travel time.
- Buy only what is needed to avoid unnecessary storage.
- Make sure the vaccine is chilled during transit to your farm. Place the vaccine in a container full of ice.
- After the vaccine is used, make sure to bury the remaining vaccines. Proper disposal is necessary. It is not recommended to keep the leftover inside your refrigerator especially if the vaccine is diluted/mixed with another vaccine, like NCD B1B1 or NCD Lasota.
When to administer chicken vaccination
Vaccines can be administered from day one and up to multiple times during the bird’s lifetime. There are many different types of schedules and administration as other people stick to what they have experienced but the following is our own schedule based on years of experience.
The following vaccination schedule is recommended.
DAY 1
NCD B1B1 (New Castle Disease B1 Type, B1 Strain) – Eye Drop
This vaccine contains the B1 type, B1 strain of Newcastle disease virus. It is recommended for the initial vaccination of healthy chickens at one day of age using the eyedrop. Just tell the poultry supply that you need an NCD B1B1 and they’ll know what to give and how to handle the vaccine. Stores always sell this vaccine with an icepack.
DAY 10 to 15
Premoxil Powder – Drinking Water
Promoxil s not a vaccine but a preventive medication against colds and other respiratory infections. Premoxil is sold in a sachet, tablet, or in the container. To administer, mix 5 grams of powder with 1 gallon of clean water and serve to your chicks. Do this every morning for 5 consecutive days. Serve clean plain water during the afternoon while serving the medicine during the morning. Premoxil is also given to make sure chicks are healthy and energetic before being given the fowl pox vaccine which will be given on 2nd day.
DAY 16
IBD / Gumboro vaccine – Drinking Water
Infectious Bursal Disease (IBD) / Gumboro Disease vaccine is given to strengthen the bird’s immune system against a deadly universal disease. The vaccine should be done in the morning and make sure chicks are this so they will drink more. Mix only the needed amount. Replace the vaccine with clean drinking water later the same day.
DAY 18
Marek’s Disease Vaccine – Injection
Marek’s disease has no cure and is highly contagious. Application is done by injecting 0.2ml of the mixed vaccine under the chick’s skin above its shoulder just below its head. (See image below).
DAY 20
Fowlpox Vaccine – Wing Web
Fowlpox (bulutong) vaccine is given to combat the very contagious and deadly fowlpox virus. The vaccine is administered through a wing web using the applicator needle. The process is done by dipping the needle into the vaccine and inserting it through the thin part of the bird’s wing called wing web. Slightly turn the needle before removing it to make sure the vaccine stays inside the bird’s skin.
DAY 25 to 30
Tepox 48 – Drinking Water
Tepox 48 is given to prevent and cure digestive diseases like Colibaccilosis (yellow droppings), Pullorum Disease (white droppings), and malaria. The administration is similar to Premoxil. Mix 5 grams of powder with 1 gallon of clean water and serve to your chicks. Do this every morning in 5 consecutive days. Serve clean plain water during the afternoon while serving the medicine during the morning. The same dosage Tepox 48 should be given to your flock every 45 days during their lifetime.
DAY 30
NCD Lasota – Drinking Water
Similar to NCD given during the first day but with Lasota strain. Follow the same process. Repeat the process (NCD Lasota) every 3 months after the first administration.
DAY 31
Bastonero Plus (Deworming) – Drinking Water
Bastonero Plus should be administered similarly to Tepox 48 and Premoxil. Make sure hicks are thirsty in the morning to make sure they drink more medicine. Repeat the process after 6 months and every 3 months thereafter.
DAY 60
Axylin Powder – Drinking Water
For the prevention, control, and treatment of Coccidiosis caused by Eimeria spp (E. tenella. E. necatrix , E. mivati, E. brunetti , E. acervulina. E. maxima.) Leucocytozoonosis (Avian Malaria) and other mixed infections. Dosage and administration are similar to Tepox 48 but should not be repeated. Do this only once.
Proper administration of the above vaccines and preventive medications could eliminate major medical problems that could increase your production whether you are planning to raise broilers, breeders, and even game fowls.
Questions related to chicken vaccination
How do you vaccinate fowl?
Hold the bird and spread the underside of one wing outward. Pierce the web of the exposed wing with the applicator, discharging the vaccine. The stylet of the needle should be inserted from beneath through the wing web and care should be taken to push the feathers aside so as to avoid damaging the blood vessels.
What is the best fowl pox vaccine?
Poxine® is recommended for vaccination against fowl pox in healthy chickens 6 weeks of age or older and in healthy turkeys 8 weeks of age or older. Store this vaccine at not above 45°F (7°C). Do not vaccinate within 21 days before slaughter.
At what age is fowl pox vaccination?
Using two inoculations of the virus, at 5 and 26 days of age, protective immunity was induced in chickens which resisted challenge with a pathogenic fowlpox virus given either via the wing web or intravenously at 46 days of age.
How do you Deworm fowl?
Dewormers are either placed orally in the beak, dropped on the skin, injected under the skin, or added to food or water. Piperazin has a withdrawal period of 14 days for meat, but there is no safe period established for eggs. Hygromycin-B is approved for laying hens. The withdrawal time is three days for meat.
What vaccinations does poultry need?
Routinely used vaccines in chickens include MDV, NDV, IBV, and IBDV, and in turkeys NDV and HEV. Newer vaccines, including molecular recombinants in which genes of immunogenic proteins from infectious agents are inserted into a live viral vector, are also being examined for commercial use.
How often do you give the fowl pox vaccine?
Broiler chicks hatched from August through November should be vaccinated for fowl pox by 14 days of age. In areas, with high mosquito populations turkeys should be vaccinated initially between 3 to 4 weeks of age followed by a second vaccination at 12 weeks of age to assure lasting immunity.
Which vaccine is given to hens?
The vaccination of the day-old chicks in the hatcheries effectively started in the 70s with the use of a Mareks vaccine. Now vaccines against Newcastle disease, IB, and Gumboro are available for day-old vaccination.
Which vaccine is given at the age of 6 to 7 days in poultry?
IBD-specific MDA protects the broiler from infection during the first two to 3 weeks, after which live IBD vaccines are administered. Vaccination of the breeder prevents transmission of reovirus via egg and transfers protective levels of reovirus-specific MDA to broiler chick.
See Also:
- Free Range vs Caged Chicken vs Organic Chicken
- Broody Hen: Everything You Need to Know
- 10 Best Egg Laying Chicken Breeds
- Barred Plymouth Rock in the Philippines: What You Need to Know
- Asil and Shamo: What’s the Difference