FIELD VACCINATION 3.2 Water Vaccination (cont.) Before Vaccination Vaccine Preparation » Always administer the oral vaccine on the morning the birds are fed (for pullets on feed schedules). » It is recommended to add a vaccine stabilizer or skim milk powder to the water 20 to 30 minutes prior to adding the vaccine. Add the skim milk powder at a ratio of 500 g / 200 L (1lb / 50 gal). » All medication, disinfectants and chlorine must be removed from the drinking water 48 hours before vaccination. » Prepare the stock solution in a graduated plastic bucket prefilled with distilled water. If distilled water is not available, add a vaccine stabilizer before adding the vaccine.
» Always administer the vaccine early in the morning. » Enough drinker space is required to allow access to the vaccine solution. » For hand drinkers, withdrawal water 30 to 60 minutes in hot climates and 60 to 90 minutes in cool climates prior to vaccine administration. If the water restriction period is excessive, the birds will be thirsty and consume the vaccine too quickly. In this case, every bird may not have the opportunity to receive a dose of vaccine. » Use enough water for the vaccine stock solution so that the solution is consumed between 1.5 and 2 hours after the drinker lines are lowered.
COBB VACCINATION MANAGEMENT GUIDE » If using a proportioner, calculate the average water consumption from the last 4 days, to obtain the amount of water used by the proportioner. Calculate 30 % of the volume of water used by the proportioner to prepare the vaccine in the bucket. » To help ensure that the birds drink the water lines dry, turn water off approximately two hours before the lights are turned off the day before the vaccination. Drinker lines should be raised the morning of the vaccination and high enough that birds cannot reach the nipples. » Following the manufacturer’s directions, add the vaccine stabilizer (if neccessary) and dye to the bucket.
» Open the vaccine vial and fill the vial 2/3 full with distilled or stabilized water and gently rotate the vaccine vials to dissolve all the vaccine. Water should be between 16 °C (60 °F) and 27 °C (80 °F). Err towards the cool side as very warm water can damage the vaccine. Close the vial with the rubber stopper and gently agitate to reconstitute the vaccine. Do not aggressively shake the vials which can damage the vaccine. » Always transport the vaccine in an insulated cooler with ice or cold packs. The vaccine should be maintained at a temperature range of 2°C (35°F) to 7°C (45°F) during storage and transport to the farm. » Add the reconstituted vaccine to the mixture.
Rinse the vaccine vials several times to remove all the vaccine. Stir and mix well with a clean utensil. 17