HATCHERY VACCINATION 2.5 Subcutaneous (SC) or Intramuscular (IM) Injection at Day of Hatch (cont.) Vaccine Administration: Post Vaccination » Begin the vaccination process with properly sanitized equipment. » Ensure proper cleaning, sanitation, sterilization and maintenance of the vaccination equipment at the end of the day. » Test the system before chicks are vaccinated. » Discard all unused vaccine, including vaccine left over from personnel breaks and any excess vaccine remaining after the completion of the hatch day. » The amount of vaccine delivered is usually 0.2 to 0.5 ml. » Needles must be replaced with new needles at least every 1000 chicks.
» Once reconstituted, the vaccine should be used completely within 30 to 45 minutes. Should the vaccination personnel need to stop or interrupt the procedure at any time, document the interruption. COBB VACCINATION MANAGEMENT GUIDE » A chick sample may be taken per vaccinator to verify the quality of vaccination. Because dye has been added to the vaccine, evidence of dye in the subcutaneous (SC) tissue is visible. Count the number of chicks with SC dye for every 100 chicks sampled and determine the percent of chicks missed. Correct any problems immediately. The inspection must be done within 15 minutes post vaccination or the dye will no longer be visible under the skin.
» Determine any percentage of chicks with visible blood, which indicates that needles are mal-positioned, burred or blunt, or excessive pressure. » Verify that the machine remains calibrated and consistently delivers the prescribed volume of vaccine. » Verify that the air pressure is correct (most machines operate with 50 to 75 PSI, or 3.4 to 5.2 Bars). Excess pressure will hurt the chicks and may promote leakage of vaccine or damage the cells in the vaccine. Insufficient air pressure may reduce doses of vaccine. ANIMAL WELFARE TIPS When handling chicks for day-old vaccination, each operator should carefully pick up the individual chick and support the body weight while vaccinating.
Chicks should never be held solely by the head or neck. After vaccination, each operator should conduct a chick quality assessment. Any chicks that are bleeding post-vaccination should be removed from the box and evaluated. The operator should also check the needle to verify if it needs to be replaced. A quality assurance staff member in the hatchery should also check boxes from each operator regularly to ensure that the vaccination is correct, and no visible blood is present. We recommend using a log sheet to note the quality findings for each hatch day. 10