Category Archives: health

Disinfeciting a poultry house before receiving birds

Disinfection and preparation of a poultry house before receiving new flocks

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If a chicken house has been used before and you have time, you could try the following approach we use

1.⁠ ⁠Jik in water – 250ml of Jik in 20l of water, spray the whole house, laying boxes and walls until drenched, then leave to dry. This may need 3 to 5 days depending on the weather
2.⁠ ⁠⁠Kisula (rock salt) – 1kg of salt in 10l of water, especially for the walls, corners, inside, under and behind laying boxes – then leave to dry which may need 2 to 3 days
3.⁠ ⁠⁠Use some of the commercial non-toxic disinfectants on the market

That 3-phase cycle helps us get clean out the houses and slow infection builds

When the birds are in we also disinfect spraying with a non-toxic chemical once every 2 weeks to prevent disease build-up in addition to other litter management techniques

Disinfecting of a poultry house before receiving new birds

Poultry Drugs and Medication

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Can you offer technical advice on the use of those drugs in poultry? A question that came into my Inbox a couple of days ago

The answer below was given by a user “Chicken Doctor Himself” in a Poultry Whatsapp group

Ascalex is a dewormer composed of piperazine citrate. It is always used on evidence of worms or following the periodic routine of 30days for highly exposed chicken or 60 to 90 days in non exposed ones. Follow vets guidance and always do not follow it with a dewormer in the same class for better results attacking a different type of parasite keeping other factors costant .

Amilyte is a powdered in-water supplement with vitamins, amino acids and electrolytes all in one pack. It helps manage any kinds of stress such as treatment, after vaccinations, deworming, debeaking, change of feed etc

Doxin is a mixed antibiotic composed of doxycycline and tyrosin used in treatment of respiratory diseases but should be used on vets prescription. Remember flu is not a disease but a symptom so never rush to treat it.

Glucovit is composed of mild vitamin concentrations and glucose majorly used in early stages of birds growth or when energy levels of the birds are dowm due to different reasons .

Q and A: Newcastle Vaccines – Thermal Stable or Cold Version

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Question: I have been using the “cold” Newcastle vaccine for my birds, however I am thinking of moving to the thermal stable version. Being paranoid knowing that it is important to stay consistent for a flock – does it make sense for me to move at this time to the thermal stable version

Answer by Dr. David Omoding of Quality Chemicals (U) Ltd

Your fears and apprehension are understandable. However, be assured that moving to the thermal stable version would be the right move for the reasons below:

  1. Vaccine failure is a major issue for any “cold” (thermolabile) vaccine from point of manufacture, thru transit, to storage at the pharmacy premises, transportation to your premises etc. Wipe that uncertainty away by using a thermostable vaccine.
  2. The Thermostable strain is called I2 and it offers quicker, stronger, longer lasting immunity to poultry as compared to the cold La Sota, Clone, R2 strains. It might be bit more expensive but surely worth every penny. More can be found from http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/ac802e/ac802e04.htm.

In extensive systems (free range), one application is sufficient for the life of the bird including local birds while In intensive systems we advise one application every 3 months.

Q & A: How can I manage Biosecurity on a Poultry Farm

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Question: I hear practitioners talking about bio-security being a requirement on a poultry farm, why do I need it, how do I do it?

Answer: Biosecurity is a practice designed to prevent the spread of disease onto your farm. It is accomplished by maintaining the facility in such a way that there is minimal traffic of biological organisms (viruses, bacteria, rodents, etc.) across its borders. Biosecurity is the cheapest, most effective means of disease control available. No disease prevention program will work without it.

Best Practices:

Contributions by: Mugisha James Frank of Jade Commodities Ltd, Ssekatawa Charles – Veterinary Consultant with Surebreed Farming Operations, Peter Ssenkungu of NutriNova Limited, Dr. Sewagudde Samuel – Genesis East Africa Ltd and Nakato Winnie Fernandes of Vic and Val Ltd.

Our understanding of biosecurity is mitigation of risk in case of disease occurrence or outbreak….Measures taken so far are;

  1. Controlled access into the farm through fencing. Farm divided into two zones, buffer zone fenced off with barbed wire and clean zone with chain link. General movement is from buffer to clean zone. Poultry coops are within the “clean area”
  2. Restricted access to the farm by visitors. Any visitors who come in have their shoes sprayed with a disinfectants or common bleach.
  3. Professionals in the poultry industry are considered as the highest risk and require special permission to access the farm because they have accessed other farms so are more prone to carry bio-hazards.
  4. Manned access points were we do spray both individuals n vehicles using disinfectants like biosafe or common bleach like JIK
  5. Records kept on a daily basis on the accessibility of the farm.
  6. All staff have protective gear in terms of uniforms, dust masks n boots.
  7. Water filters fitted to each tank in the water distribution network to reduce the incidence of Ecoli
  8. Isolation of coops for flocks from each other
    • Poultry coops spaced from each reduce air-borne contamination. The minimum distance is 20m, with 50m being the international recommendation. The open nature of the poultry coops requires breaking the effect of direct flow of air from one house to another. Beyond 15m, the air flowing from one coop gets diluted with fresher air outside the coop reducing the contamination of air entering the next coop.
    • Each poultry unit is strictly manned by one person.
    • All poultry units have footbaths whose disinfectant is changed on a daily basis.
    • Feeders n drinkers washed on a daily basis, with those of a coop washed separately from others.
    • No sharing of equipment between poultry coops.
    • Each poultry coop has a separate sick bay and isolation ward.
    • Feeds for each coop stored separately so that there is reduced contact during feed distribution
  9. All mortalities recorded and inspected before disposal.
  10. Periodical water and feed tests say every 3 months to monitor their quality.
  11. Housing is provided 4 all poultry attendants, so there is reduced contact with the outside world.
  12. Posters placed all round the farm, reminding staff of the importance of maintaining set biosecurity standards.
  13. After offlaying a flock from a coop, thorough cleaning, of the poultry house is done along with the equipment that has been in use in the coop. This is done multiple times, and a time period of at least 3 weeks to increase the effectiveness of the process.
  14. Vermin control by keeping grass within the farm short and clearing bushes.
  15. Placement of rubbish bins for easy disposal of garbage n vaccine / viral bottles
  16. Periodic burning of garbage

Additional comments and inputs are welcome…

Q and A: Management of Newcastle & Viral Diseases

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Question: A friend’s birds started laying and have reached 50%. She was advised not to vaccinate Newcastle till they peak. Now she has noticed 2 that developed twisted necks. What should she do?

Dr. David Omoding – Quality Chemicals: The long-term health of the birds cannot be compromised for production performance. If vaccination is due, it should be done regardless of production level

Dr. Sewagudde Samuel – Genesis East Africa Ltd: Some birds can react post vaccination, 10- 14 days later, and show signs of disease, but with use of antibiotics, you can help them fend off the associated infections

Background to Answers:
Viral diseases like NewCastle and Gumboro normally destroy or weaken the immune system, just like the Humman Immuno-Deficency Virus (HIV) for humans. This then allows bacteria to take advantage of the reduced of immunity to cause further havoc through secondary intestinal, respiratory and other infections which further reduce productivity and potentially cause mortality.

Therefore treat such situations with antibiotics and vitamins to kill the bacterial and boast the immunity. Common antibiotics trade names include Keprocoeryl, Tetracycline 20% or 25%, Enrosol, etc. The vitamins combos include Amino vital, Aminovit, Cholivit, Vitalyte, etc

Quality Chemicals Uganda Limited also has vaccines of all kinds for poultry and larger animals. The latest on their list is the thermal stable Newcastle vaccine which does not need to be maintained under cold conditions, and soon the injectable Newcastle given prior to laying reducing the need for continous boosting during laying.