Introduction

Most farmers wonder: is it better to vaccinate birds against diseases or maintain strict biosecurity measures and leave it that way. At least, this way one would save on expenses by choosing one and maximize profit instead of spending so much on both.

In fact, some farmers go as far as saying: "why should the birds be vaccinated,  if they can still succumb to the same disease?" So, it is very important to look at this with a critical eye for better understanding on how these topics affect our farming experience.

What is Bio-security?

This is a set of preventive measures designed to reduce the risk of transmission of infectious diseases. https://goo.gl/DgcHEa (Further read)

Bio-security measures are aimed at controlling the movement of biological organisms in your poultry. These measures restrict the movement of pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. This will make sure that the diseases do not spread fast across your farm in the event that there is an outbreak.

The need for bio-security in a farm cannot be overstretched because you can never tell when and how there will be an outbreak, these measures also ensures that the probability of an outbreak remains at the lowest if done properly.

What about vaccination, how does it integrate with this?

Vaccine plays an important role in preventing a given disease from infecting the vaccinated birds, so even if the disease gets past other measures of bio-security, the birds will be prepared. In other words, given vaccines help the birds to produce antibodies that fight against invading pathogens. This is the best way to be sure that your birds are safe from a given disease. It is safe to say that vaccination is a part of bio-security, but knowing that it is such a broad and important topic, it is better to treat it as an entity on its own.

https://goo.gl/fqHd3R (Further read)

Vaccination is a good practice, but it is incomplete without proper bio-security measures, we can arguably say that no farmer can get the best protection by adopting only one of these practices.

Keeping it in mind that "it is not enough to do your best; you must know what to do, and then do your best" here are some tips on bio-security and vaccination.

8 tips on bio-security in poultry farms

1. Every poultry farm should have a foot bath prepared at major entries which consist of disinfecting solutions to kill germs on the feet of staff and visitors before entering the farm and pen.
2. All staff and visitors should use hand sanitizer before entering the farm.
3. All poultry farm staff should ensure to take a bath before going into the pen and after exiting. This will help reduce the chance of infecting the birds.
4. Every poultry farm should have clean clothes reserved for the pen only. Outside clothing should not be allowed in the pen.
5. The entry point of the farm should have tire dip for vehicles coming into the farm, and vehicle spray to disinfect them
6. All equipment should be washed and disinfected after every use, also equipment and materials coming from outside the farm should be disinfected
7. Infected chickens should be separated, treated and watched to be entirely sure diseases have been completely cured
8. The carcass of infected birds should be buried or incinerated. Be sure to follow the laws in your country

Please follow this link to read more about vaccination. https://goo.gl/fqHd3R

We wish you the best of poultry farming experience.