VACCINATION SCHEDULE FOR LAYERS
In poultry production, part of the important managerial practices is vaccination. Vaccination in laying chickens is one of the effective ways to boost the immunity of chicken. It is simply the introduction of the disease-causing pathogens or its product into the bird’s system such that they gain resistance over the subsequent attack from the pathogen.
Vaccination is not limited to layers along or only chicken; all livestock can be vaccinated against their peculiar diseases at a certain period of their age.
Vaccination in layers is very compulsory; the health of the layers is the wealth of the farmer. The layers must be healthy always; any deviation in the normal state of health leads to a drop in production and conversely a drop in the productivity of the farm enterprise. Hence, the health of the layers is paramount to the success of the farm.
Prevention is better than cure. Vaccination is a preventive measure of avoiding diseases in a poultry farm. If you do not prevent your layers from diseases, then be ready to treat them when they are down on any diseases. Mind you, prevention is cheaper than treatment; this makes a vaccination for layers cheap to achieve.
Insights on the vaccination in layers
The vaccination schedule for layers can be referenced to that of day-old-chicks. There are some vaccines that are administered at the chick’s stage. One of the beauties of vaccination is that it is an aggregated program; it is a foundation on which the immunity of the layers is built.
Vaccination schedule for layers within the first 4 weeks (brooding stage)
|
Vaccine
|
Duration/age of the bird
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Route of administration
|
|
Marek’s
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Within 24 hours of hatching
|
Subcutaneous
|
|
IBD Gumboro
|
Between 2-4 weeks
|
Through drinking water or spray
|
|
Newcastle i
|
2 weeks
|
Through drinking water
|
|
Infectious bronchitis i
|
0- 4 weeks
|
Through drinking water
|
|
Fowl Pox
|
0-6 weeks
|
Through the wing web
|
|
E. coli
|
0-6 weeks
|
Through drinking water
|
|
Salmonella
|
Day 7
|
Through drinking water
|
Vaccination schedule for layers 4 – 16 weeks (point of cage) vaccine
|
Vaccine
|
Duration/age of the bird
|
Route of administration
|
|
Newcastle ii
|
Within 5-8 weeks
|
Through drinking water
|
|
Infectious bronchitis ii
|
Within 5-8 weeks
|
Through drinking water
|
|
Newcastle iii
|
Within 10-12 weeks
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Through drinking water
|
|
Newcastle iv
|
Within 14-16 weeks
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Through drinking water or intramuscular
|
|
Infectious bronchitis iii
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Within 14-16 weeks
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Through drinking water or intramuscular
|
|
Avian encephalomyelitis
|
Within 6-15 weeks
|
Through drinking water or wing web
|
Precautions on vaccination of layers
There are some precautions you must follow to enhance the efficacy of the vaccine.
- Give anti-stress two days before and after vaccination. This is because vaccines are stress-inducing; hence, you need anti-stress in form of multivitamins to cushion the stress.
- Do not vaccinate sick layers. Vaccination is for prevention of diseases and not the treatment of diseases. Use drugs to treat sick birds and not a vaccine.
- Vaccinate during the cooler part of the day. Vaccination is best done early in the morning.
Vaccination schedule for layers is one of the important documents needed to run a successful poultry farm. lastly, vaccination is a timely operation; you must ensure you administer vaccines at the right period.
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Thanks for the information.
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Ï appreciate this teaching more Blessing sir
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if laying hens are slaughtered at 85 weeks, are the vaccinations given at 16 weeks a hazard to consumers?
No, it is not. Usually, the presence of vaccines in chicken is just for 21 days after administration. After then, the chicken product can be consumed.
Can all the route vaccine be given immediately one had just be administered for example after marek’s can IBD Gumboro be given the next day
Nice teaching i love to learn more sir thanks
Thanks for the lecture
Thanks for this elaborate write-up, this is very very useful to some of us who are intending to venture into layer farming. more grease to your elbows.
Thanks for sharing on treatment of coccidiosis with herb. My question is since am giving the chicks antibiotics, vitamins and other medication as the need may arise can i still administer the herb to them for treatment or prevention of coccidiosis.
Thanks
We thank you for sharing your Poutry experience with us beginners we cherished your concern for poutry farming growth in Nigeria. My own issue is am beginners and non professional in Poultry farming but I have passion for it. I just bought 1000 16 weeks old layers from cage system and i am doing deep liter system of poultry farming. Kindly give me some guidelines which will assist me to manage these birds with the change in system. Secondly, I am experiencing some death in these few days.
Thank you.
If to buy day old layers please what are the drugs form day old to 16week and how to give it
Am a layers farmer based in Kenya.Does this vaccination schedule apply to farmers here in Kenya as it seems simplified than what local vets are recommending to us.
Yes.