Advice on using water vaccination for broilers and layers
The most recent version of the Lion Code has sharpened the focus on water vaccination, with the new requirement that salmonella vaccines must be administered by a suitably trained person. Please read the latest article in Farmers Weekly where Veterinary Director Sara Perez and Elanco Animal Health layer business manager Jeremy Mash share their insights on how producers can maximize results when vaccinating flocks via the drinking water. You can read Sara & Jeremy’s article in full by following the below link.
https://www.fwi.co.uk/livestock/poultry/advice-on-using-water-vaccination-for-broilers-and-layers
Dealing with heat stress for the coming summer months
Here are a few tips to deal with heat stress over the coming months:
- Avoid feeding at the hottest times of the day
- Thin at earlier / lighter weights
- Check ventilation and reduce humidity (in high humidity, temperatures feel higher!)
- Make provision for additional storage (e.g. skips) and don’t leave carcasses outside the sheds. It may be difficult to find available skips in times of high demand.
- Flocks of older birds can be walked regularly to get them standing and allow the layer of hot air trapped underneath them to break up. You can also keep the lights on later, to allow more time for the birds to eat and drink in cooler temperatures.
- In young chicks – flush the lines to ensure that the water stays cool for them and use Agricure chick gel on arrival.
- Consider using electrolytes, Vit C, and betaine (e.g. Electrovits, Avikalm, Immunoplus, Energy or Solulyte) to compensate for low feed intake. Particularly 24-48 hours before thinning/depletion.
For further advice or to discuss your circumstances, please contact any of our poultry vets.
Product of the month: Agricure Energy
Are your birds eating enough in the hottest times of the day?
Low feed intake can occur during hot weather, leading to suboptimal growth and a decrease in egg production and egg weight. One of the interventions available to overcome this is the use of Agricure Energy. This product contains a combination of sugars: Dextrose and Sorbitol. Dextrose gives immediate energy as it is quickly metabolised and absorbed, and Sorbitol (a slower metabolised sugar) , provides a reserve of energy for a longer period. This product has therefore been very useful at the time of thinning and prior to depletion in broilers. Agricure Energy also contains Betaine which serves as osmoregulator and can be used to reduce the negative effects of heat stress and coccidiosis. Betaine also improves digestibility and intestinal cell growth, which in turn increases water retention and reduces water in the excreta which can also improve the moisture contents of the litter. Please contact your local PHS vet to discuss the most effective programme for your type of production. Agricure Energy is exclusive to PHS.
Sporting Clubs, VAT And What The Shoots Say
The VAT exemption for shooting: it can be hard to know first hand how this could help your shoot, and how to get started. Sports Mutual is a national sporting club that allows shoots to make use of this perfectly acceptable VAT exemption.
Would you like to take part in an Avian Contact Study?
The University of Bristol are looking for individuals in the UK who have contact with birds to complete their research survey. The online survey to gather data on human contact with birds to understand avian influenza transmission. More information about the Avian Contact Study can be found on their website. https://aviancontact.blogs.bristol.ac.uk and you can complete the survey here https://tinyurl.com/3zv63tuk
Date for your diary
BFREPA are delighted to host the 2024 British Free Range Show at the Telford International Centre on Thursday 28th November 2024. PHS will have a stand in this year’s event.
For tickets and more information please follow the link below
https://www.bfrepa.co.uk/tickets
Advertise with us for free
Do you have a vacancy? Or want to sell equipment? Are you struggling to recruit? In Spring 2022, we launched the new PHS ‘Classifieds’ section – an online space for advertising jobs, equipment, services, and more for the poultry and gamebird industry in the UK. Please contact your local PHS branch for more information or to send us your advert. This service is available for free to PHS clients and for a small fee to non-clients.
Social Media
Social media is a great way for us to keep you up to date with what’s going on at PHS. We also like to share the occasional funny post, so if you’re a scroller then look us up! You can find us on Facebook, Twitter (@Poultryvets), and LinkedIn.
Our new Promo code!