How to Vaccinate a Chicken

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By eHow Contributing Writer

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Vaccines help reduce and prevent disease. Some diseases attack many kinds of poultry, others are more breed specific. Maintaining good sanitation facilities and procedures reduces the chance of poultry contracting a viral infection. Disease causes lost income and life, therefore equip yourself with knowledge to keep chickens healthy.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Vaccine
Applicator

Personnel and Sanitary Requirements

Step 1

Wear outer footwear and garments that clean and disinfect easily when vaccinating for New Castle, Chicken Pox and Laryngotracheitis.
Step 2

Clean and disinfect all equipment used to vaccinate poultry.
Step 3

Determine the type of disease and means to vaccinate against it.

Vaccinate for Marek's Disease

Step 1

Give by injection the day the chickens hatch.
Step 2

Place vaccine under the skin behind the neck.
Step 3

Observe the chickens during a 2 to 12 week period.

Vaccinate for Infectious Bronchitis

Step 1

Select a live-virus bronchitis vaccine suitable for your area.
Step 2

Combine with the Newcastle vaccine and give 10-35 days of age.
Step 3

Inject killed-virus vaccines by injecting in the muscle or under the skin between 14 to 18 weeks of age.

Vaccinate for Laryngotracheitis

Step 1

Check with your state's agriculture department for approval to use this vaccine.
Step 2

Vaccinate only if a problem exists.
Step 3

Provide eye or nose drops at 4 weeks or older.

Vaccinate for Fowl Pox

Step 1

Use the wing web stick method only when a problem exists.
Step 2

Dip the slotted needles on the applicator into the vaccine and push through the chicken's wing web.
Step 3

Employ at 1 day of age for chicks, 10 to 12 weeks for young chickens.
Step 4

Follow-up when the chicks reach 8 weeks old.

Vaccinate for Fowl Cholera

Step 1

Administer after a confirmed problem.
Step 2

Place live attenuated oral vaccine in the drinking water.
Step 3

Give two injections of an oil-emulsion bacterins 4 weeks apart.

Vaccinate for Newcastle Disease

Step 1

Choose to disperse live-virus vaccine in drinking water, nose or eye drops. Administer to one-day-old chicks.
Step 2

Give killed-virus vaccine by injecting either under the skin or in the muscle to young chickens before egg production.
Step 3

Apply a combined Newcastle-Infectious Bronchitis vaccine to chickens 10 to 35 days old. Dispense through drinking water or drops.