Lesson #16 Breeding & Raising Free-Range Chicken Doctor Consults Farmer On Chicken Vaccination

Yesterday, I had the pleasant and funny experience of being consulted by a medical doctor on poultry diseases and how to prevent them.
Yes, it was a classic case of farmer-doctor consultation with the doctor learning from the farmer on how to ensure that his chicken would be healthy.
The doctor, Dr. Erwin Palmones who belongs to a family which had been friends of my family for decades, came to the farm because some of his Manok Pinoy chicks had swelling around the eyes.
It was a case of Infectious Coryza which the Veterinary Manual says is “an acute respiratory disease of chickens caused by the bacterium Avibacterium paragallinarum. Clinical signs include decreased activity, nasal discharge, sneezing, and facial swelling.”
This could be prevented through early vaccination and could be treated with antibiotics.
In my farm, however, I have made it a practice to cull (or eliminate by killing) infected birds because I do not see any benefit from injecting them with antibiotics which is very expensive.
I shared with Dr. Palmones the following vaccination protocol, not only for Coryza, but also for other country diseases:
1. The first vaccine I give NCD B1B1 vaccine to protect chicken from the Newcastle disease. While the manuals say it should be administered on the 5th to the 10th day, I do mine on the 15th day when the chicks are big enough to withstand the stress;
2. The second vaccine is for Fowl Pox which I give on the 25th to 30th day;
3. The third vaccine is Mycoplasma given from 37th tao 40th day to protect them from respiratory diseases;
4. A second dose of the NCD vaccine, Lasota, is given on the 45th da;
5. The Coryza vaccine is optional meaning, if there are cases of Coryza (nagluluha at namamaga ang mata), then immunize on the 50th day pero kung wala naman, don’t do it.
There are areas in the country which are isolated where farmers could raise chicken without vaccination, except for NCD, because the disease locally known as “Atay” or “Aratay” is a seasonal occurence in the country.
It was very easy for Dr. Palmones to understand what I was talking about because he is a doctor, except the part where I said that in my farm, I do not make any attempt to save a sick or weak chick by injecting it with medicines.
It is expensive and besides, they would be of little use kasi kung pangsabong yan, chances are he would be weak at kung pang free range chicken naman, mas mahal pa ang injection kesa halaga ng karne.
So, what I do is I eliminate them, as in I cull them.
Of course, that is an advice that Dr. Palmones could not possibly follow in the case of his patients.

#farmisthebestclassroom!