Section 4 | Prevention Strategies for Coccidiosis
Industry
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Utilizing Your Veterinarian
Your veterinarian should be a trusted animal health resource and ally for managing your flock. Include them in the development of treatment and vaccination protocols to help ensure that your practices are airtight. They can also guide you on developing standard operating procedures, improving biosecurity measures, and record-keeping and flock monitoring for early identification of a disease outbreak.
Accountability is key! Look for areas of improvement within your own operation. Assess brooding practices, water and feed availability and quality, and cleaning processes. Work hand-in-hand with your hatchery and feed mill. Use your veterinarian as a resource for identifying areas for improvement within your operation.
Your veterinarian is also key in identifying what diseases might be affecting your flock through the performance of a post mortem examination. Post mortems are extremely valuable diagnostic measures, but are best used in conjunction with excellent records and flock histories to give a full snapshot of what is going on in the barn.
Ask the expert:
We sat down with a number of poultry experts from across Canada. A resounding theme that came from these conversations was that producers need to develop a collaborative and joint effort with their veterinarian (the only person that can diagnose disease, discuss management issues and poor performance, and preventative strategies), nutritionist (whose work has a direct impact on gut health), and their local feed mill.
Coccidiosis has a significant impact on the poultry industry. It takes a considerable effort to need to control this disease using a combination of anticoccidial drugs, vaccination, management control, and in some cases feed additives. Monitoring your flock health and production (growth and feed conversion) is a critical way to ensure your management strategy on your farm is working. Work with your veterinarian and other advisors to create a strategy that works well for you and your flock.
Listen as we discuss raising Raised Without Antibiotics flocks from poultry veterinarian Dr. Neil Ambrose: