Brooder management can make or break success with Coccivac-T immunization

Proper brooding management after vaccination with Coccivac-T is just as important as proper application of the vaccine, says Dr. Charlie Broussard, US poultry technical service director, Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health.

Coccivac-T can effectively prevent coccidiosis in turkeys, but the poults must get off to a good start to achieve optimal success with the vaccine, he says. Toward that end, “the goal is uniform feed and water consumption, minimal litter consumption and minimal disease challenge.”

Start by making sure that air and floor temperatures in the poultry house encourage good poult activity at placement, and don’t hinder feed and water consumption, Broussard recommends. Provide an appropriate number of easily accessible supplemental feeders — feed lids — and drinkers during the initial stages of brooding. “If poults drink well, they’ll eat more and vice versa.”

He advises against reducing or discontinuing supplemental feed until poults are at least 7 days of age; both supplemental feed and water should be continued until poults have acclimated to the standard house feeding and watering equipment.

When supplemental feed is removed, it should be done gradually to discourage litter eating. After vaccination at 1 day of age with Coccivac-T, the poults excrete then ingest coccidia from the vaccine, reinfecting themselves. It’s this cycling of occysts that enables poults to develop immunity against coccidiosis, the veterinarian explains.

If poults eat large amounts of litter, however, they can consume too many coccidial oocysts as well as harmful bacteria such as clostridial organisms. “The result could be an excessive vaccination reaction or enteritis, respectively, and flock uniformity and performance will be less than optimal,” Broussard explains.

Proper litter moisture is another important aspect of brooding management. Some moisture is needed to stimulate the coccidial life cycle, but too much may result in heavy coccidial cycling and bacterial overgrowth. “Again, you can risk too much vaccine reaction or enteritis, even if poults don’t eat excessive amounts of litter,” he says.

Don’t be alarmed, Broussard says, if poults vaccinated with Coccivac-T exhibit transient wet droppings at about 21 to 28 days of age. This may signal the final life cycle of coccidial cycling after vaccination. “Just make sure that the type of litter you use and its depth accommodate the expected moisture, and adjust the ration formulation and ventilation in the house to reduce the amount of moisture that’s excreted.”