Hatchery vaccination is increasing significantly and is becoming a very important practice for the poultry industry for the control of several economically important poultry viral diseases, such as Gumboro disease (IBD).
Immune complex and recombinant Gumboro vaccines can be applied at hatchery level, both in ovo and via the subcutaneous route, with the objective of giving a short window of time before the chicks are placed in potentially contaminated environments.
In addition to early prevention, hatchery vaccination offers other important advantages such as the reliability of a full dose application, hygiene conditions, fewer vaccination errors, the fact that it is not dependent on water quality and that there is no need to calculate the optimal vaccination day.
All these advantages should help to promote flock health, performance and a higher efficiency but principally when proper monitoring and control of all vaccine-related operations are implemented.
To support poultry companies in ensuring this, HIPRA has developed a series of services included under the new GLOBAL HATCHERY HEALTH PROGRAMME (GHHP) that will bring innovation and real-time control of the HEALTH of the hatchery.
GHHP consists of a range of distinctive services divided into three main blocks:
1. Optimization of vaccination procedures
GHHP offers services focused on guaranteeing correct vaccination procedures for all administration routes (in ovo or subcutaneous in the case of Gumboro), including innovative devices and the Smart Vaccination concept for vaccine verification through traceability.
Ensuring correct vaccination to reduce procedure failures and, consequently, to achieve better safety and efficacy of vaccination.
2. DOC quality control
Chick quality and vaccination quality are intrinsically linked, and one cannot be successful without the other. For this reason, GHHP is aimed at guaranteeing that the chicks leave the hatchery in the best condition thanks to DOC quality assessment through numerical and objective data:
- Physical evaluation: based on the PAS REFORM “Pasgar Score” test, a formula that allows chick quality to be assessed with a numerical value.
- Microbiological evaluation: the evaluation of the microbiological quality that works like a barometer of the processes associated with the breeders and the biosecurity of the hatchery.
This approach provides the possibility of anticipating challenges at field level.
3. KPI analysis
GHHP includes data science analysis (powered by HIPRASTATS®) to assess the key performance indicators at the hatchery level and to transform data into useful information to improve the decision-making process.
This service allows an in-depth analysis of the main variable factors that can affect final hatchability and 1st week mortality.
Through all these evaluations, critical points can be detected more easily, and this can help the hatchery team take better decisions. So, what benefits does this programme bring?
- Unique real-time vaccination control through traceability.
- Anticipation of field challenges.
- Detection of areas of improvement through the hatchery’s data.
- Savings in time and money by making the most of the vaccination process.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Abdul-Cader, M. S. et al. (2018). Hatchery Vaccination Against Poultry Viral Diseases: Potential Mechanisms and Limitations. Viral Immunology, 31(1), 23–33.
- Pas Reform – Hatchery Talks® Pasgar Score.