Hello Hive

It is all about our poultry birds today and a vaccination day for them. Birds are often vaccinated at intervals, just like humans get vaccinated at the early stage of their lives. Birds get vaccinations for various reasons, which can be from

• The intention to prevent diseases in birds. While eating, they get exposed to infection, picking up dirt, and these infections are one of the major causes of poultry fatality.

• Another reason for vaccination is so that we can get them to take the appropriate vitamins and minerals necessary for proper growth. Here is a sample of the multivitamin we often administer to our birds for proper growth.

The vaccines are either injected into them, or in other cases we add the vitamins into their drinking water. Vaccines are administered to birds at various stages of their lives.

On the first day the eggs hatch to release these chicks, they are often vaccinated on the spot. This is often done by poultry sellers who have the hatching machines. Their major duty is to gather bird eggs, get them hatched, and get them vaccinated for people like us to come buy and rear.

The next vaccination is done when our birds are 2-4 weeks old.

Then another vaccination at 5-6weeks depending on how early we did the first vaccine.

The next vaccination is at 8-10, also depending on how early or late we did the second vaccine.

A later vaccine can equally be administered when the birds get to 12 weeks this is to prevent a fowlpox outbreak in the birds.

Aside from this strict timing for bird vaccination, one can also give them emergency drugs and multivitamins if we notice any changes in overall health and behavior.

Our birds were about 8 weeks old last week and about time to administer the third vaccination doses. The vaccine has been ordered, and I had to check the birds to be sure that they won't be needing another drug in order for us to order the needed package at once.

They have been feeding well and growing healthy, and even though this is our first time raising poultry birds by ourselves, they have survived and are doing well because of the advancement in technology, especially as regards poultry health. The lots of studies out on this technology are highly useful, and almost anyone can grow some herbs at home if they follow this guideline.