Basics of drug administration in poultry rearing.

Basics of drug administration in poultry rearing.

January 13, 2020

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Many farmers misuse drugs not knowing that they are posing danger to themselves and other people. Strange diseases keep coming up and you wonder why.

Follow this basics and you will see a change in your poultry venture.
1. Do not administer drugs without a professional prescription. Get a prescription from your vet.

2.) Beware of drug interactions- never carelessly combine drugs except if stated so by the manufacturers. Some drugs cause harmful interactions if combined. That’s the reason you should work with your vet.

3.) Make it a habit to read through drug leaflets, literature or instructions before administration. Many farmers don’t do this and they end up overdosing or underdosing their animals. The leaflet will always indicate dosage rate and withdrawal period(period during treatment when you should not consume eggs or meat).

4.) Never follow up immediately with drugs after vaccine administration. Seek clearance. As a rule never administer antibiotics two days before or two days after vaccination. Antibiotics will deactivate the vaccines.

5.) Do not prolong Vitamins administration for more than 7-10 days consecutively.Vitamins are not food for the chicken avoid prolonged usage. I bet you know that too much of something is poisonous. It is even costly to buy the vitamins throughout.

6.) Be wary of ‘wonder drug’- a single drug that does everything.There is no single drug that can cure all diseases. Those are purely hogwash and marketing gimmicks. Be wary of snake oil merchants and charlatans who are hell-bent to milk you dry. With good management, bio-security and working with a vet most diseases should be put at bay.

7.) Beware of under dosing – this may lead to drug resistance development. If you are not sure work with a vet. Most farmers would rather not spend money on vet thinking that they are being fleeced of their hard earned money. In the end they use all varieties of drugs to no avail.

8.) Insist on completing the course of any drug. Don’t stop medicating your birds just becsuse they started showing signs of recovery. If the drug package indicates 5 days treatment then do 5 days. If 3 days then do 3 days.Never ever interrupt the treatment period.

9.) Ensure you understand the mode of administration of any drug. If it’s indicated that you should administer a drug through drinking water please do so. If it’s through spraying or dusting do so. You will save yourself from losses by following instructions.

10.) Continuous therapy is the administration of drugs in drinking water all through the day without interruption. During treatment period give only medicated water all along.

11). Don’t continue to abuse a particular drug because of previous testimony. You might continue using drug A or drug B just because it worked the first time not knowing that you are exposing your birds to drug resistance.

12). It is safest to decide on a specific drug type after culture and antibiotics sensitivity in the laboratory. Avoid guesswork.If you care for your health your should care for your animals too.

13). Never forget, its cheaper to prevent than to treat. Biosecurity remains the best measure for disease control.

By Vet Okuta Ngura – 0729 568151
#FOREVERPOULTRY