Paracox-5 vet.

A single dose of Paracox-5 should be administered to chickens from one day of age by spray-on-feed, by spray-on-chickens, or at 3 days old via drinking water.

Administration via feed

Sufficient starter feed for the first 24-48h should be laid out on paper or plastic along the floor of the poultry house. Do not administer the vaccine via an automatic feeding machine or place treated feed directly under heating lamps.

Shake the container vigorously for 30 seconds before use, to ensure resuspension of the oocysts. Dilute Paracox-5 in water at the rate of approximately 5000 doses in up to 3 litres of water and spray evenly over the surface of the feed using a coarse spray. Ensure a controlled, even coverage of the total surface area of the feed available to the chicks. Agitate the applicator reservoir regularly throughout application to avoid settling out of oocysts. Ensure that all available feed is treated and that the total number of doses dispensed matches the number of birds in the house.

Once the vaccine has been diluted for use it should be sprayed onto feed and birds should be placed with access to the feed within two hours.

When the treated allocation of feed has been consumed, routine feeding may continue.

Administration via drinking water

Place chicks in the house at day-old and encourage them to become accustomed to the nipple drinker system. When the chicks are 3 days old the lighting system is turned off for about 7 hours. Raise all drinking lines out of reach of the chicks for about two hours before administration of the vaccine. At the same time the lighting is switched on. Drain each drinking line completely.

Dilute the vaccine to a concentration of 1 dose/2 - 4ml in cold tap water. Calculate the average number of birds per drinking line and calculate the volume of diluted vaccine needed per drinking line at a rate 2 - 4 ml per bird.

Fill each line with diluted vaccine and lower to allow the birds access to the nipples. An initial charge (about 1 litre) of an indicator (e.g. milk) can be used to show when the line has been filled to the end and can be closed, without wasting vaccine. As the birds drink, keep each line full via its reservoir until all the diluted vaccine prepared for that line has been added. Normal water supply then follows.

It is recommended that before using the vaccine in a facility for the first time, precautions are taken to check that the procedure ensures the drinking lines have been properly primed with Paracox-5, as shown by the appearance of the indicator from nipples at the end the line, before the chicks are allowed to start drinking.

Administration via spray-on-chickens

For administration by spray-on-chickens, red food colouring agent (Cochineal E120) should be added to the diluted vaccine, or the vaccine should be diluted using the recommended solvent “Solvent for spray-on chickens”. The solvent contains red colouring agent and xanthan gum, both of which are included for better uptake.

a) Solvent for spray-on-chickens

Vaccine should be delivered using a dose volume of between 0.21 and 0.28 ml diluted vaccine per bird using a coarse spray. Determine the delivery capacity of the spray device in terms of the volume delivered per 100 birds. Multiply this volume by 50 to give the total volume of diluted vaccine required for 5,000 doses (or by 10 for 1,000 doses). I.e. for the preparation of 5000 doses diluted vaccine, a total of 0.21 × 5000 = 1050 ml diluted vaccine is needed and is divided over the vaccine, solvent and water as below:

1. 20 ml Paracox-5 vaccine (1 vial)

2. 500 ml Solvent (1 bottle)

3. Fill up to 1050 ml with tap water

Water used for vaccine dilution should be fresh, cool and free of pollution. Take a clean container for vaccine preparation, add the solvent to the container and add the calculated amount of water to the container, and mix solvent and water to a uniform solution. Shake the 5000 dose (or 1000 dose) vial of Paracox-5 vigorously for 30 seconds to ensure re-suspension of the oocysts. Add the entire contents of the vial into the container with solvent and water and mix thoroughly.

Add the diluted vaccine to the applicator reservoir and spray evenly over the birds using a coarse spray. Ensure a controlled, even coverage of the total internal surface area of the box containing the chickens. Leave the birds in the box for at least 30 minutes in a well-lighted area to allow time for the birds to preen.

b) Red food colouring agent (E120).

Vaccine should be delivered using a dose volume of between 0.21 and 0.28 ml diluted vaccine per bird using a coarse spray. Determine the delivery capacity of the spray device in terms of the volume delivered per 100 birds. Multiply this volume by 50 to give the total volume of diluted vaccine required for 5,000 doses (or by 10 for 1,000 doses) and add this volume of water to a suitable container (normally between 1.0 and 1.5 litres for 5,000 doses or 200 and 300 ml for 1,000 doses). Uptake of the vaccine by the birds, and therefore the efficacy of the vaccine, is improved if a red food colouring agent is added to the diluted vaccine before administration by spray. Add sufficient red food colouring agent (cochineal E120) to the water to give a concentration of 0.1% w/v, equivalent to 210-280 µg/bird.

Shake one 5,000 dose (or 1,000 dose) vial of Paracox-5 vigorously for 30 seconds to ensure resuspension of the oocysts. Add the entire contents of the vial to the diluent and mix thoroughly. Add the diluted vaccine to the applicator reservoir and operate the cabinet to spray evenly over the birds using a coarse spray.

Ensure a controlled, even coverage of the total internal surface area of the box containing the chicks. Agitate the applicator reservoir regularly throughout application to avoid settling out of oocysts. Leave the birds in the box for at least 30 minutes in a well-lighted area to allow time for the birds to preen.