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| | The likelihood of disease occurring increases with the
number of disease causing organisms present on the farm. For some diseases
specific medication may be supplied to control disease e.g. to control
coccidiosis, hexamitiasis and trichomoniasis.
The use of cleaning and
disinfecting reduces the overall number of organisms and so reduces the
incidence of disease outbreaks.
The
following programme gives general advice on cleaning and disinfecting of rearing
accommodation for game birds. Specific advice may however be needed to adapt the
programme for use on individual farms.
Reducing
Contamination in the Environment:
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Clean and disinfect all equipment at the beginning of the
season.
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Hut
walls floors, ceilings etc should be cleaned and should then be disinfected with a
DEFRA approved disinfectant.
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Treat
pen floors with ‘Cloversan’
before bedding is put in.
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During
the rearing period regularly clean and disinfect surfaces, feeders and drinkers.
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Treat pen floors weekly (or more often if required) with Cloversan
or Enviromist and also treat the well-worn areas in the pens
regularly with one of these products.
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Do not tip dirty water from drinkers onto
the pen floor as this causes further contamination.
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If possible place feeders
and drinkers onto flagged areas for ease of cleaning or onto a raised wire mesh
to prevent waste material being paddled by the birds.
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Reducing
Contamination via the Water Supply:
Even if birds are on mains water bacteria can multiply in
the lines between the header tank and the drinkers. This results in the birds
receiving a bacterial soup instead of clean water with potentially harmful
effects.
In summer, water in the header tank will heat up with the
warmest water at the surface. New water entering the tank is likely to be cooler
and this will fall to the bottom of the tank taking with it bacteria that have
grown in the warmer water. These bacteria will further multiply in the water
lines and can result in birds receiving water in the drinkers with very high
bacterial counts.
The
whole water system should be cleaned before use using ‘Vetresan’ at a dilution of 1:1000 to clear the lines of algae
and other contaminants. This can be left in the lines for as long as possible
before the whole system is drained and refilled with clean water. Vetresan
should not be given to birds at this dilution for them to drink but at
1:3000 it is well tolerated by the birds.
As
bacteria rapidly multiply in warm tank water the water may be treated with
chlorine tablets (Vetrechlor) or an
oxidising agent such as Halamid to
reduce the bacterial contamination. Both are DEFRA approved disinfectants and
should be use as per the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Suitable
alternative products may also be available from your Veterinary Surgeon.
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