Best practice recommendations regarding entrance control

/in , , , , /by

 

Every person entering the farm, including the farmer and his/her staff, should take precautionary measures, as they can carry pathogens onto the farm. All unnecessary visitors should be kept out of the stables and away from the animals. Visitors should adhere to the following measures: 

  1. Park your vehicle as far as possible from the animal housing facilities, on the dedicated parking area. When there is no parking area, leave your vehicle on the public road. 
  2. Never enter the animal housing facilities without informing the farmer/responsible person. 
  3. Before entering the animal facilities:
    • Sign the visitors’ register.  
    • Remove your footwear and overclothing.  
    • Wash and disinfect your hands and/or wear disposable gloves.  
    • Proceed to the clean zone of the hygiene lock (the side where the animals are present). Showering may be obligatory.  
    • Put on farm-specific and clean coveralls/clothing and footwear. Whenever a farm does not have specific clothing or footwear, put on a disposable coverall and overshoes.  
  1. While being in the animal housing facilities, do not touch animals unless necessary.
  2. Ideally, between different houses or animal groups, you should change clothing and footwear andwash and disinfect your hands.
  3. At the end of your farm visit: 
    • Remove farm-specific footwear and clean it before placing it back.  
    • Remove farm-specific clothing and put it into a laundry bin. 
    • Enter the dirty part of the hygiene lock (you may have to shower first).  
    • Wash and disinfect your hands.  
    • Put your own clothes and shoes back on.  

Whenever these measures are followed thoroughly, no additional animal-free contact period is required. However, this can still be imposed by the farmer/government. 

WEBINAR: How can the management of clinical and subclinical mastitis be supported by sensor systems?

/in , , , , , , /by

An exciting line-up of speakers hosted online by IDF (https://www.fil-idf.org/) on 14th October 2020:

  • Detection of severe clinical mastitis DR ILKA KLAAS, DELAVAL INTERNATIONAL AB, DENMARK
  • Detection of mild/moderate mastitis DR GUNNAR DALEN, TINE DAIRIES SA, NORWAY
  • Detection to support dry off decisions PROF. DAVID KELTON, UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH, CANADA & DR ALFONSO
    ZECCONI, UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO, ITALY
  • Detection of herd level mastitis problems DR HONIG HEN, VETERINARY SERVICE, MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE,
    ISRAEL
  • Conclusions: Thinking outside the box: Novel ways to utilize sensor data to improve mastitis management PROF. HENK HOGEVEEN, WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY, NETHERLANDS
  • Questions and Answers on Zoom chat

Watch the webinar here:

 

Download the presentation here

Carcass disposal using an exchangeable storage system

/in , , /by

Disease Prevention > Biosecurity > Resource > Carcass disposal

 

Carcass disposal is an important aspect of external biosecurity. A way to achieve strong external biosecurity is by using the ‘clean-dirty area’ principle (clean area: farm buildings and zone in between; dirty area ‘outside’). Another division into zones consists of a green zone (low risk: the farm buildings), an orange zone (medium risk: the area directly around the farm buildings) and a red zone (high risk: public road, land which is not under own management).

The correct procedure for carcass disposal should avoid contaminating the clean area of farm buildings. For example, the carcass collection service must remain in the red zone and not enter the farm site. This can be achieved by placing the collection point for the carcass container next to the public road. Storing carcasses before collection at a point near the farm buildings means the red zone doesn’t have to be entered when a cadaver has to be stored. Furthermore, the collection frequency can be reduced by storing carcasses refrigerated.

By creating a double storage, the full container can be exchanged with the empty container. In this system, the storage next to the farm buildings has a cooling system; the storage next to the public roads has not. The day the carcass collection service arrives, the full (cooled) container is exchanged with the empty container next to the public road.

A strict separation between the clean and dirty road can be maintained, considerably reducing the risk pathogens being introduced. The refrigerated storage is also hygienic and the reduced odor emissions from cadavers is public-friendly.

Biosecurity on a farrow-to-finish farm

/in , , /by

Disease Prevention > Biosecurity > Resource > Biosecurity on a Farrow-to-Finish farm

Prevention is better than cure, with this aim, Bart Debaerdemaecker had an external coach assessing his farms’ biosecurity and identified areas for improvement. Reducing the risk of diseases entering the farm (external biosecurity) and their spread within the farm (internal biosecurity) are two major factors that make antibiotic usage sometimes seem inevitable. However, targeted actions have the potential to reduce the need for antibiotics and thus reduce the risk of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In the video and following text, Bart explains how he improved biosecurity on his farm with simple, low-cost measures.

To prevent the spread of pathogens between different age groups, he uses colour-coded material for each age group. Tools, clothing and footwear are compartment-specific and footwear and hands are frequently disinfected. In addition, he makes use of walking lines to avoid the spread of disease from the older animals to the younger ones. Bart always starts his work in the farrowing pens, proceeds to the weaned piglets, and then ends up in the finisher pig house. The newly purchased gilts, sick bay and cadaver storage are visited last.

A second measure is the use of a gate for a physical separation between the ‘clean’ and ‘dirty’ area. To get access to the farm, visitors need to ring the bell at the entrance gate and register. Furthermore, specific footwear to enter the ‘dirty’ area of the farm is provided at the entrance, and always remains outside the gate.

Another ingenious measure is the waiting zone for the pigs between the stable corridor and the loading bay, created with a sliding door from a horse stable. When the outside light is on, the transporter knows the animals are in the waiting zone and ready to load. This way the driver never enters the clean area.

Preventing streptococcal infections 

/in , , , /by

Disease Prevention > Biosecurity > Resource > Preventing Streptococcal infections

There are several management measures that can be taken towards preventing Streptococcal infections. Biosecurity rules designed to prevent the introduction of germs like Streptococcus suis onto the farm must be respected. Important factors are: separating clean and dirty areas, biosecurity measures for persons entering the barn (washing hands, company clothing and boots), restricting the purchase of animals, and proper pest control.

Measures relating to spread of germs within the farm must also be observed. Piglet relocation must be limited and done via a pre-established protocol. If foster sows are used, these should be brought to the piglets (and not vice-versa). Working lines should be respected, from young to old (farrowing pen -> piglet battery -> fattening pigs). Between stables, it is important to wash hands and change overalls and boots. It is advisable to have different equipment per animal group, and to clean and disinfect this material regularly.

Around the time of farrowing, sows’ manure must be removed. Wound prevention is important: if castration is necessary, it must be done hygienically; and default teeth removal should be avoided. The floor in the farrowing pen should not be rough, to avoid injury.

Piglets should be weaned at minimum 25 days old; animals of the same litters should be kept together and piglets should be separated by age.

After weaning, access to fresh feed and drinking water and enough light must be ensured. The piglet house must be dry and sufficiently warm (temperature must be 5°C warmer than in the farrowing pen). Air flow in the battery should be checked prevent draught at the level of the lying areas.

Finally, cleaning and disinfection of the wards must follow a fixed protocol: dry cleaning, soaking, wet cleaning, drying, disinfection.

Slower growing broiler crosses for reduced antibiotic use

/in , , /by

 

Disease Prevention > Breeding for Resilience > Resource > Slower growing broiler crosses

In Europe, the demand for high-quality poultry meat is rising. This tendency goes hand in hand with understanding and implementation of animal welfare and activation of organic farming. There are points in the organic farming format which conventional farmers can use to reduce the frequency of diseases and antibiotic usage. One of these points is to use slower growing broiler crosses and another is lower stocking densities.

The classic conventional broiler crosses are fast growing and kept in high densities so they are more susceptible to heath disorders including bacterial and protozoa diseases which are usually treated with antibiotics.

Today there are a lot of offers in Europe for various farming systems. The slow growing broiler crosses are more suitable for organic farming, but there are also offers for differentiated growing broiler crosses which are more robust and less sensitive to heath disorders. These can be used in conventional farms and can be realized from day 48. There are also possibilities to choose specific dwarf breeds for parent stock to reduce feed costs but at the same time maintain high productivity levels.

Stocking density also influences animal health and spread of disease. Reductions in bird count or bird live weight mass per m2 play an important role in both productivity (better weight gain) and disease incidence.

In conclusion, animal welfare, vaccination programs and biosecurity programs will play an important role in overall flock health level, but in combination with differentiated and slower growing broiler crosses, it is more feasible to keep broilers healthy, reduce antibiotic usage and offer high quality poultry meet to consumers.

 

The 7 important and individual steps in the optimal cleaning and disinfection protocol for livestock barns 

/in , , , , /by

 

Cleaning and disinfection (C&D) of livestock barns between production cycles is crucial in achieving a good farm biosecurity. Optimal C&D takes 7 individual steps that need to be executed chronologically!

  1. Start with dry cleaning the barn to remove coarse manure, emptying feeders and waterlines, and removing finer dirt . The less organic material remains, the more efficient the C&D will be, saving product, water and time.
  2. In step 2 the barn is soaked first only with water and next with water and detergent for better dissolving of fats and dirt. Foam is to be preferred for its longer contact time, better visibility and effectiveness. Foam the barn from floor to ceiling upwards for longer contact time. Leave enough time for the foam to work on the dirt before the next step of rinsing with a high pressure washer between 50 and 120 bar.
  3. Rinse the barn from ceiling to floor downwards to prevent recontamination of the cleaned upper surfaces.
  4. Next, very important is step 4: drying before disinfection. Make sure to clear feeders and drinking cups from rinsing water and dry the floor. It is crucial to prevent dissolution of the disinfection product to ensure its efficacy!
  5. Disinfection in step 5 can be done in various ways: wet, thermal disinfection, foam, fumigation or combinations. Also all loose material, central corridors, technical and office rooms, clothing and footwear need C&D.
  6. Step 6 is drying of the disinfection solution. Rinse the animal feeders and drinkers to prevent the incoming animals to ingest any disinfection product.
  7. The last step, whilst very important is often overlooked: testing the efficacy of your C&D protocol which should not be limited to visual inspection but ideally involves taking bacteriological swabs to assess the pathogen load in the barn.

On farm hatching of broiler chicks to improve broiler welfare, health and performance and lower the need for antibiotics in broiler production. 

/in , , , /by

Conventional broiler chicks that are transported to the broiler farm shortly after birth can suffer from the stress of handling in the hatchery, feed and water deprivation, and during the transport. This stress is detrimental for the birds’ immunological and physiological development resulting in less resilient birds.

On-farm hatching is an innovative concept preventing the burden of this stress because eggs which have been incubated for 18 days are being hatched directly on the broiler farm. The hatched chicks have instant access to water and feed, allowing for better development of their intestines and organs. This concept results in healthier and more robust animals that are more resilient to disease pressure. The concept is available through different suppliers offering specific systems (Nestborn®, One2Born® and X-treck (Vencomatic)), varying in labour requirements, ease of use and investment.

Depending on the farm-specific availability of labour, capital and desired production scheme different solutions can be interesting. On-farm hatching needs to fit in the production schedule since you need extra time to prepare your shed for the next cycle which can create a peak in labour requirements. Additionally, some extra costs for heating the shed three days earlier will be incurred. Still, savings on medicine use are possible as well as improvements to the technical performance of the birds which may help to offset additional costs. Field trials in Flanders on two farms transitioning from conventionally hatched broilers to the NestBorn concept have shown a reduction in their antibiotic usage for the NestBorn chicks compared to conventional broiler chicks. Antibiotic use measured as mg active substance per stocked chicken decreased by 62.76% on average and on 18 out of 27 production cycles no antibiotics were used in the NestBorn system.

Breeding for resilience in poultry: dual purpose chickens  

/in , /by

Resilience is the capacity of an animal to be minimally affected by external or internal negative agents or to rapidly recover from it. By choosing a more resilient breed of poultry, farmers can also reduce antimicrobial usage, obtaining both healthy and easier-to-manage flocks.

Improvement of resilience can be accomplished by different strategies. One strategy is to increase resilience by genetic selection in breeding programs. The advantage of genetic selection, in contrast to management improvements, is that it can be a longer-lasting solution. Furthermore, it can be done through adequate resilience-improving breeding programs. For example, dual-purpose breeds or local (traditional) breeds have shown to be more resilient than more conventional breeds.

Dual-purpose chickens can be used for the production of eggs and the cockerels for meat production, and like local (traditional) breeds they may be less susceptible to clinical disease and may recover from illness faster. On the production side, it is true that dual-purpose chickens tend to lay fewer eggs per year than the highly-selected breeds. However, there seems to be an increasing number of initiatives, including organic production, which allow farmers to market these differentiated quality products and provide them with added value.

In conclusion, choosing the right breed for resilience is a matter of good research and the choice should be fit for the particular production system. Nevertheless, it must be also considered that indicators for general resilience for poultry have not yet been defined clearly by researchers.

Buying a sheep without health hazards

/in , , /by

Firstly, one should avoid buying small batches of animals from different origins. Quarantine is always recommended when introducing new animals. It may not prevent all risks, but it can prevent the introduction of diseases such as scabies or footrot.

Indeed, scabies carriers can appear perfectly healthy on arrival if they are still in the incubation phase. To counteract this risk, some administer a suitable antiparasitic as soon as the animal arrives. The risk of introducing footrot on the farm makes it necessary to check the feet as soon as the animals arrive in order to avoid buying affected or doubtful animals.

Even if it is impossible to manage all risks, especially those related to abortive diseases such as Border Disease, Visna-Maedi or Johne’s disease, it is important to know the health status of the seller’s herd.

The mixture of animals from several origins in a new environment can also favour the accelerated emergence of diseases such as ecthyma, scabs on the feet, caseous abscesses (CLA), keratitis. These episodes are more painful when pregnant ewes are included due to the increased risk of abortions.

When buying ewe lambs or rams, it is recommended to buy animals with health guarantees and to give preference to animals qualified by the selection centres.