About the protected chick program

Managing chick heath in the first 4-6 weeks, whether it is to grow out a robust broiler, or provide the fundamental health for a pullet to become a high-performance laying hen, is only one concern of the modern chicken farmer. The success thereof is however one of the areas affected easiest by on-farm management.

Optimal health is dependant on a well protected chick with a strong immune system, that is able to withstand any level of disease challenge. This requires a good quality chick and a high-quality vaccination program.

On-farm vaccination carries the risk of failure due to various factors, some within the control of the farmer and some outside of the farmer’s control. Vaccines are live organisms, and their effectiveness can be compromised by bad cold chain management, incorrect dosing, water quality, housing environment, proper thirsting techniques and incorrect preparation.

Technology has overcome this hurdle through the creation of vaccines that can be administered by your hatchery partner at day old, removing the need for most on-farm vaccine administrations.

MSD Animal Health, in partnership with many hatcheries throughout the African continent, has created the Protected Chick program, assisting hatcheries to produce a high quality, well vaccinated chick, that can be placed at day old, with minimal if any vaccination intervention required in the first 4-6 weeks, depending on the disease challenge.

MSD Animal Health provides hatcheries with high quality vaccination equipment that ensures optimal vaccination accuracy, good hygiene and ensures the welfare of the chick is not compromised during vaccination. Vaccination crews are trained, certified, and audited to give the farmer peace of mind that every chick purchased from the hatchery can effectively withstand the challenge of various diseases.

Vaccination programs can be tailored with your veterinarian to protect against the combination of diseases that most influence your flock’s health. Disease protection includes:

• Newcastle disease, with effective protection against Genotype 7
• Gumboro disease, with protection against both very virulent (VVIBD) and variant challenges
• Marek’s disease, which can be customised to include Rispens for pullet producers
• Infectious Bronchitis, providing a comprehensive Protectotype protection by including both Massachusetts and variant strains
• ILT for pullet producers
• And coccidiosis for ground reared layers, breeders and free-range broilers.

Take the worry out of managing health in early production. Insist on a Protected Chick from your hatchery partner and have the peace of mind that comes with a Protected Chick.

About Msd animal health and the protected chick program