Day 091 - 17 Feb 95 - Page 23
1 Q. All the birds get that?
2 A. All our broiler birds would get the same vaccination
3 programme.
4
5 Q. Can you just briefly say what the actual vaccine -- has it
6 got a name for those three diseases?
7 A. The name is just the vaccine of that disease.
8
9 Q. OK. Sorry, you said the breeder birds had a different one?
10 A. The breeder birds get a live vaccine the same as the
11 broilers during the rearing period, and before moving to
12 the laying sheds at 18 weeks, they get a killed vaccine
13 which is an injection which contains all three of those
14 components, bronchitis, Newcastle disease and Gumboro
15 disease.
16
17 Q. So every one of the breeders gets the injection?
18 A. That is correct. If I could just finish on the
19 vaccination. There is one other vaccine they receive which
20 is Mareks disease.
21
22 Q. When you say "they"?
23 A. The breeders are vaccinated for Mareks disease by the
24 breeding company before we receive them, and that is an
25 injection of a live vaccine.
26
27 Q. Injection for each bird?
28 A. Each bird.
29
30 Q. How long after receiving vaccines is it safe to consume a
31 bird for humans?
32 A. Vaccine has no influence on the quality of the meat for
33 human consumption. The emphasis is to ensure that any
34 antibiotic treatment, the withdrawal period for that drug,
35 is observed.
36
37 Q. What is the withdrawal period for antibiotics?
38 A. It depends on the antibiotic.
39
40 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I thought you said that there was none within
41 the last five days ---
42 A. That is correct.
43
44 Q. -- of before slaughter?
45 A. That is correct. When we are withdrawing the
46 antibiotic that is used as a growth promoter in the
47 coccidiostat, we do not feed those for five days before
48 slaughter. If we are are using a therapeutic antibiotic
49 which is specifically to treat a disease, then it is very
50 important that we observe the withdrawal period. The
51 majority of those would have an approximately five-day
52 withdrawal period. Some are slightly shorter, some are
53 slightly longer.
54
55 MS. STEEL: Coming back to the causes of leg problems in
56 broilers, that includes stocking density, does it not? If
57 they are highly stocked, then that can be a problem?
58 A. You mean a higher stocking density can exacerbate the
59 problem, is that what you are saying?
60
