Poultry shed disinfection – coccidial oocysts – broiler / floor reared birds
It is essential to undertake a thorough and rigorous poultry shed disinfection programme to eliminate viral bacteria and fungal disease-causing microorganisms. Diseased poultry risks economic loss not merely from the death of birds but also due to poor feed conversions and low weights. The financial burden from poultry deaths and poor production far outweighs the cost of implementing an effective poultry shed disinfection.
The other benefit of poultry shed disinfection, if used properly it can also reduce the requirement of more expensive measures of disease control such as antibiotic therapy or vaccination.
Poultry shed disinfection – stage 1
As soon as all of the chickens have been removed from the poultry shed “band spray” all the poultry shed walls to ensure all the litter beetles are killed off to prevent further coccidiosis infection.
Stage 2 – Litter removal and dry clean
- Ensure all feed lines are empty and remove all traces of poultry litter.
- Make sure all organic litter is removed and then dry-clean the poultry shed removing as much dust as possible, an industrial vacuum cleaning system is the most efficient way to get the best results for dry cleaning the poultry shed.
- Make sure there are no more traces of organic matter left by sweeping the floor.
- Remove all portable equipment from the poultry shed such as slats etc. to clean and disinfect separately.
Stage 3 – Poultry shed cleaning
Apply a suitable detergent solution through a pressure washer with a wide-angled nozzle at around 100psi. The poultry shed will need to be thoroughly sprayed down including ceilings and any equipment suspended from it, all inlets and internal walls, fans and fan shafts, floor area, drinker lines and feed lines.
The detergent solution needs to be left for half an hour of contact time before being thoroughly washed down. Use the pressure washer again to rinse off with clean water to leave all treated areas visibly clean and allow them to dry.
The poultry shed then needs to be closed down with care taken to ensure all inlets, doors etc are closed.
Foot dips with CocciSol then need to be placed and used by everyone before entering and exiting the building.
Stage 4 Poultry shed disinfection – 1
CocciSol can then be used via a knapsack sprayer or any form of cold fogging sprayer with a course droplet size. CocciSol must be applied to the entire floor area and on the walls up to 2 metres and all poultry shed equipment.
Coccisol contains a unique blend of active ingredients combined to provide the most effective defence against coccidiosis. Chlorine Dioxide as an individual product can kill oocysts, however, the concentration required makes it somewhat corrosive which is why it has been combined with a QAC.
The QAC attacks the membrane of the cell puncturing it which releases the DNA of the cell. DNA is acidic and this acidity converts the stabilised chlorine dioxide into free chlorine dioxide which is biocidal (stabilised chlorine dioxide is termed biostatic rather than biocidal)
CocciSol is designed to break down and destroy the hard outer membrane of coccidia oocysts. CocciSol has a specific blend of surfactants that help to reduce surface tension and allows the powerful combination of Chlorine Dioxide and Quaternary Ammonium Compounds to actively destroy the living cell.
Leave the CocciSol for 3 hours to work.
Stage 5 – Wash & rinse the spray equipment
Make sure all the spray equipment is thoroughly cleaned with an alkali detergent and rinse well.
Stage 6 – Poultry Shed disinfection – 2
Apply CocciSol to the whole poultry shed above 2 metres with a wide-angle nozzle at around 500 – 1000psi to avoid spray “bounce-back”.
Leave to work for 2 hours and then allow poultry shed to dry out.
The poultry shed will then be ready to re-fit with cleaned and disinfected equipment.
Poultry Shed Biosecurity
Biosecurity is essential to prevent disease and economic loss and a clear and well documented biosecurity programme should be set out and implemented.
Insects and rodents are major disease transmitters so effective insect and rodent control is crucial. In the case of coccidial oocysts the major vector, along with many other bacterial and viral diseases is caused by cross-contamination between poultry sheds on the boots and clothing of the poultry staff. This shows the importance of CocciSol foot dips and clothing changes.
It is essential to have clear signage and monitoring to ensure the foot dips and hand sanitation for biosecurity practices are adhered to, and all staff are fully trained on best practices.
Restricted access needs to be in place for all vehicles and visitors.
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All staff areas including break rooms, corridors, toilets need to be cleaned and disinfected every 2 days.
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