Krueger, W. F.

Lewis, R. W.

Quisenberry, J. H.

Ryan, C. B.

Williams, J. C.

Woods, J. J.

Texas A&amp;M Repository

MP·479 JANUARY 1961 Effect of Early Vaccination For Fowl Pox on the Performance of Broilers THE AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE OF TEXAS TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION R. D. LEWIS, DIRECTOR. COLLEGE STATION . TEXAS Summary Vaccination of broilers at 2, 4 and 6 weeks of age for fowl pox using the wing-stab method had a small depressing effect on growth rate. Vaccination at 2 weeks of age depressed the 4-week-growth rate approximately 4.6 percent compared with the controls. Vaccination at 4 weeks decreased the 6-week-growth rate 3.2 percent compared with nonvaccinated birds, and vaccination at 6 weeks decreased body weight 2.8 percent compared with the nonvaccinated birds. By 9 weeks of age, the birds vaccinated at 2 and 4 weeks had almost recovered from the systemic effects of vaccination as measured by body weight. Market grade and feather score in the nonvaccinated birds were significantly better than the market grade and feather scores in the vaccinated lots. No differences in feed efficiency and livability were noted. Likewisez no relationship could be established betwee.n debeaking and vaccination for fowl pox. Debeaking at 1 day of age or at 2 weeks of age did not depress performance in broilers. Although there may be slight effects from, early fowl pox vaccination of broilers, losses from a natural outbreak of fowl pox would probably more than offset any losses incurred as a result of vaccination. Under good management practices, the amount of depression from vaccination should be small and probably would approach significance only statistically. Contents Summary ........ . ... . . . .. .... . ... 2 Introduction ........................... 3 Literature Review .................. .. . 3 Materials and Methods . . .............. 4 Results and Discussion . . . . . . . ......... 5 Bibliography. . ................... . .... 7 of Early accination Fowl Pox the The vaccination materials required for fowl pox vacci-nation. Vial on the left contains live fowl pox virus which is added to the diluent in the larger bottle just prior to use. The applicator contains two grooved needles. In vaccinating young chicks one needle is often removed. Birds should be free of coccidiosis and respiratory diseases before vaccinat-ing for fowl pox . • a"'~rmance of Broilers carL''''''''-, J. J. Woods, C. B. Ryall, J. C. Williams, R. W. Lewis alld J. H. Quisenberry * REGIONS outbreaks of fowl pox in than 8 weeks old have necessitated ......... ,,'" to obtain protective immunity. for fowl pox has been studied exten-few reports are available on the in performance, if any, from routine vaccination of com-chicks at different ages during period. The economic importance vaccination is obvious and needs no professor, Department of Poultry Science; professor, Substation 18, Prairie View, Texas ; professor, Department of Poultry Science; and superintendent, Substation 18; professor, 18; and professor and head, Department of College Station, Texas. Literature Review Beaudette (1949) and Biester and Schwarte (1952) have reviewed most of the literature on the effects of early vaccination for fowl pox. In general, vaccination for fowl pox on I-day-old chickens has been reported to depress growth and increase mortality, and has often failed to give lasting immunity. Severe systemic reactions have been observed in chicks vaccinated at differ-ent ages up to 1 month and older. Many of the vaccines used were not attenuated vaccines. Systemic reaction followed fowl pox vacci-nation at the ages of 13, 28, 31 and 42 days, according to Lubbehusen and Beach (1937). Systemic reaction was slower and progressively less severe as the vaccination age increased. 3 TABLE 1. EXPERIMENTAL PATTERN Pen Number Treatment number birds Age when Age when debeaked vaccinated 100 No None 100 Day old None 2 100 No 6 weeks 100 Day old 6 weeks 3 100 No 4 weeks 100 Day old 4 weeks 4 100 No 2 weeks 100 2 weeks 2 weeks 5 100 No 2 weeks 100 Day old 2 weeks Systemic reaction in the older groups was evi-denced more by retardation of growth than by excessive mortality when the chicks were exposed to unfavorable conditions, such as coccidiosis. In a recent study by Seeger and Price (1956) chicks were vaccinated at 1, 5, 10 and 15 days of age with fowl pox vaccine. Neither age at vaccination nor dilution of the vaccine had any significant effect on broiler performance. Like-wi: e, no significant adverse effects resulted from mUltiple vaccination using Newcastle or infectious bronchitis in conjunction with fowl pox. Edgar and Bond (1957) reported that a commercial fowl pox vaccine used on chicks from 1 to 8 weeks old caused a slight, but not signifi-cant, depression of growth. Less attenuated straill'3 of pox virus ca used a significant de-pression of growth in birds vaccinated at 2 weeks or older. A study was initiated to compare early vaccination for fowl pox in conjunction with debeaking in commercial broiler type chicks. TABLE 2. EFFECT OF EARLY FOWL POX VACCINATION AND DEBEAKING ON BROILER PERFORMANCE BY 2-WEEK PERIODS Mean weight Mortality Feed Pen Period (pounds) (number) num- (weeks) effi-ber De- Nonde- De- Nonde- ciency beaked beaked beaked beaked 2 0.338 0.343 1 0 1.38 4 0.841 0.840 0 0 1.66 6 1.570 1.540 0 0 1.91 2 2 0.330 0.348 5 2 1.28 4 0.811 0.835 0 0 1.71 6 1.530 1.540 2 0 1.90 3 2 0.340 0.330 5 4 1.32 4 0.823 0.811 0 0 1.66 6 1.510 1.480 0 0 1.93 4 2 0.326 0.332 5 2 1.36 4 0.766 0.845 0 0 1.64 6 1.430 1.520 0 0 1.90 5 2 0.337 0.330 2 2 1.38 4 0.766 0.779 0 0 1.69 6 1.450 1.500 0 0 1.84 All 2 0.336 0.335 18 10 1.34 pens 4 0.801 0.822 0 0 1.67 6 1.500 1.520 2 0 1.90 4 Materials and One thousand, 1-day-old Corn mercial broiler chicks were randomly five lots of 200 birds each. Before birds in brooder pens, each bird was intraocularly with Bl Newcastle vaccine. brooding facilities consisted of a multiple five-pen broiler house. Each pen in the house was equipped with a natural brooder stove, two continuous flow water and hand feeders. Before the chicks were in a pen, the house and equipment were oughly washed and allowed to dry. Thr'*! inches of peanut hulls were placed on the for litter. Ample feeder space was the birds received a high energy broiler ration ad libitum. The experimental design used in this is presented in Table 1. One hundred pens 1, 2, 3 and 5 were block debeaked at of age. The remaining 100 chicks were beaked and were permitted to compete with which had been debeaked. Half the pen 4 were debeaked at 2 weeks of age than 1 day of age. The wing-stab method of vaccinating a chick lor pox. This chick was 2 weeks old when vaccinated wing by puncturing an area of the web from feathers had been removed. Normally vaccination ers against fowl pox is not recommended except where experience shows that it is necessary to Birds should be checked 10 days after val=cillatioD "take" or scabs. The "take" should be close cent if the vaccination procedure was properly At 2 weeks of age, all chicks in pens 4 and 5 were vaccinated wing web with a reliable com-~ercial type fowl pox vaccine. At 4 weeks of age all chicks in pen 3 were vaccinated with the ~ame type of vaccine. At 6 weeks of age the chicks in pen 2 were vaccinated with fowl pox vaccine of the same lot used to vaccinate, pens 3, ~ and 5. The chicks in pen 1 were used as the control lot. When the chicks reached 2, 4 and 6 weeks of age, weight, feed consumption and mortality ~ata were collected. At 9 weeks of age, individual bird records were taken. Data collected were 9-week weight, feather score, live market grade, feed efficiency and mortality. Birds were ob-served constantly for pox lesions about the head and for respiratory symptoms, particularly in those birds which had not been vaccinated for fowl pox. Results and Discussion An analysis of the data collected at 2 weeks of age showed no significant difference among pens in body weight and feed efficiency, Table 2. This was not surprising since the birds were treated alike and there were no major location effect'3 . A higher mortality was observed in the ~ebeaked chicks during the first 2 weeks of the brooding period. Statistical analysis using Chi Square indicated that this difference was not significant and was probably caused by sampling. The birds in pen 4 which were not debeaked until they were 2 weeks of age also had somewhat higher mortality than their counterparts. This also suggests that differences resulted from sampling. At 2 weeks of age, pens 4 and 5 were vacci-nated for fowl pox using the wing-stab method. Any systemic effects from this vaccination should have been detectable at 4 weeks of age when the birds were again weighed. An example of block debeaking on a day-old chick as it was performed in this experiment. Part of the upper beak and part of the lower beak have been removed with a de· beaking instrument. Vaccination at 2 weeks of age generally re-duced growth rate approximately 4.6 percent as measured by 4-week weight, but this difference was not statistically significant. The nondebeaked birds in pen 4 were among the heaviest lots at 4 weeks of age; however, this was not the case for the other three vaccinated lots in pens 4 and 5. Vaccination at 2 weeks of age appeared to have no effect on the livability of the birds nor on feed efficiency. During this period no appreciable difference in body weight or livability was found when the mean of all debeaked birds was compared with the mean of the nondebeaked birds. Since both of the debeaked groups in pens 4 and 5 tended to have the smallest body weight at 4 weeks of age, the cumulative effect of debeaking and vacci-nation may have accounted for their low rank in TABLE 3. THE EFFECT OF EARLY FOWL POX VACCINATION AND DEBEAKING ON THE PERFORMANCE OF 9·WEEK-OLD BROILERS· Debeaking Mean Mean Mean Feed Percent Pen number treatment weight feather market efficiency livability grams score grade Debeaked 1294 4.34 1.18 95.0 (No vaccination) Nondebeaked 1283 4.37 1.22 2.19 98.0 2 Debeaked 1273 3.84 1.49 93.0 (Vaccinated 6 weeks) Nondebeaked 1235 4.11 1.41 2.19 97.0 3 Debeaked 1254 4.22 1.35 95.0 (Vaccinated 4 weeks) Nondebeaked 1277 3.87 1.52 2.18 96.0 4 Debeaked 1268 4.12 1.38 94.0 (Vaccinated 2 weeks) Nondebeaked 1273 4.12 1.38 2.19 97.0 5 Debeaked 1321 4.05 1.45 97.0 (Vaccinated 2 weeks) Nondebeaked 1335 4.17 1.40 2.06 97.0 All pens Debeaked 1282 4.11 1.37 94.8 Nondebeaked 1281 4.13 1.39 97.0 'Equal weight given sexes in arriving at means. 5 TABLE 4. EFFECT OF EARLY FOWL POX VACCINATION ON PERFORMANCE OF 9-WEEK-OLD BROILERS IRRESPEC-TIVE OF DEBEAKING' Pen Time of number vaccination 1 No vaccination 2 6 weeks age 3 4 weeks age 4 2 weeks age 5 2 weeks age Mean Mean Mean Feed Percent weight feather market e££i- !iva-grams score grade ciency bi!ity 1289 4.36 1.19 2.19 96.5 1253 4.02 1.45 2.19 95.0 1264 4.07 1.43 2.18 95.S 1270 4.12 1.37 2.19 95.S 1328 4.03 1.38 2.06 97.0 'Equal weight given sexes in arriving at means. weight. If a least difference necessary for sig-nificance is computed, the mean difference be-tween the debeaked and the nondebeaked groups in pen 4 is significant, but not the mean differ-ence observed in pen 5. At 4 weeks of age, all the birds in pen 3 were vaccinated for fowl pox. Systemic effects of the vaccination should have been apparent at 6 weeks of age at which time the next body weight meas-urements were taken. Table 2 indicates that weight at 6 weeks in pen 3 was reduced approxi-mately 3.2 percent over the 6-week weight of the birds in pens 1 and 2 which had not yet been vaccinated for fowl pox. Birds in pens 4 and 5 were still some 4.5 percent smaller in body weight than the nonvaccinated groups. These differ-ences were not significant statistically although the vaccinated birds were consistently smaller than the nonvaccinated birds. No significant differences in feed efficiency or in mortality were noted at 6 weeks of age. nificant difference between debeaked lots of birds. When the birds reached 6 weeks of age, group in pen 2 was vaccinated for fowl pox. 9-week performance data are pre~ented in 3 and 4. Statistical analyses of these data presented in Table 5. No difference was in body weight, mean feather score or grade between debeaked and nonde Table 3, but at 9 weeks of age the birds had 2.2 percent less mortality. This ence was not statistically significant. The summarized according to vaccination time, ing nondebeaked and debeaked birds, with weight given to sexes, shows that the birds nated at 6 weeks of age were lighter in than any group in the brooder house If a least difference required for sign calculated, birds in pen 2 differ . from the control birds in pen 1. This amounts to 2.8 percent in favor of birds. Pen 5 likewise differs . the control; however, pens 3 and 4 did not. however, did approach significance at the cent level of probability. There is an regression in weight from pen 5 through which logically could be correlated with nation times. A comparison of a debeaked and nondebeaked 2-week-old chick. One-third to one-half of the upper beak of the on the left was removed with a debeaking instrument at 2 weeks of age. 6 score and live market grade were con-Feed efficiency and livability were uni-all experimental groups. 9 weeks of age, a few of the birds in the (pen 1) began to show symptoms of about the head. No respiratory could be detected in these birds. significant sex-by-pen interaction for shown in Table 5 cannot be explained females generally follow the same rank-the males for the different experimental Because of differences in numbers of each sex, the analysis was made sym-by random removal of birds from each I group to avoid adjustment for dis-subclass numbers. The analysis that there was no significant associa-vaccination time and debeaking in at 9 weeks of age. h differences appeared among the rimental lots and some of them were when compared with least significant on the whole they were too small any major effect in the overall data Thus, vaccination at 2, 4 or 6 weeks in broilers receiving good management a slight depressing effect on perform-The depressing effect, however, should not evere. The small performance decreases would be much less than losses which result from a natural outbreak of fowl nonvaccinated broilers. data indicate that debeaking at 1 day of age did not significantly alter feather development, market grade, feed , or livability to 9 weeks of age. Bibliography F. R., 1949. Twenty years of progress unization against virus diseases of J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 115: 232-244. TABLE 5. ANALYSIS OF THE VARIANCE OF 9-WEEK PERFORMANCE DATA Sources of variation Total Between pens Degrees of free-dom 6991 4 Between debeaked groups Between sexes Pens X debeaked groups 4 Pens X sexes 4 Debeaked groups X sexes Pens X debeaked groups X sexes 4 Experimental error 680 Weight 129,129 661 17,139,5682 18,574 31.2723 2,549 16,366 12.623 Mean squares Feather score 1.838 .280 15.4802 2.227 .641 .114 1.789 1.388 Live market grade .775 .010 .010 .260 .510 .200 .515 .397 lA random sample of 140 birds per pen with equal numbers per debeaked group and sex was used in the statistical analysis. 2p < .01 3p ~ .05 Biester, H. E. and L. H. Schwarte, 1952. Dis-eases of Poultry (Third Edition). The Iowa State College Press, Ames, Iowa. Ch. 25: 635-667. Edgar, S. A. and D. S. Bond, 1957. Effect of fowl pox on growing chickens and duration of immunity. Poultry Science 36: 1115 (Abstract) . Lubbehusen, R. E. and J. R. Beach, 1937. Fowl pox vaccination of day old and older chicks. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 90: 430-446. Seeger, K. C. and R. J. Price, 1956. Evaluation of immunity to fowl pox. 1. Immunization of young chicks with pigeon and fowl pox vaccines. Poultry Sci. 35: 372-379. 7 * MAIN STATION , TAU SUBSTATIONS • TAU nno LABORATORIU • COOPERATING STATIOI<S State-w-ide Research * The Texas Agricultural Experiment ~tatioD, is the public agricultural research aqenc:y' of the State of Texas, and is, one parts of the A&M College of Texas. Location of field research units of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and cooperating agencies ORGANIZATION OPERATION IN THE MAIN STATION, with headquarters at College Station, are 16 matter departments, 2 service departments, 3 regulatory services administrative staff. Located out in the major agricultural areas of 21 substations and 9 field laboratories. In addition, there are 14 stations owned by other agencies. Cooperating agencies include Forest Service, Game and Fish Commission of Texas, Texas Pr' U. S. Department of Agriculture, University of Texas, Texas T College, Texas College of Arts and Industries and the King Ranch. experiments are conducted on farms and ranches and in rural homes. THE TEXAS STATION is conducting about 400 active research projects, in 25 programs, which include all phases of agriculture in Texas, these are: Conservation and improvement of soil Conservation and use of water Grasses and legumes Grain crops Cotton and other fiber crops Vegetable crops Citrus and other subtropical fruits Fruits and nuts Oil seed crops Ornamental plants Brush and weeds Insects Beef cattle Dairy cattle Sheep and goats Swine Chickens and turkeys Animal diseases and par Fish and game Farm and ranch engineering Farm and ranch business Marketing agricultural Rural home economics R ural agricultural economics Plant diseases Two additional programs are maintenance and upkeep, and central Research results are carried to Texas farmers, ranchmen and homemakers by county agents and specialists of the Texas Agricultural Ex· tension Service AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH seeks the WHATS, the WHYS, the WHENS, the WHERES and the HOWS of hundreds of problems which confront operators of farms and ranches, and the many industries depend. ing on or serving agriculture. Workers of the Main Station and the field units of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station seek diligently to find solutions to these problems. 

Effect of Early Vaccination For Fowl Pox on the Performance of Broilers.

Texas A&M University

MP·479 
JANUARY 1961 
Effect of Early Vaccination 
For Fowl Pox on the 
Performance of Broilers 
THE AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE OF TEXAS 
TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 
R. D. LEWIS, DIRECTOR. COLLEGE STATION . TEXAS 
Summary 
Vaccination of broilers at 2, 4 and 6 weeks of age for fowl 
pox using the wing-stab method had a small depressing effect 
on growth rate. Vaccination at 2 weeks of age depressed the 
4-week-growth rate approximately 4.6 percent compared with 
the controls. Vaccination at 4 weeks decreased the 6-week-
growth rate 3.2 percent compared with nonvaccinated birds, 
and vaccination at 6 weeks decreased body weight 2.8 percent 
compared with the nonvaccinated birds. By 9 weeks of age, 
the birds vaccinated at 2 and 4 weeks had almost recovered 
from the systemic effects of vaccination as measured by body 
weight. 
Market grade and feather score in the nonvaccinated 
birds were significantly better than the market grade and 
feather scores in the vaccinated lots. No differences in feed 
efficiency and livability were noted. Likewisez no relationship 
could be established betwee.n debeaking and vaccination for 
fowl pox. 
Debeaking at 1 day of age or at 2 weeks of age did not 
depress performance in broilers. 
Although there may be slight effects from, early fowl pox 
vaccination of broilers, losses from a natural outbreak of fowl 
pox would probably more than offset any losses incurred as a 
result of vaccination. Under good management practices, the 
amount of depression from vaccination should be small and 
probably would approach significance only statistically. 
Contents 
Summary ........ . ... . . . .. .... . ... 2 
Introduction ........................... 3 
Literature Review .................. .. . 3 
Materials and Methods . . .............. 4 
Results and Discussion . . . . . . . ......... 5 
Bibliography. . ................... . .... 7 
of Early 
accination 
Fowl Pox 
the The vaccination materials required for fowl pox vacci-nation. Vial on the left contains live fowl pox virus which is added to the diluent in the larger bottle just prior to use. 
The applicator contains two grooved needles. In vaccinating 
young chicks one needle is often removed. Birds should be 
free of coccidiosis and respiratory diseases before vaccinat-
ing for fowl pox . 
• a"'~rmance of Broilers 
carL''''''''-, J. J. Woods, C. B. Ryall, J. C. Williams, R. W. Lewis alld J. H. Quisenberry * 
REGIONS outbreaks of fowl pox in 
than 8 weeks old have necessitated 
......... ,,'" to obtain protective immunity. 
for fowl pox has been studied exten-
few reports are available on the 
in performance, if any, 
from routine vaccination of com-
chicks at different ages during 
period. The economic importance 
vaccination is obvious and needs no 
professor, Department of Poultry Science; 
professor, Substation 18, Prairie View, Texas ; 
professor, Department of Poultry Science; 
and superintendent, Substation 18; professor, 
18; and professor and head, Department of 
College Station, Texas. 
Literature Review 
Beaudette (1949) and Biester and Schwarte 
(1952) have reviewed most of the literature on 
the effects of early vaccination for fowl pox. 
In general, vaccination for fowl pox on I-day-old 
chickens has been reported to depress growth 
and increase mortality, and has often failed to 
give lasting immunity. Severe systemic reactions 
have been observed in chicks vaccinated at differ-
ent ages up to 1 month and older. Many of the 
vaccines used were not attenuated vaccines. 
Systemic reaction followed fowl pox vacci-
nation at the ages of 13, 28, 31 and 42 days, 
according to Lubbehusen and Beach (1937). 
Systemic reaction was slower and progressively 
less severe as the vaccination age increased. 
3 
TABLE 1. EXPERIMENTAL PATTERN 
Pen Number 
Treatment 
number birds Age when Age when 
debeaked vaccinated 
100 No None 
100 Day old None 
2 100 No 6 weeks 
100 Day old 6 weeks 
3 100 No 4 weeks 
100 Day old 4 weeks 
4 100 No 2 weeks 
100 2 weeks 2 weeks 
5 100 No 2 weeks 
100 Day old 2 weeks 
Systemic reaction in the older groups was evi-
denced more by retardation of growth than by 
excessive mortality when the chicks were exposed 
to unfavorable conditions, such as coccidiosis. 
In a recent study by Seeger and Price (1956) 
chicks were vaccinated at 1, 5, 10 and 15 days 
of age with fowl pox vaccine. Neither age at 
vaccination nor dilution of the vaccine had any 
significant effect on broiler performance. Like-
wi: e, no significant adverse effects resulted from 
mUltiple vaccination using Newcastle or infectious 
bronchitis in conjunction with fowl pox. 
Edgar and Bond (1957) reported that a 
commercial fowl pox vaccine used on chicks from 
1 to 8 weeks old caused a slight, but not signifi-
cant, depression of growth. Less attenuated 
straill'3 of pox virus ca used a significant de-
pression of growth in birds vaccinated at 2 weeks 
or older. 
A study was initiated to compare early 
vaccination for fowl pox in conjunction with 
debeaking in commercial broiler type chicks. 
TABLE 2. EFFECT OF EARLY FOWL POX VACCINATION 
AND DEBEAKING ON BROILER PERFORMANCE BY 2-WEEK 
PERIODS 
Mean weight Mortality 
Feed Pen Period (pounds) (number) 
num- (weeks) effi-ber De- Nonde- De- Nonde- ciency beaked beaked beaked beaked 
2 0.338 0.343 1 0 1.38 
4 0.841 0.840 0 0 1.66 
6 1.570 1.540 0 0 1.91 
2 2 0.330 0.348 5 2 1.28 
4 0.811 0.835 0 0 1.71 
6 1.530 1.540 2 0 1.90 
3 2 0.340 0.330 5 4 1.32 
4 0.823 0.811 0 0 1.66 
6 1.510 1.480 0 0 1.93 
4 2 0.326 0.332 5 2 1.36 
4 0.766 0.845 0 0 1.64 
6 1.430 1.520 0 0 1.90 
5 2 0.337 0.330 2 2 1.38 
4 0.766 0.779 0 0 1.69 
6 1.450 1.500 0 0 1.84 
All 2 0.336 0.335 18 10 1.34 
pens 4 0.801 0.822 0 0 1.67 
6 1.500 1.520 2 0 1.90 
4 
Materials and 
One thousand, 1-day-old Corn 
mercial broiler chicks were randomly 
five lots of 200 birds each. Before 
birds in brooder pens, each bird was 
intraocularly with Bl Newcastle vaccine. 
brooding facilities consisted of a multiple 
five-pen broiler house. Each pen in the 
house was equipped with a natural 
brooder stove, two continuous flow water 
and hand feeders. Before the chicks were 
in a pen, the house and equipment were 
oughly washed and allowed to dry. Thr'*! 
inches of peanut hulls were placed on the 
for litter. Ample feeder space was 
the birds received a high energy 
broiler ration ad libitum. 
The experimental design used in this 
is presented in Table 1. One hundred 
pens 1, 2, 3 and 5 were block debeaked at 
of age. The remaining 100 chicks were 
beaked and were permitted to compete with 
which had been debeaked. Half the 
pen 4 were debeaked at 2 weeks of age 
than 1 day of age. 
The wing-stab method of vaccinating a chick lor 
pox. This chick was 2 weeks old when vaccinated 
wing by puncturing an area of the web from 
feathers had been removed. Normally vaccination 
ers against fowl pox is not recommended except 
where experience shows that it is necessary to 
Birds should be checked 10 days after val=cillatioD 
"take" or scabs. The "take" should be close 
cent if the vaccination procedure was properly 
At 2 weeks of age, all chicks in pens 4 and 5 
were vaccinated wing web with a reliable com-
~ercial type fowl pox vaccine. At 4 weeks of 
age all chicks in pen 3 were vaccinated with the 
~ame type of vaccine. At 6 weeks of age the 
chicks in pen 2 were vaccinated with fowl pox 
vaccine of the same lot used to vaccinate, pens 3, 
~ and 5. The chicks in pen 1 were used as the 
control lot. 
When the chicks reached 2, 4 and 6 weeks 
of age, weight, feed consumption and mortality 
~ata were collected. At 9 weeks of age, individual 
bird records were taken. Data collected were 
9-week weight, feather score, live market grade, 
feed efficiency and mortality. Birds were ob-
served constantly for pox lesions about the head 
and for respiratory symptoms, particularly in 
those birds which had not been vaccinated for 
fowl pox. 
Results and Discussion 
An analysis of the data collected at 2 weeks 
of age showed no significant difference among 
pens in body weight and feed efficiency, Table 2. 
This was not surprising since the birds were 
treated alike and there were no major location 
effect'3 . A higher mortality was observed in the 
~ebeaked chicks during the first 2 weeks of the 
brooding period. Statistical analysis using Chi 
Square indicated that this difference was not 
significant and was probably caused by sampling. 
The birds in pen 4 which were not debeaked until 
they were 2 weeks of age also had somewhat 
higher mortality than their counterparts. This 
also suggests that differences resulted from 
sampling. 
At 2 weeks of age, pens 4 and 5 were vacci-
nated for fowl pox using the wing-stab method. 
Any systemic effects from this vaccination should 
have been detectable at 4 weeks of age when the 
birds were again weighed. 
An example of block debeaking on a day-old chick as 
it was performed in this experiment. Part of the upper beak 
and part of the lower beak have been removed with a de· 
beaking instrument. 
Vaccination at 2 weeks of age generally re-
duced growth rate approximately 4.6 percent as 
measured by 4-week weight, but this difference 
was not statistically significant. The nondebeaked 
birds in pen 4 were among the heaviest lots at 
4 weeks of age; however, this was not the case 
for the other three vaccinated lots in pens 4 and 
5. Vaccination at 2 weeks of age appeared to 
have no effect on the livability of the birds nor 
on feed efficiency. 
During this period no appreciable difference 
in body weight or livability was found when the 
mean of all debeaked birds was compared with 
the mean of the nondebeaked birds. Since both 
of the debeaked groups in pens 4 and 5 tended 
to have the smallest body weight at 4 weeks of 
age, the cumulative effect of debeaking and vacci-
nation may have accounted for their low rank in 
TABLE 3. THE EFFECT OF EARLY FOWL POX VACCINATION AND DEBEAKING ON THE PERFORMANCE OF 9·WEEK-OLD 
BROILERS· 
Debeaking Mean Mean Mean Feed Percent Pen number treatment weight feather market efficiency livability grams score grade 
Debeaked 1294 4.34 1.18 95.0 
(No vaccination) Nondebeaked 1283 4.37 1.22 2.19 98.0 
2 Debeaked 1273 3.84 1.49 93.0 
(Vaccinated 6 weeks) Nondebeaked 1235 4.11 1.41 2.19 97.0 
3 Debeaked 1254 4.22 1.35 95.0 
(Vaccinated 4 weeks) Nondebeaked 1277 3.87 1.52 2.18 96.0 
4 Debeaked 1268 4.12 1.38 94.0 
(Vaccinated 2 weeks) Nondebeaked 1273 4.12 1.38 2.19 97.0 
5 Debeaked 1321 4.05 1.45 97.0 
(Vaccinated 2 weeks) Nondebeaked 1335 4.17 1.40 2.06 97.0 
All pens Debeaked 1282 4.11 1.37 94.8 
Nondebeaked 1281 4.13 1.39 97.0 
'Equal weight given sexes in arriving at means. 
5 
TABLE 4. EFFECT OF EARLY FOWL POX VACCINATION 
ON PERFORMANCE OF 9-WEEK-OLD BROILERS IRRESPEC-
TIVE OF DEBEAKING' 
Pen Time of 
number vaccination 
1 No vaccination 
2 6 weeks age 
3 4 weeks age 
4 2 weeks age 
5 2 weeks age 
Mean Mean Mean Feed Percent 
weight feather market e££i- !iva-
grams score grade ciency bi!ity 
1289 4.36 1.19 2.19 96.5 
1253 4.02 1.45 2.19 95.0 
1264 4.07 1.43 2.18 95.S 
1270 4.12 1.37 2.19 95.S 
1328 4.03 1.38 2.06 97.0 
'Equal weight given sexes in arriving at means. 
weight. If a least difference necessary for sig-
nificance is computed, the mean difference be-
tween the debeaked and the nondebeaked groups 
in pen 4 is significant, but not the mean differ-
ence observed in pen 5. 
At 4 weeks of age, all the birds in pen 3 were 
vaccinated for fowl pox. Systemic effects of the 
vaccination should have been apparent at 6 weeks 
of age at which time the next body weight meas-
urements were taken. Table 2 indicates that 
weight at 6 weeks in pen 3 was reduced approxi-
mately 3.2 percent over the 6-week weight of 
the birds in pens 1 and 2 which had not yet been 
vaccinated for fowl pox. Birds in pens 4 and 5 
were still some 4.5 percent smaller in body weight 
than the nonvaccinated groups. These differ-
ences were not significant statistically although 
the vaccinated birds were consistently smaller 
than the nonvaccinated birds. No significant 
differences in feed efficiency or in mortality were 
noted at 6 weeks of age. 
nificant difference between 
debeaked lots of birds. 
When the birds reached 6 weeks of age, 
group in pen 2 was vaccinated for fowl pox. 
9-week performance data are pre~ented in 
3 and 4. Statistical analyses of these data 
presented in Table 5. No difference was 
in body weight, mean feather score or 
grade between debeaked and nonde 
Table 3, but at 9 weeks of age the 
birds had 2.2 percent less mortality. This 
ence was not statistically significant. The 
summarized according to vaccination time, 
ing nondebeaked and debeaked birds, with 
weight given to sexes, shows that the birds 
nated at 6 weeks of age were lighter in 
than any group in the brooder house 
If a least difference required for sign 
calculated, birds in pen 2 differ . 
from the control birds in pen 1. This 
amounts to 2.8 percent in favor of 
birds. Pen 5 likewise differs . 
the control; however, pens 3 and 4 did not. 
however, did approach significance at the 
cent level of probability. There is an 
regression in weight from pen 5 through 
which logically could be correlated with 
nation times. 
A comparison of a debeaked and nondebeaked 2-week-old chick. One-third to one-half of the upper beak of the 
on the left was removed with a debeaking instrument at 2 weeks of age. 
6 
score and live market grade were con-
Feed efficiency and livability were uni-
all experimental groups. 
9 weeks of age, a few of the birds in the 
(pen 1) began to show symptoms of 
about the head. No respiratory 
could be detected in these birds. 
significant sex-by-pen interaction for 
shown in Table 5 cannot be explained 
females generally follow the same rank-
the males for the different experimental 
Because of differences in numbers of 
each sex, the analysis was made sym-
by random removal of birds from each 
I group to avoid adjustment for dis-
subclass numbers. The analysis 
that there was no significant associa-
vaccination time and debeaking in 
at 9 weeks of age. 
h differences appeared among the 
rimental lots and some of them were 
when compared with least significant 
on the whole they were too small 
any major effect in the overall data 
Thus, vaccination at 2, 4 or 6 weeks 
in broilers receiving good management 
a slight depressing effect on perform-
The depressing effect, however, should not 
evere. The small performance decreases 
would be much less than losses which 
result from a natural outbreak of fowl 
nonvaccinated broilers. 
data indicate that debeaking at 1 day 
of age did not significantly alter 
feather development, market grade, feed 
, or livability to 9 weeks of age. 
Bibliography 
F. R., 1949. Twenty years of progress 
unization against virus diseases of 
J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 115: 232-244. 
TABLE 5. ANALYSIS OF THE VARIANCE OF 9-WEEK 
PERFORMANCE DATA 
Sources of 
variation 
Total 
Between pens 
Degrees 
of free-
dom 
6991 
4 
Between debeaked 
groups 
Between sexes 
Pens X debeaked 
groups 4 
Pens X sexes 4 
Debeaked groups 
X sexes 
Pens X debeaked 
groups X sexes 4 
Experimental error 680 
Weight 
129,129 
661 
17,139,5682 
18,574 
31.2723 
2,549 
16,366 
12.623 
Mean squares 
Feather 
score 
1.838 
.280 
15.4802 
2.227 
.641 
.114 
1.789 
1.388 
Live 
market 
grade 
.775 
.010 
.010 
.260 
.510 
.200 
.515 
.397 
lA random sample of 140 birds per pen with equal numbers 
per debeaked group and sex was used in the statistical 
analysis. 
2p < .01 
3p ~ .05 
Biester, H. E. and L. H. Schwarte, 1952. Dis-
eases of Poultry (Third Edition). The Iowa 
State College Press, Ames, Iowa. Ch. 25: 
635-667. 
Edgar, S. A. and D. S. Bond, 1957. Effect of 
fowl pox on growing chickens and duration 
of immunity. Poultry Science 36: 1115 
(Abstract) . 
Lubbehusen, R. E. and J. R. Beach, 1937. Fowl 
pox vaccination of day old and older chicks. 
J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 90: 430-446. 
Seeger, K. C. and R. J. Price, 1956. Evaluation 
of immunity to fowl pox. 1. Immunization 
of young chicks with pigeon and fowl pox 
vaccines. Poultry Sci. 35: 372-379. 
7 
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English

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Effect of Early Vaccination For Fowl Pox on the Performance of Broilers.

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Effect of Early Vaccination For Fowl Pox on the Performance of Broilers.

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