Poultry farmers want to keep their chickens healthy. The most important measures to date are: good housing, correct management, feed and vaccinations. But sometimes vaccinations provoke a response of the immune system and the animals need extra care.



Vaccinations with live vaccines (using sprays, eye drops or drinking water) can lead to decreased appetite as a result of swollen or damaged mucous membranes (of eyes, throat, wind pipe, bronchial tubes and airsacs). Bacteria can cause (secondary) infections on damaged mucous membranes, leading to even more damaged tissues. Stress caused by the process of vaccinating itself is also bad for resistance and immunity. If the animals do not receive the vaccine simultaneously, vaccination reactions can ‘roll’ through the flock and last a lot longer.



Organic poultry farmers prefer to use natural means to address these issues:

• In case of swollen mucous membranes, products with anti-inflammatory herbs (such as turmeric, willow, plantain,

black currant and cloves) can be useful.

• Bacterial infections can be prevented either with products for a higher resistance (such as Echinacea) or with

disinfectants (such as eucalypt or menthol).

• A number of poultry farmers have noticed that disinfectants can cause aggravation of respiratory symptoms if

they are given to animals with respiratory damage. Their use should only be preventive.



Adaptogenes are herbs that cause reactions to stress to be adequate without the animal overreacting, e. g. Russian ginseng Rhodiola and Schisandra. For poultry, no products of this kind are on the market yet (https://bit.ly/2sQjFr5).



Check local legislation before applying products!