Poultry producers now have access to a new method for administering vaccines, probiotics and nutritional supplements in the hatchery through a soft edible gel.

The new system recently patented by Ceva Animal Health, (US Patent No. 8,794,185) covers a soft gel in small beadlets which stick to the down of the chicks. When the chicks preen these beadlets, the vaccine, or treatment, is uniformly ingested.

Gary Baxter, Vice President of Sales and Marketing - US Poultry, said: “Using a gel in this form provides a distinct advantage over traditional liquid carrier applications. The gel allows for consistent suspension of the treatment without the need for constant stirring of a liquid medium. Gel droplets are also advantageous because they do not reduce the body temperature of chicks, as is often the case with conventional water-based applications.”

This unique way of administering treatments to poultry hatchlings has been demonstrated to be particularly successful for the administration of coccidiosis and salmonella vaccines.

Ceva has also successfully completed trials using its patented gel-droplet delivery method to apply probiotics available on the US market, either alone or in combination with their coccidiosis vaccine.

Dr Sylvain Comte, the head of Ceva’s Poultry Franchise, said: “Ceva has moved on from being vaccine-centred to a company which looks at the science of vaccinology through the practical needs of our customers. We want to deliver, in addition to innovative vaccines, innovative solutions that bring value to or simplify the everyday lives of poultry producers.”