Eight taboos of injecting poultry, farmers must keep them in mind

In poultry farming, injecting poultry is routine, but apart from professional staff, there are still not many poultry keepers who can truly inject correctly. In our surveys in rural areas, we found that some poultry-raising households do not understand the properties of drugs, do not choose the injection site accurately, and use incorrect methods, and so on, so that the medicinal liquid is injected into the body and then flows out again, the injection site becomes inflamed and swollen, and sometimes the poultry die or become paralyzed, causing losses to production that should not occur.

These can mainly be summarized as eight taboos:

1. When injecting into the poultry's leg, do not inject into the inner side. This is because the main blood vessels and nerves in poultry legs are all on the inner side. Injecting here easily causes damage to blood vessels and nerves, leading to bleeding at the needle hole, limping, paralysis and other problems. The outer side of the poultry leg should be chosen for injection.

2. Do not use a thick needle for young chickens or for subcutaneous injection. Because a thick needle makes a small injection depth and a large needle hole, the medicinal liquid easily flows out after being injected, which then affects the preventive and therapeutic effect, and the large needle hole easily becomes inflamed and bleeds. Use a fine needle (a needle for human use). For oily medicinal liquids, a slightly thicker needle is better.

3. When injecting into the breast meat, do not pierce vertically. When injecting young poultry or chicks, because their muscles are thin or the needle is too long, vertical piercing easily penetrates the chest cavity and injects the medicinal liquid into the chest, causing death. Follow the direction of the poultry's breastbone, pierce in beside the breastbone, then pull back the plunger and take it as correct if it cannot be pulled back (if it cannot be pulled back, the needle is in the muscle). At this point, push the syringe with force to inject the medicinal liquid. If the injector is skilled, this test is not necessary.

4. When there is a large amount of medicinal liquid, do not inject it all at one point. Because poultry muscles are thinner than those of pigs and cattle, injecting a large amount of medicinal liquid at one point easily causes local muscle damage and is also not conducive to rapid absorption of the drug. The medicinal liquid should be divided into multiple injections at multiple points into the muscle, and in this way all these drawbacks can be avoided.

5. Do not inject strongly irritating medicinal liquids into the poultry's leg. The leg is the poultry's main organ of activity, and some drugs are strongly irritating and slowly absorbed. For example, penicillin oil, oil vaccines and so on, when these drugs are injected into the leg muscles, they cause long-term pain in the poultry's leg and difficulty walking, affecting the poultry's feeding and growth and development. Injection should be chosen in the wing or in a place with more muscle at the breastbone.

6. When injecting, do not fail to hold the poultry securely. It is normal for poultry to be restless from pain and to resist during injection. When holding the poultry, you must know how to be gentle and moderate, aiming for neither too tight nor too loose, so as to hold it firmly without injuring it. If the poultry struggles during injection, in mild cases this easily enlarges or tears the needle hole, causing bleeding or outflow of medicinal liquid and affecting the drug effect; in severe cases it causes the needle to pierce important parts such as the chest and lungs, leading to internal bleeding and death.

7. Do not fail to disinfect when injecting. Some specialized households think that there is usually no poison to disinfect and that there is no need for such trouble, and some use one needle all the way to the end. This is not good. The syringe, needle and so on used for injection must all be boiled for half an hour to disinfect before use. When injecting, it is best to wipe the poultry's skin with an alcohol cotton ball, and after the injection wipe the needle again with a cotton ball. Of course, if conditions permit, the needle can be changed for each poultry, which can prevent pathogens on the poultry's skin or on the needle from invading the poultry's body. If injecting a diseased poultry flock, you can find (borrow) dozens of needles and boil and disinfect them in turn for use. Some specialized households arrange it this way: put a basin of boiling water on the coal stove, put all the needles in to boil, then use a basin filled with cold boiled water placed beside it. During injection, use tongs to take out the disinfected needle, dip it once in the cold water, then inject the poultry. After the injection, pull off the needle and put it into the boiling water to disinfect. Using rapid cooling and rapid heating can also kill pathogens.

8. Do not be rough when injecting. Catching poultry to inject them is itself a strong stimulus to poultry. The operator should move lightly and quickly, and after pushing in all the medicinal liquid, press the needle hole and withdraw quickly.