March/April 2025

14 – Purebred PIGEON 1. Someone told me that when I pierce the vaccine bottles for my birds that I have to use it all or get it all into syring- es because the bottle is now contaminated. Is that true? I wipe the needle with alcohol in between each bird to clean it. In medicine, we have a system called Aseptic Technique. This is a medical term for creating a protocol that prevents contamination of the system with infectious agents(virus, bac- teria or fungal organisms). When using a multi-dose vial(100 dose vaccine container) you must adhere to aseptic technique to insure you provide a safe and effective dose of vaccine to each bird that is treated. The vaccine comes with a protective metal cap over the rubber membrane when you purchase the vial. This is to avoid surface contamination of the rubber membrane with dust/or- ganisms that could be detrimental to the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. Each vial also has an expiration date which lists the time at which the vaccine remains effective if kept under ideal conditions. These conditions include proper temperature, storage and handling of the vaccine. The longevity of the vac- cine is impacted by mishandling of the vial or lack of adher- ence to aseptic technique. Proper storage and handling of the vaccine vial requires you to maintain it in a clean environment (I keep my vial in a new plastic ziplock bag) and at proper temperature. I remove the vial only for withdrawal of individual doses of vaccine and promptly return it to refrigeration. The vaccine manufacturer and the ideal protocol for administration of the vaccine is to use all contents of the vial at one time. However, this is rarely practical from a hobbyists perspective and with proper han- dling the unused vaccine efficacy can be extended. Upon removal of the protective metal covering of the vial membrane, avoid touching the rubber surface with anything except the sterile needles you are using to withdraw each dose. If you use a sterile syringe each time you pierce the rubber membrane on top of the vial, you won’t be contaminating the vial. I suggest having a plan in place for the exact number of birds that will be vaccinated and drawing up all of the syringes at one time, to minimize the amount of time and the frequen- cy that you handle and remove the vial from refrigeration. Syringes that are prefilled with vaccine are stable for use for up to an hour, if they are not exposed to extreme conditions(- below freezing or above room temperature). Filled syringes can be safely stored in the refrigerator for short periods(one day) if the needle is covered with the original sterile cap. Many people use the same syringe to vaccinate all their birds. If you draw out a second dose to reuse the syringe, you will con- taminate vial. That’s a bad idea and people should use sterile new syringes for each individual bird. I use insulin syringes. Syringes with attached needles can be readily purchased online for less than 20cents each. Insulin syringes come in a variety of combinations of volume and needle size. I find that smaller syringe volumes (0.3cc or less) and larger needles(27 to 29 gauge) work best for me. Furthermore, you get no wasted vac- cine in the hub of the needle and can get more than 100 doses out of a single vial of vaccine. The hub, is the space/gap where a needle attaches to a syringe and when used remains filled with a small amount of vaccine after the injection. Reuse of the syringe/needle should be avoided. Wiping of the needle with rubbing alcohol (Isopropyl) does not provide adequate sterilization and can introduce minute amounts of alcohol into the vaccine vial. This can reduce it’s effectiveness and contaminate the bottle, rendering all remaining vaccine less effective. Reuse of needles will also increase the risk of introduction of infectious agents to the site of the injection on your birds. This can put them at risk to local abscess formation and infection. Remember, vaccines contain delicate proteins that must stimulate your birds immune system to create immunity. They are easily damaged by poor handling, exposure to other chem- ical agents and contamination with introduced bacteria. They remain an important part of disease control within your loft. Improper vaccine handling will put your birds at risk for poor immune response and potential infections. Veterinary Viewpoints # 4: Some Questions from the Readers By Tim England DVM In this installment, I respond to a couple questions that have been submitted by readers of my earlier columns. I am happy that people are finding the information useful and that it is stimulating further questions on how we can best maintain our lofts. Let’s dig into a couple of recent questions with answers that may be useful to many of us. – Tim