Impact of routine Newcastle disease vaccination on chicken flock size in smallholder farms in western Kenya

Abstract

Quarterly NDV vaccination and parasiticidal treatment resulted in an increase in flock size by a mean of one bird per household as compared to households where the flock received only parasiticidal treatment. While results suggest that the preventable fraction of mortality attributable to Newcastle disease is comparatively small relatively to all-cause mortality in smallholder households, there was a significant benefit to vaccination in terms of flock size. Comparison with previous flock sizes in the study households indicate a more significant benefit from the combined vaccination and parasiticidal treatment, supporting a comprehensive approach to improving flock health and improving household benefits of production in the smallholder setting.