What to worm my chickens with?

luvmychickas

Songster
10 Years
Jul 30, 2009
371
1
119
Massachusetts
I wanted to worm my chickens, but the wormer I found at the feed store said not to use in chickens that you plan on eating their eggs. So my question what type of wormer do you use for egg layers?
Thank you!!
 
I have not tried this yet but I have read of people using fresh garlic. The took three or four buds and ran them in a blender with a cup or so of water. Then they added this to the waterers for a couple of days. Let's see what others say.
 
Here you go:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2525157#p2525157

Wormers used routinely in chickens say such things on labels; federal labeling requirements. You just discard the eggs for 2 weeks, or cook them and feed them to the dogs, chickens, etc.

Natural remedies like garlic, cayenne, DE., etc. may be useful in controlling buildup, but none have been proven effective when there is an infestation, to my knowledge.
 
Garlic is not a wormer if you have infestations. It will not cause the adults to release, it will not kill larva. It's supposed to be helpful in keeping parasites more in control. But do not expect it to worm your birds, please.

The wormer you likely bought was Wazine. that's a legal statement. You can worm your birds with this, just don't eat the birds or their eggs for 14 days. You can feed those eggs back to the chickens.

Wazine requires repeats over and over as larva become adults and Wazine doesn't paralyze the larva. So buy a stronger wormer as a back up. DO worm with wazine first, then follow up with fenbendazole (Safeguard), Abendazole (Valbazan), Levamisole, or ivermectin (pour on, or paste, or injectable used orally with an additive to make it slow down in the gut).

Then just use the stronger wormer only twice a year. Use more natural things like garlic, cayenne, DE (Food grade only), VermX in between wormings in hopes of keeping the worm numbers down.
 
I learned from a very savy chicken farmer on here that a good choice for deworming is:

Abendazole (brand name Valbazen). You give 1/2 cc orally, undiluted, per standard adult bird. (Once a year) $35 for a large bottle, discard eggs for two weeks.
 
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My questions are: How do you recognize when your birds have worms? Is there any outward appearance clues that would indicate a worm infestation? What kind of worms are we talking about here? Round worms? Tape worms? Flat worms? Something else entirely?
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Any and all answeres would be greatly appreciated.
 
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The thread linked in my post (#3) answers some of this. Different wormers work on different worms, and different worms are more likely to cause problems in different locations.

There are no black and white answers on this. Some feel that only "natural" wormers should be used. Some feel that there are no "natural" wormers that are effective for an infestation. Some feel that wormers should not be used unless a vet/lab test has confirmed their presence. Some feel that chickens should never be wormed unless they have symptoms, or a test has confirmed their presence, or both. Some feel that the tests are not definitive enough for this, and worming should be done routinely.

I feel that each owner needs to research the subject, and make their own decision.
 
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The only true way you can tell if your birds do have worms is by either seeing one, or getting a fecal egg count done.

But if you don't see worms, that doesn't mean they don't have them. Worms tend to stay inside and only shed their eggs. (Thus checking through a fecal egg count and not a regular fecal is what's most effective.)
 
Thank you for all your responses. My other question would be, at what age should I do the first worming? I didn't know if since my hens aren't laying yet, if I could do it now before they start?
 

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