Any point in worming just a few?

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

I have a flock of 30. They were wormed with Safegard in the Spring when I spotted cecal worms in 1 and another was having runny poop. I only had about 15 outdoor chickens at that time, and my flock hadn’t been wormed in over a year so I went ahead and administered Safegard orally.

Now I have a couple pullets who seem healthy overall but haven’t gained weight in a couple months in spite of the fact they should still be growing. I have another pullet who has had a messy butt, and just quit laying. Yesterday, I saw a pile of diarrhea under the roost with a single tape worm segment in it.

I read all the threads where there seems to be this debate about wether we shouldn’t worm because worms in chickens is normal, and other folks who worm twice a year regardless. I have been worming when I see worms or weight loss which has been about yearly. This is a shorter turn around time than I’ve had in the last.

Worming this many chickens will be challenging, but not impossible, but I’m wondering would there be any point in worming only my “symptomatic” chickens (meaning weight loss/poopy butt)? Then perhaps treating the entire flock in the spring through their water? Or should I just treat the flock now? I’m hesitant to treat the water with it being winter and using heated waterers. (Not sure if it matters putting wormer in metal or nipple waterers?)

I also have a couple hens who are finishing up their molt, and some of my young birds are still growing in feathers. I think I’m not supposed to treat the ones who are molting because it can do something strange to their feathers, granted if it’s only cosmetic I don’t really care.

So should I…
Worm the whole flock individually?
Worm only symptomatic birds?
Worm the whole flock via waterers?
None of the above?

 

[Penpal]

Since you don't want to worm the ones who are molting, I would wait until they are done, then worm them all. If you only deworm some of them, you will still have to deworm all of them shortly after because those not dewormed will infect the others.

You might also want to feed them a little garlic powder in their food after the deworm treatment. Just continue to add garlic every other day to keep the parasites in check.

 

[Folly's place]

Best to have fecals run, you can combine several samples into one, so you know what might or might not be present. Otherwise, what are you actually treating? What works for one parasite may be ineffective for what's actually there.
Our flock has some gapeworms present, not enough to hurt the chickens, and we don't have turkeys or any other birds who can't have gapeworms. Treating them takes five days of fenbendazole, maybe twice. Tapeworms, also may not be a problem for chickens, and praziquantel is needed, not approved for chickens. And coccidiosis takes Corid.
Mary

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Yesterday, I saw a pile of diarrhea under the roost with a single tape worm segment in it.

If you can figure out which pullet/hen had the Tapeworm in the poop, that's who I would treat with Praziquantel.

Worming this many chickens will be challenging, but not impossible, but I’m wondering would there be any point in worming only my “symptomatic” chickens (meaning weight loss/poopy butt)? Then perhaps treating the entire flock in the spring through their water?

I think I’m not supposed to treat the ones who are molting because it can do something strange to their feathers, granted if it’s only cosmetic I don’t really care.

Safeguard Liquid Goat Dewormer (Fenbendazole) settles out of water it's not formulated to mix with water, it's dosed orally by weight. Fenbendazole is known to affect feather quality in molting birds. Fenbendazole is used to treat most worms that poultry can have except for Tapeworms.

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

If you can figure out which pullet/hen had the Tapeworm in the poop, that's who I would treat with Praziquantel.

Would you recomend treating the birds who are not gaining/losing weight?

Safeguard Liquid Goat Dewormer (Fenbendazole) settles out of water it's not formulated to mix with water, it's dosed orally by weight. Fenbendazole is known to affect feather quality in molting birds. Fenbendazole is used to treat most worms that poultry can have except for Tapeworms.

Good to know, thanks.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Would you recomend treating the birds who are not gaining/losing weight?

Good to know, thanks.

How old are the 2 pullets and what are they eating?

Do you think the Tapeworm segments were found in one of the two pullets' poop?
IF they are the ones that are not thriving and there's only 2 of them, I would consider treating them both for Tapeworm if getting a fecal float is not possible.

You sure it was Tapeworm and not keratin sheaths from molt? Just asking.

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

How old are the 2 pullets and what are they eating?

They are all on Flock Raiser w/ oyster shells, egg shells, & grit. I have 2- 7 months old. They haven't really lost weight significantly, but I think they shold still be growing and gaining. I have a Noir Marans and a Buckeye who both have lost slightly (less than half a pound) over the past 6 weeks. The Marans is the most concerning as she's had a messy bum, and quit laying last month. She is a likely suspect for the tapeworm poo based on where she roosts and her poopy bottom. The Buckeye is still actively laying, and has turned out to be quite hyper, so that may account for her lack of weight gain. She also roosts near the poo I found, but she has no other indication of problems, so I'm not terribly concerned about her.

I also have 2- 9-month old pullets. They both have dropped about a half pound since the fall- although neither of them are skinny. One is a 6 lb. Australorp and the other is a 5.5 lb. Sussex mix. Neither of these hens has laid an egg since October. It could be seasonal, but at their age I expected that they'd lay through winter. They otherwise appear healthy, and neither of them roost near where I found the poo.

You sure it was Tapeworm and not keratin sheaths from molt? Just asking.

I've never dealt with tapeworms before, so I can't say for certain that is what it was. I do have some girls molting, but this was different. It was smaller and whiter than sheaths, and it seemed to be poking out of the poo. I don't have a pic, but it resembled the image from this post: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/small-rice-looking-worms-in-hens-poop.1200479/ except I only saw 1.

I am a helicopter chicken mama, and I can be a bit of an alarmist- I know this about myself. I don't want to be too quick to treat for something that isn't an issue, but I also don't want to wait too long and let it get out of hand, either.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a Noir Marans and a Buckeye who both have lost slightly (less than half a pound) over the past 6 weeks. The Marans is the most concerning as she's had a messy bum, and quit laying last month. She is a likely suspect for the tapeworm poo based on where she roosts and her poopy bottom.

So you have been weighing them?
If so, and they are losing the weight, the poop you found was where they roost, I'd treat these two and see if it helps.

Feed sounds good, I like using an all flock feed too.

The 9month olds if they are still looking good, poop is good, then I'd wait and see how about them. Could be they have just taken a break and will resume laying once the days get a bit longer. I've had some that laid like gangbusters their first year, others took breaks, so if they look and act normal, I don't worry too much.

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

So you have been weighing them?
If so, and they are losing the weight, the poop you found was where they roost, I'd treat these two and see if it helps.

Thank you. That's what I'll do. I appreciate your help!