Do you think I should worm them?

StarLover21

Songster
8 Years
Oct 11, 2011
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We're currently away for christmas. We left our chickens at a freinds house, who has two chickens, one of them Sage's (our WL), sister. The day we left them there, we found Sage's sister's first egg. I know white leghorns are small...but her sister, the one who layed the egg, had a much bigger comb, and looked so much rounder, and fuller, than Sage. Should I be concerned? Should I worm them? If so, how? My Black Sex Links, (i have two), are bigger than her, and are 18 weeks old (almost), and sage is 28 weeks (no eggs, gah!). My BSL are much smaller than my fullgrown hens, who I keep seperagted. The full grown ones are Red Stars, and GIANTS. They're huge and fat, and my 'BSL and WL are only a third their size. The pullets are fat and healthy looking, nothing wrong with their poo, just smaller. Do you think they're just not sexually mature yet? Maybe they'll be bigger when I get back. And as I said, they seem fat and healthy for their size.
If you think I should worm them, how do I do it?
 
I haven't wormed my flocks yet, but I have done some research. I think the best option is to send in a fecal sample to your vet's office to see what parasites are there and go to the Emergencies, Diseases, Injuries and Cures section on here and read up on the different worming methods and wormers to use.
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Good luck!
 
So your hens are young and just started laying? If so, then thier eggs may start out smaller. Pullet eggs are generally smaller than an older hen's. In a few months they should get up towards the normal size. Chickens mature at different rates just like people even if they are the same kind. Eventually they will all either lay eggs or crow lol.
You can worm them if you want to or wait till spring if you think they are healthy. Do a search on BYC on 'worming 'and there is lots of threads with recommendations. I usually start out with wazine for the roundworms then do a broader spectrum wormer a few weeks later. You will have to ditch the egg for awhile when worming your chickens and not eat them so you might want to stock pile some eggs before you worm them.
 
I would not be concerned just because one of them is smaller than the other, their overall health/appearance/appetite/behavior is more important. Often chicks from a hatchery grow out to different sizes. I have 3 hatchery BA's, small medium and big and the smallest is half the size of the largest. Sometimes I wonder if the smallest is a different breed - they can get mixed up sometimes.

Maybe you didn't have another choice, but just in case you didn't know -any time you expose your chickens to other chickens, you risk spreading disease. Worms would be the least of my concerns, there are many viruses, bacterial and fungal infections that can be deadly. Don't want to be preachy but I had a disease in my small flock and it was so heartbreaking, I would not risk exposing them to other chickens.

As for worming, most people recommend worming once per year. Based on that, you could either worm them or test their poop now (see *) or within 6 about months and then stay on a yearly schedule, OR sooner if your friends chickens or your chickens actually show symptoms of being sick or having worms. As the previous poster recommended you can also have a fecal test done at the vet - this is what I do. The advantage of testing is that you don't have to give the chickens a medication (really its a mild poison that they are able to tolerate). The wormers are usually not "approved" for chickens, however people seem to have success with them which you could say is more important. The wormers usually don't have a published withdrawal time = how long you have to throw the eggs away so that YOU don't eat the wormer. The disadvantages are that you have to pay for the test (or buy your own microscope), and also a test can come up negative when they might still have worms. It is your choice, but know that most just do the worming - I'm in the minority.

*I have never needed to worm my chickens as the tests have always been negative, so I don't know how old they need to be or what medication to give - check the predators and pests section and search on BYC, lots of info. Your chickens are young so please check the minimum age. BTW many like to worm in the winter when egg production is lower so fewer eggs get tossed.
 

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