How to deworm a flock of chickens?

[ThePhoebeFive]

I would like deworm my flock of twenty chickens, but I don't want to have to do each chicken individually. I read that I could use Safeguard in their water, but I need to know the withdrawal time, if there is one.

 

[Tumbleweedlynn]

You can't put it in their water as you can't control the dose that way. You can take them off the roost at night and dose them.

This worked perfect for me - my husband took them off the roost, I put the medicine down the side of their throat, and… NEXT

Easy peasy.

 

[Somewhere_In_The_Clouds]

I am the opposite. I wanted to individually dose each of my 30 odd chickens, cause I wanted to be sure they were getting the correct amount in the shortest time possible and I didn't want to have to confine them for a whole day, they love their free time.
I found a really effect method, for me, was to (one at a time) measure out their dose and soak some bits of bread in it then leave them in a dog crate with the bread while I measured and prepared the dose for the next one. A couple didn't like the taste but I just had to place the bread in their beak and they would swallow it.
Mine are actually due for the second treatment today... it'll still take me a couple hours but it'll be the last one for awhile.

 

[nuthatched]

You can't put it in their water as you can't control the dose that way. You can take them off the roost at night and dose them.

 

[EddieSalita]

Yes... you can dose by drinking water. Fenbendazole has a very high ld50 and no withholding.

You can dose them directly with panacur oral solution at 10mg per kg of bodyweight. Or 1 millilitre per litre of water. Which is 4 millilitres per gallon for imperial folks.
Double check the dosages. As there is more than one concentration of panacur drench perhaps.
There is plenty of literature out there, and on this forum of people doing it this way. It's commonly used by many aviarists.



here is a 25 page thread on the subject where safeguard is also mentioned. Maybe that will help decide a dosage for safeguard. I use panacur drench. I believe they are the same thing. But I don't know of concentration differences:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/worming-with-fenbendazole-how-much.395331/

Here is another thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-is-the-dosage-for-fenbendazole.288246/

 

[MaeM]

I've treated my chickens with both methods and I've found that giving individual doses is best.

I know it can be inconvenient if you have many chickens and/or they're hard to catch, but by giving them the meds with a syringe, you make sure that each bird is having the amount of medicine they need to eliminate all the worms at once.

If one worm or worm egg survives the treatment, you'll have to start over, and then it'll be even more inconvenient. By pouring meds in their water, you risk this because you don't know how much water the birds drink, or even worse - some birds realize that there's something in their water and refuse to drink at all unless they're dying of thirst.

I've had this happen with a rooster. Now he won't drink from his waterer. He free ranges so he tries to drink from the dog's waterer as much as he can.

 

[Sussex19]

If one worm or worm egg survives the treatment, you'll have to start over, and then it'll be even more inconvenient.

I just want to point out that even if the medication is 100% effective, and kills every single worm and egg in the bird, there will always be thousands of eggs already in the environment.
So total eradication is almost impossible for the average chicken keeper.
Other than that, I don't have much to add, other than I only de-worm when I know there is a problem, and then only de-worm the chickens which are showing symptoms. I want my chickens to be as resistant to worms as possible, so will tolerate low levels of infestation.
I don't know if you can get it where you live, but this is one product sold for adding to water. I used it once, and it didn't seem the most effective, but other people have used it with good results.
https://www.vetnpetdirect.com.au/products/kilverm-pig-and-poultry-wormer?variant=11512140005412

 

[nuthatched]

if you want to go a non medicated route may i suggest pumpkin seeds or sprinkling garlic in their food?

That doesn't actually work.
The quantity of garlic a bird will need to consume to be even mildly effective as a anthelmintic would kill the bird as garlic is toxic to animals.
Some pumpkin seeds contain a very mild anthelmintic BUT they contain many Antinutritional properties that harm a chicken.

 

[KsKingBee]

Although pumpkins are very nutritious for peacocks and we feed them all winter here at Spring Creek Peafowl, they do nothing as a dewormer. No one should rely on antidotal remedies' when proven medications are available.

 

[igorsMistress]

Do you know if your flock has worms? Knowing if and what kind is important before you work them. Not all wormers treat all types of worms.

Usually my vet will send a fecal sample for me even though they don’t treat chickens, and it’s not an expensive test to have done.