I need help?? please

[hollie2100]

So I am new to chickens. Decided we wanted a small back yard flock so I heard of some buff orpingtons locally for sale. Four hens and a rooster hatched last summer. I researched the breed and really liked so my husband brings home these bird. And they look horrible pale combs with no tail feathers! The previous owner reassured us they were just bullied. Next day I looked and they had mites!! So...I got 7dust and individually dusted rach bird best I could, dipped there scaley legs into gasoline, & then emptied the coop powdered seven dust in there used a natural insectoside to spray corners added fresh shavings on top and moved the chicken coop to fresh grass put them back in there
Then gave them wazine I think how its spelled I mixed 1oz to one gallon within four hours they were pooping worms!!!! At this point I'm so grosses out cause they were eating them!!!! Will that cause them to get back in the intrstine?? & what should my next steps be?? Please any info will be great

 

[tomcatvmp]

hi there , I'm no expert on chickens but I'm sure the worms if excreted after treatment will be dead. so lots of protein for the birds think of it as the cycle of life. that's a medical opinion. anyway I hope things work out and think of this as something we all go through whether its right at the start or a year in, at least you got it out of the way. soon you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you gave those birds a better life.

 

[hollie2100]

Yes but it was alive! :/
Should I reworm again in 10 days?
& what about mites does that have to be done again

 

[KayTee]

Worms and mites both have lifecycles that require retreating.

Wormers paralyse but don't necessarily kill the worms outright, so it's best to pick up the poop as regularly as you can. The worms will die once outside the bird, but not always immediately. Re-worm again in 10 days - preferably with Valbazen (albendazole) or flubendazole, which kill all types of worms, not just roundworms, which is what Wazine does.

Lice are the same - the life cycle is two weeks, so if you think you got all the live ones this time then you need to retreat in 15-18 days, when the eggs that remain on the birds have hatched but not yet reached maturity. You can also add some of the sevin dust to their dust bathing area - that way they will continue to treat themselves every time they take a dust bath.

 

[BuckAlorp]

I am no expert either, I have read on some threads here at BYC that food grade Diamataceous Earth (DE) not sure of spelling, works for both of these issues. Using this eliminates throwing chemicals at your birds, if it truly does work.

 

[dawg53]

DE is ineffective treating worms and ineffective against a lice/mite infestation.
Hollie2100, follow the advice in post #4.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome! I'm sorry that your first chicken experience has been so difficult. DE is a waste of time here, you need the big guns. Permethrin dust is approved for use and works fine. Carbaryl also works well, but isn't approved for chickens, so I mostly avoid it. Piprazine only kills some roundworms, and you will need a better product here. Ivermectin applied on the skin works to kill external and internal parasites, and it's what I use, even though it's not approved for chickens. It's used in many species, including humans, and works great. Retreat every 7 to 10 days to clear all the nasties! You birds will have a much better life, for sure. Mary

 

[KayTee]

Hollie2100, I forgot to add for the worming that when you re-worm you need to do it for 7 days in a row, either with Valbazen (albendazole) at a dose of 1.43mg/kg of live weight or flubendazole 6mg/kg daily. If you use either of these products then you can continue to eat any eggs your hens lay without problem. If you can't get these products then you can use Safeguard / Panacur (fenbendazole) but you need to throw any eggs your hens lay during the treatment plus for 7 days after you have finished.

I know how frustrating it is to buy birds in good faith only to find that they are actually in very poor condition. I bought 3 birds last year from a supposedly reputable, award-winning breeder. They turned out to be covered in lice the size of ants, and to have a respiratory illness. I lost one girl, but managed to nurse the other two back to health. I used a pyrethrin (plant-based) powder, which caused the lice to literally drop out of the feathers, but unfortunately had to use antibiotics to combat the respiratory problem (sometimes there is just no other choice). The seller wasn't interested in my complaint - told me she didn't know they had lice, and that a drop or two of grapefruit seed extract in their water would cure their 'cold'!

All the best for your girls and boy - they are lucky to have you looking after them now, and caring so much about them. I am certain that once you get over the initial problems you become like the rest of us and develop a serious case of OCD (obsessive chicken disorder)!!!

 

[dawg53]

Welcome! I'm sorry that your first chicken experience has been so difficult. DE is a waste of time here, you need the big guns. Permethrin dust is approved for use and works fine. Carbaryl also works well, but isn't approved for chickens, so I mostly avoid it. Piprazine only kills some roundworms, and you will need a better product here. Ivermectin applied on the skin works to kill external and internal parasites, and it's what I use, even though it's not approved for chickens. It's used in many species, including humans, and works great. Retreat every 7 to 10 days to clear all the nasties! You birds will have a much better life, for sure. Mary

Ivermectin is ineffective in poultry due to worm resistance. Most likely due to its overuse in treating mites in poultry and not as its primary purpose as a wormer.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1439-0450.1989.tb00635.x/abstract

 

[hollie2100]

Dawg53 I messaged you