Should I just asssume it's worms?

[annmarie]

I have a three year old Golden Comet who has not been herself the last 3 weeks or so. She seems to be getting progressively worse. Originally I was noticing this off and on but now it's constant and I'm very worried about her. She isn't exhibiting any obvious symptom of any sort, except that she has become incredibly lethargic and droopy, her comb has flopped over completely, but is still a good red color (though maybe towards the back tip it's just a little darker than normal, maybe even somewhat purplish), and her appetite is weak. She still lays, but less often, though I wasn't too worried about this at first because they're all just getting back into laying again after the winter. The eggs she does lay seem normal. I will add though, that last fall she started laying softshelled eggs and did so for a few weeks, but then stopped laying for the winter, and now seems to lay normal looking eggs again. I thought I'd mention this because I know her breed is prone to become internal layers, though I don't actually know anything about internal laying, so I don't know if this could be her problem. The only other thing I can think that it could be is some kind of worms, but I'm surprised she's not getting a pale comb if this is the case. She's never been wormed. Should I just cross my fingers and worm her and hope that is the problem? If so, what would you recommend, Invermectin?

 

[hoosier]

I think the bluish comb indicates a circulation problem. Perhaps her heart is not what it should be. Fingers crossed for her.

 

[chickenzoo]

Has she lost a lot of weight - can feel her keel bone, if so I'd worm. It is the cheapest route. If she is very week I would first dose her with wazine, as round worms are most common or Another good wormer is Safeguard liquid for goats. At least if you worm, you can rule it out. Ivomec can be a little rough on very weak birds....

 

[annmarie]

Thank you for both of your ideas. I hadn't thought of the purplishness being a circulation issue, but that makes sense, and if so, there's probably nothing I can do.

I'm having a hard time judging her weight because she's always been incredibly thin and bony (could always feel her keel bone), even though she's been my best layer and healthy as a horse all three years of her life. Thank you for the tips on the wormers. I wasn't aware of the fact that Invermectin was a rougher choice. I think I will try the wazine or safeguard tomorrow after work. I can't stand not doing anything. It's been tough watching my one time best layer and queen of the flock slowly waste away like this. I want to at least try something. Can someone tell me how I'd go about administering a safe dose of wazine or safeguard liquid for goats, to a hen?

 

[annmarie]

All right, I'm going to bed! If anyone can give me advice on how to safely administer wazine or safeguard liquid for goats to my poor hen, I would really appreciate it. I'll check first thing in the a.m. so I can run to the feed store and get what I need. Thank you and good night!

 

[dawg53]

use wazine17 first to get rid of roundworms, 1 ounce per 1 gallon of water. worm all your chickens.discard all eggs in garbage for 2 weeks. put it out first thing in morning for 24 hours,then discard and put out regular fresh water.at the end of 2 weeks i use safeguard paste to reworm them the 2nd time to kill roundworm larva that've hatched since wazine usage,it'll also kill other types of worms in your chickens.you want to use a pea sized amount of the paste for each chicken. you can put it on the side of their beak to eat or do like i did which i think is much easier; put it on a little piece of bread and give a piece individually to each chicken,they gobble it up. discard the eggs in the garage for another 2 weeks for a total of 1 month.i know it seems wasteful to throw out eggs,but it's safer that way.remember, wormers are poisons,you dont want to feed the eggs back to your chickens.you'll be extending the withdrawal time and you dont want to eat them neither.

 

[annmarie]

Thank you dawg53! Wow, that is a major treatment, and a lot of eggs wasted! Especially when I only have one sick hen and I don't actually know if she has worms or not. Could I avoid this whole process by quarantining the sick hen and only treating her? I understand that by treating the whole flock it's a good preventative in case this possible case of worms spreads, but man, throwing away all eggs for an entire month during the biggest egg season is going to be painful, especially when the rest of the flock seems perfectly healthy. Ugh, I hate waste!

 

[dawg53]

annmarie, using wazine and safeguard are not preventatives,they kill worms. preventatives would be like cayenne pepper,DE, VtRx etc...they dont kill worms,just slow any infestation of worms. worms are always in the soil,grass and bugs they eat. it's painful to throw all those eggs away,i know, i was forced to do so earlier this spring when i found a tapeworm in one of my nests. i had to treat ALL my chckens with wazine,then valbazen. i too,threw eggs away for 30 days. i wouldnt want to crack open an egg and possibly find a worm in it! you could seperate her and treat her if you wish,they are your chickens. however, if none of your chickens have never been wormed and they are over a year old,i recommend worming them. even a day or two after using wazine,they perk up act like a chicken should,you'll see a difference in the way they act. here in southeast georgia the soil is a very condusive habitat for worms; it's moist,damp, humid weather most of the time...worm soup.you should start a worming program at least annually. btw; chickens dont normally shed worms in their poop unless it's an infestation. after giving the wormer, you may or may not see worms in their poop,depends on the wormload.