Ugh how do I worm a flock of 25 eating/laying birds, and possibly ducks?

[clucknpeck]

I was in the run this morning when I noticed a fresh poop that had red in it. Grabbed a stick, poked around, and there appeared to be a fat red worm in the poop. This is the first time I have seen something like this, and they are all acting lively and happy so I imagine if it's worms it's not too bad yet.
So today I am going to he feed store to buy something to take care of this quickly. My chickens will be laying any day, and I was just thinking about butchering some of the birds this weekend. I also have some month old ducks in the run with the chickens.
My questions-
What is the best way to treat a 25 bird flock?
Can the ducks be treated the same way?
How long will I have to wait after treatment to eat the meat birds?
How long do you wait to eat the eggs after treatments?

Thank you in advance for your help. This is my first time experiencing this. Not happy.

 

[Erica]

I was in the run this morning when I noticed a fresh poop that had red in it. Grabbed a stick, poked around, and there appeared to be a fat red worm in the poop. This is the first time I have seen something like this, and they are all acting lively and happy so I imagine if it's worms it's not too bad yet.
So today I am going to he feed store to buy something to take care of this quickly. My chickens will be laying any day, and I was just thinking about butchering some of the birds this weekend. I also have some month old ducks in the run with the chickens.
My questions-
What is the best way to treat a 25 bird flock?
Can the ducks be treated the same way?
How long will I have to wait after treatment to eat the meat birds?
How long do you wait to eat the eggs after treatments?
Thank you in advance for your help. This is my first time experiencing this. Not happy.

Hi clucknpeck,
firstly, are you sure it wasn't shed intestine? That's red and stringy-looking, and often quite large. Birds shed their intestine from time to time.

Having said that:
- you can treat all the birds on the roost at night with a drop-on wormer which will also treat mites (not ideal for meat birds);
- or you can treat them via the water, but you have to keep them away from all other water sources for the day.

Egg and meat withdrawal periods (times before you can eat them) vary quite a lot. Generally the water ones that treat roundworms don't have much withdrawal time. The drop-ons and tablets have longer. You can find that information either on the label or inside the packet. I'm sorry, I don't know them all offhand. Someone else will chime in with that info, I'm sure.

cheers
Erica

 

[clucknpeck]

Thanks so much for responding Erica! I never knew they shed their intestines, thats crazy!
Is there any sort of worm that looks fat and pink? Maybe it was intestine....
Is it a good idea to worm them anyway if they don't have worms? Thanks.

 

[snowknitter]

There is a picture on this site (found it on another thread...very helpful!) that shows the intestines, scroll down and find it...maybe compare?
I don't know much else...sorry

http://chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

 

[clucknpeck]

There is a picture on this site (found it on another thread...very helpful!) that shows the intestines, scroll down and find it...maybe compare?
I don't know much else...sorry

http://chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

SO helpful! Thank you! It looks like my chickens are normal, and it was just intestine lining. I thinki will leave them be for now.