When do I worm?

[ZiaEggcelente]

Can someone educate me on the chicken worming protocol? I have 12, 8 week old chicks. Just transitioned them to the coop day and night. I live in New Mexico.

 

[nuthatched]

Unless you see signs of worms or confirm a  high worm count with fecal float, it's best not to worm then to avoid anthelmintic resistance.

 

[ZiaEggcelente]

Great thank you! Is there any preventative care I should anticipate?

 

[aart]

I live in New Mexico.

Welcome to BYC! @ZiaEggcelente
Here's how to add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[sunnycadreamer]

I live in New Mexico too! What part of NM do you live? Down here in the South Central Mountains, the most prolific parasites are Capillary worms which they get from grubs under ground, Coccidiosis which I swear blows on the wind, and Leg Scale mites. If I start to see stringy blood in the poop, I know they have Capillary worms, I use liquid goat wormer (Fenbenadozle). You can also use the horse paste too. I wouldn't worry about worms until this fall, it takes a long time for worms to infest and many times birds learn to deal with them and you may never need to worm them at all. In the fall take a poop sample into your local vet. For a very low fee, they can test to see exactly what type of worms if any, you are dealing with.

What dosage do you use for your chickens? I have a couple girls with messy but and it doesn't stink and it's not white or yellow like vent gleet so I'm thinking worms. I found Safe-Guard AquaSol is meant for chickens but, I can't find it anywhere. it says : Safe-Guard® AquaSol in broiler chickens, replacement chickens, laying hens and breeding chickens when administered in drinking water at 1 mg fenbendazole/kg body weight/day for 5 consecutive days.

 

[sunnycadreamer]

I have never used Fenbenazole in drinking water. I use either the horse paste or liquid for oral administration. The liquid I use .2ml per pound of bird. Paste I use 2 pea sized dolups for a 5 pound bird. Generally for 3-4 days. Can you get any horse paste?

Yes I can currently get Safeguard Horse or the Goat Liquid. I just called the one vet locally and they only do farm calls so it would be 96 to come out 86 for an exam and 100 for a fecal...seems a bit much for one chicken. She's consistently had kind of a messy but for a long while but, otherwise acts fine. Figured it couldn't hurt to worm them since they are 1 -2 years old and haven't been wormed yet.

 

[sunnycadreamer]

What dosage do you use for your chickens? I have a couple girls with messy but and it doesn't stink and it's not white or yellow like vent gleet so I'm thinking worms. I found Safe-Guard AquaSol is meant for chickens but, I can't find it anywhere. it says : Safe-Guard® AquaSol in broiler chickens, replacement chickens, laying hens and breeding chickens when administered in drinking water at 1 mg fenbendazole/kg body weight/day for 5 consecutive days.

She's a speckled sussex. I need to weigh her but, I wouldn't say he's a large bird pretty average.

 

[sunnycadreamer]

Great that you have the paste. If she weighs in around between 4-6 pounds, 2 pea sized or 1 chickpea sized dolup under the tongue should do it. If you haven't wormed recently, I'd use it for 4 days, repeat in 10 days for another 4 days. Use probiotics afterwards too to help replace good bacteria in the gut.

Are there probiotics you recommend?

 

[TwoCrows]

Are there probiotics you recommend?

Any probiotics will work on chickens, probiotics are all the same for humans and animals. I use what ever I have on hand, lately I use these dog probiotics I get from Chewy...

Any probiotics will work however.

 

[Silkieks]

Any probiotics will work on chickens, probiotics are all the same for humans and animals. I use what ever I have on hand, lately I use these dog probiotics I get from Chewy...
View attachment 3509029
Any probiotics will work however.

Would you mind sharing how you dose this for your chickens ? I bought some dog probiotics that you sprinkle on the food for dogs and was going to use it for the chickens . I’m just not sure how much to use ?