Worming? Confused and need advice!

[serenityNH]

Hi All.

I have been reading about worming and my mind is over loaded and I'm more confused then ever! It all seems like foreign language to me and for some reason I can't seem to wrap my mind around any of it.

My chickens are a little over 5 months old and I'm planning on bringing in some new chickens which I know I should worm. So I have questions and really need your experienced advice!

I see most people worm there chickens a couple times of year regardless of whether or not they have worms. So apparently even though my chickens show no signs of worms I should be worming them, correct? Since I don't believe I have a infestation (no signs or worms or sick chickens in any sense) should I use a more natural product like VERM-x ? Or should I go full guns even though I don't know if my chickens have worms and keeping in mind I am bringing in new chickens (of course I will quarantine them).
Or....Would it be wise to bring fecal samples to my vet (I'm pretty sure he'd check a chicken fecal sample for me if I asked?) of my birds and my new birds to see if they actually have worms before worming them?

My concern with the wormer meds is that I read some of them just paralyze the worms and don't actually kill them?! YIKES! My dog's, cat's and rabbits (not to mention us) share the same yard/space/property as the chickens- doesn't that mean the worms are now going to be passed on to all of us? I think I want the worms dead, not paralyzed. Yes, definitely DEAD!

So any advice would be greatly appreciated and also brand recommendations would be wonderful. And as Denzel said "please explain it to me like I am a 6 year old" because apparently I am pretty dense on the subject. .........Worming my dog's never confused me, I just bought a pill and gave it to them?

Thank you

 

[dawg53]

It is your choice whether you want to worm your birds or not including the newbies you'll be getting...same thing whether you want to take fecals to your vet. Most wormers paralyze worms in some manner. When they are excreted, they are in the process of dying or are dead...worms cant survive without their host.
Edited to add: I forgot to mention that once a bird is wormed, it is possible you wont see worms in the feces. They are usually absorbed as protein in the chickens digestive system.

 

[Judy]

I have some definite opinions, and some links I often share. Trouble is, in the end it's a personal choice. I don't think you can really say there is only one good approach. I have no faith in "natural wormers" but there are old time chicken keepers here who use nothing else and will tell you they've not lost a bird to worms. And I guess I should read up on Verm-X; it may actually be a natural product I'd have some faith in. I think many of these can probably reduce the population. I also think that "free range" chickens (those who have access to native flora, bushes, berries, etc.) probably eat some stuff that gets some out.

I've never run across the idea that chemical wormers only paralyze. Hope it's misinformation! Or maybe it was in reference to a natural approach.

A negative fecal only tells me (again, this is my opinion) there were none found in that sample. I don't really have much faith that that means there are none in the bird. I was a people nurse and sent many fecals off to be checked for worms. Never saw a positive result. I simply don't believe that none of those people had any worms.

My personal approach now is, Valbazen, once a year, though last year I used Eprinex pour on. I've never had a bird who was proven to have worms, or who seemed to be sick or losing weight from them. And I know there are worms in the soil in my area, from having treated not only dogs but people. Had two rescued dogs a couple of years ago who were so infested, the worms were literally coming out through their skin. Ugh. And my son once got some under his skin from working under a house where the cats and dogs went. One thing you could do is, talk to your vet or maybe the country extension agent to see if you can get an idea how it is where you are.

So, here are my links.

http://healthybirds.umd.edu/Disease/Deworming Birds.pdf

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=5770173#p5770173

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=323454

Edited to say, when I have a worm question, I hunt up Dawg53's posts.

 

[serenityNH]

Thank you both so much, very, very helpful information! I have a clearer direction now on what I need to do, thank you! I will read up on those links also and call the county extension to see if they can give me some info.
We moved to this property about 3 years ago and so far haven't had any worm problems with our dogs or cats, if that say's anything? We use to bring the dogs to the dog park quite often before moving here and we had more problems with worms then along with kennel cough and everything else- dog parks can be very scary! The thought of your son Flockwatcher getting worms under his skin gives me the chills, ugh!! Now I really want to be careful!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Like Judy, when my oldest hens were 1 1/2, they were losing weight. I did find a single worm in one hens poop, right after I had wormed with Wazine. So I switched to Valbazen and I worm them once a year. (in the fall when they are molting)