Actual Correct Dosage for Safeguard Dewormer for Chickens

[Nanciwill]

I've used ivermectin in water for entire flock instead of treating individually without issues.

 

[grace bocken]

Hello backyard chicken people,
I was browsing the web for the dosage of safeguard dewormer for my flock and was met with a bunch of conflicting info and what seemed to be incorrect info according to my calculations so I wanted to post this and maybe use it as reference for my future self should I ever need it.

There are a lot of posts regarding the dosage for chickens for Safeguard suspension dewormer. The consensus seems be a around 0.23ml or approximately 1/4ml per pound of body weight per chicken. I want to say that this is most likely incorrect. Now before anybody refutes me or starts an argument, please know that I'm not here to change your ways and if this has worked for your flock in the past then by all means continue. Sometimes experience is key and I'm just here to show you my calculations.

I know most people here use the Safeguard suspension 10% dewormer for beef, dairy cattle and goats as the Safeguard Aquasol is expensive and difficult to find. These numbers will be for people using Safeguard Suspension 10% dewormer.

First of, let me show why I believe the dosage of .23ml per pound of body weight to be incorrect. I know most people are using the 2.3mg/lb to calculate the dosage that's on the safeguard website. But that is actually quite misleading.
It's 2.3mg/lb for 100lbs.
There is 100mg of fenbendazole per ml of liquid.
It means it's actually 2.3/100 == 0.023ml/lb of body weight.
The prove is in the chart on the same site: https://www.merck-animal-health-usa.com/safe-guard/cattle/products/safe-guard-suspension
A goat weighing 25lbs would require a dosage of 0.6ml since 0.023 * 25 == 0.575 ~= 0.6

Now does that mean a chicken weighing approximately 5 pounds would require 0.115ml of the dewormer?
NO. It does not. Because the dosage for a chicken is actually 0.454mg/lb as seen on the Safeguard Aquasol page: https://www.merck-animal-health-usa.com/species/poultry/products/safe-guard-aquasol

I quote from the Safeguard Aquasol page:
"Chickens: Dose calculation:
The daily dose of 1 mg fenbendazole per kg BW (0.454 mg/lb) is equivalent to 0.005 mL Safe-Guard® AquaSol per kg BW (0.00227 mL/lb). The required daily volume of product is calculated from the total estimated body weight [kg] of the entire group of chickens to be treated."

Now as it states above, when using safeguard Aquasol, the dosage is 0.00227ml/lb of the chicken's body weight. But as I said before, most people aren't using Aquasol, they're using the 10% suspension meant for cattle and goats. The main difference that I've seen between the two safeguard products is just the amount of fenbendazole per ml of liquid.
Safeguard Aquasol contains 200mg/ml.
Safeguard Suspension 10% contains 100mg/ml.
The cattle dewormer is half as strong as the Aquasol. Thus for chickens the dosage to administer is 0.00454ml/lb.

Here is also some more math if it feels like it shouldn't be this simple.
For the site to say that 0.00227mL/lb of Aquasol is equivalent to 0.454g/lb of 1mg fenbenazole, they had to divide 0.454 by 200 since Aquasol contains 200mg/ml of fenbenazole.
0.454 / 200 == 0.00227mL/lb
Using this formula, where the 10% suspension contains 100mg/ml.
0.454 / 100 == 0.00454mL/lb

Also I know the dosage for the 10% suspension and Aquasol both seem quite low but it you refer back to the Aquasol website, it states to use 25ml per day for 11,000lbs worth of birds. The 10% suspension is also only using a mere 0.6ml for a goat that weighs 25lbs. So 0.23ml/lb for a chicken is actually a very very high dose.

You can also read the labels for both medications here for more details: https://merckusa.cvpservice.com/product/basic/view/1047396?key=label
https://merckusa.cvpservice.com/product/view/1047550

TLDR: The dosage for chickens using Safeguard Suspension 10% is 0.00454mL/lb of body weight

How many days do I need to give this to my chicken?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Safeguard Liquid Goat Dewormer 10% suspension or Safeguard Equine paste (10%) are dosed orally by weight.

Dosing is 0.23ml per pound of weight given orally once a day for 5 days in row.

This dose and duration will treat most worms that poultry can have except for Tapeworms which will require Praziquantel.

Safeguard 10% suspension will not mix well with water and will settle out.

Once of the easier ways to give medication orally, go out early in the morning, take a bird from the roost, give her the medication, set her down, then go to the next.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/


View attachment 3895645

Welcome To BYC @grace bocken the dosing and duration is posted above. Hope that helps.

How many days do I need to give this to my chicken?

 

[aliris]

I've tried many of these remedies. And settled on @Wyorp's above (liquidy goat dewormer, 5d at .23ml/lb chicken). For me it's the best combination of ease, control, effectiveness, price.

I think warm, wet climates are perhaps inevitably worm-riddled? I'm beginning to accept this as an unending chore.

Word to the wise: try to time deworming for *before* the springtime egg laying bonanza! I hate tossing all those eggs!

But.... I think @casportpony may not discard the eggs. Anyone else just eat the eggs anyway?

 

[dawg53]

I've tried many of these remedies. And settled on @Wyorp's above (liquidy goat dewormer, 5d at .23ml/lb chicken). For me it's the best combination of ease, control, effectiveness, price.

I think warm, wet climates are perhaps inevitably worm-riddled? I'm beginning to accept this as an unending chore.

Word to the wise: try to time deworming for *before* the springtime egg laying bonanza! I hate tossing all those eggs!

But.... I think @casportpony may not discard the eggs. Anyone else just eat the eggs anyway?

We've been eating eggs for years after worming with either Safeguard or Valbazen. Still here.
Benzimidazoles are mostly excreted when administered to chickens. Only a small amount is absorbed into the bloodstream. The small amount is enough to get rid of worms.

The real reason to worm birds just before or at the beginning of spring is that "spring time is worm time," when everything comes back alive after winter. The warm moist soil is worm soup.
I worm birds monthly.

 

[aliris]

We've been eating eggs for years after worming with either Safeguard or Valbazen. Still here.
Benzimidazoles are mostly excreted when administered to chickens. Only a small amount is absorbed into the bloodstream. The small amount is enough to get rid of worms.

The real reason to worm birds just before or at the beginning of spring is that "spring time is worm time," when everything comes back alive after winter. The warm moist soil is worm soup.
I worm birds monthly.

Wow, monthly. I have not the fortitude, that's for sure.

And because of that "spring to life", I was sort of thinking closer to when the eggs come in without thinking about how they'd suddenly start laying like gonzos and I'd be heartbroken to lose em all!

But.... I did keep them all and they're just a couple weeks old, so still usable if it's ok. One question then which you've partially answered, is to whether the eggs concentrate the medication within. There's two parts to the q re concentration potentially within the egg itself, and also whether time might concentrate or somehow amplify the drug's potency. So per part (a) I think you're saying no, most goes away, little resides in the animal whatsoever so it's not like it's somehow concentrating within the egg independent from, say, the blood or urine. And then for part (b), the q is whether leaving an egg from a dewormed chicken sitting for a couple weeks (refrigerated), could that somehow intensify the chemical reaction of the fenbendazole.

Also, that you're "still here" is great of course. Question is whether there is a great variability of human reaction to fenbendazole, whether it might be doing stuff you're not particularly aware of, etc.

I tried to look in the literature and really couldn't find studies to address this stuff. ::sigh:: not surprising. Just annoying. But it would be nice to know - well, does it react differently within a chicken from a human? Probably not, right? And if so, is it possible it's even not the worst thing in the world for a human to absorb a smite of dewormer every now and then? We've probably all got some too, right? Or maybe that's not right.... we'd know, perhaps, if that were so?

::sigh::. I really hate making decisions.

Thanks, dawg - I had thought there were at least 3 seeming very knowledgeable gurus on here about the worms... inquiring minds appreciate all the sharing!!

 

[AGeese]

Wow, monthly. I have not the fortitude, that's for sure.

And because of that "spring to life", I was sort of thinking closer to when the eggs come in without thinking about how they'd suddenly start laying like gonzos and I'd be heartbroken to lose em all!

But.... I did keep them all and they're just a couple weeks old, so still usable if it's ok. One question then which you've partially answered, is to whether the eggs concentrate the medication within. There's two parts to the q re concentration potentially within the egg itself, and also whether time might concentrate or somehow amplify the drug's potency. So per part (a) I think you're saying no, most goes away, little resides in the animal whatsoever so it's not like it's somehow concentrating within the egg independent from, say, the blood or urine. And then for part (b), the q is whether leaving an egg from a dewormed chicken sitting for a couple weeks (refrigerated), could that somehow intensify the chemical reaction of the fenbendazole.

Also, that you're "still here" is great of course. Question is whether there is a great variability of human reaction to fenbendazole, whether it might be doing stuff you're not particularly aware of, etc.

I tried to look in the literature and really couldn't find studies to address this stuff. ::sigh:: not surprising. Just annoying. But it would be nice to know - well, does it react differently within a chicken from a human? Probably not, right? And if so, is it possible it's even not the worst thing in the world for a human to absorb a smite of dewormer every now and then? We've probably all got some too, right? Or maybe that's not right.... we'd know, perhaps, if that were so?

::sigh::. I really hate making decisions.

Thanks, dawg - I had thought there were at least 3 seeming very knowledgeable gurus on here about the worms... inquiring minds appreciate all the sharing!!

I suppose some people might have a reaction you can have a reaction to anything, but unlikely (my guess.) Some people take these drugs as alternate treatments for cancers (you do the research on that.) This said what's usually the concern with drugs is creating resistance in the environment against them, essentially making them less effective against whatever because the dosage isn't concentrated or targeted to kill something.

 

[dawg53]

Check out the roundworm lifecycle and you'll understand why I worm monthly especially since our soil is warm, moist or wet most of the year. It's the only way to stop the worms lifecycle unless you plan to keep your birds off soil permanently. Even then it's not a guarantee.
Albendazole (Valbazen) is used to treat worms in humans. Look it up for more info.

 

[dawg53]

I've used many types of wormers over the years in chickens. The only one that's showing wormer resistance in poultry is Ivermectin. It's due to overuse in poultry as a miteacide rather than its primary purpose as a wormer.
Keep in mind that chickens arnt mammals, the benzimidazoles are very effective treating worms. An exception are tapeworms, praziquantel will take care of them.

 

[AGeese]

I've used many types of wormers over the years in chickens. The only one that's showing wormer resistance in poultry is Ivermectin. It's due to overuse in poultry as a miteacide rather than its primary purpose as a wormer.
Keep in mind that chickens arnt mammals, the benzimidazoles are very effective treating worms. An exception are tapeworms, praziquantel will take care of them.

Could you do me a favor and point me to the studies on the resistance? I would like to read them.