am i doing the right thing??

[Chickenslol]

not really sure where to put this lmk if i’m wrong
I wanted to get my chicken on a fecal float test before i dewormed her so i wouldn’t be throwing out eggs for two weeks for nothing. i called five vets in the area, nothing, heck i even called Tufts and they’re booked until next month. but i finally found a place that does chickens and the first thing she does is put me into the system and tell me they’ll need to make an appointment before they can do a test. i’ve gotta bring my chicken in to be examined as well. i asked how much it was gonna be at the end, 85 dollars EXCLUDING the test. so probably more like 100. would it be easier to just deworm her? am i getting scammed? i really don’t want to end up paying 300 dollars for nothing, any ideas?

 

[ChicNmom]

If you suspect worms then I would just deworm them. How many do you have?
Maybe you could de worm half of them and then the other half. Or I think there is some kind of dewormer that does not require you to toss the eggs.

 

[ChicNmom]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/deworming-concerns.1274866/#post-20502423

 

[Chickenslol]

If you suspect worms then I would just deworm them. How many do you have?
Maybe you could de worm half of them and then the other half. Or I think there is some kind of dewormer that does not require you to toss the eggs

our feed store only has the goat dewormer and you’ve got to throw those ones out, but i was really apprehensive of putting something that harsh on their system without knowing for sure what it’s going to do

 

[Trisseh]

unless they’re prescribing medication there should be no reason to insist on seeing the bird(s)... although I suppose that could depend on where you are. Do you have a state lab you could drop off a sample to instead? I work at a large animal clinic and routinely run fecal floats for backyard flocks and other critters, and the vet only needs to see them to be able to treat them. I’m in Ontario though, so rules could be very different depending on where you’re located.

 

[ChicNmom]

Haven’t done the scrambled eggs yet. But thinking it is worth a try. She was comfortable tonight after getting the dewormer dose - but just been hanging with me on the couch and not eating. She seems comfortable but still not eating View attachment 2521165

I ordered the Valbazen online. I figure they are all harsh to some degree since it's basically an internal insecticide. But if your girls are struggling with a worm load stealing all their nutrition then it needs to be done.

 

[Chickenslol]

unless they’re prescribing medication there should be no reason to insist on seeing the bird(s)... although I suppose that could depend on where you are. Do you have a state lab you could drop off a sample to instead? I work at a large animal clinic and routinely run fecal floats for backyard flocks and other critters, and the vet only needs to see them to be able to treat them. I’m in Ontario though, so rules could be very different depending on where you’re located.

the closest thing is tufts (if you’re not aware tufts is a college is MA and their veterinary campus is in my country) but i can see thanks!

 

[Sally PB]

Look at it this way... you won't be losing $100 worth of eggs if you just go ahead and worm them.

How many chickens do you have? I like the idea of worming half the flock at a time, so as to get some eggs during treatment.

 

[Chickenslol]

Look at it this way... you won't be losing $100 worth of eggs if you just go ahead and worm them.

How many chickens do you have? I like the idea of worming half the flock at a time, so as to get some eggs during treatment.

we’ve got nine, but only one bird is being affected, will i still have to worm the whole flock? we’ve got little sparrows all around the run that eat the scratch and we think that she got it from them

 

[Trisseh]

Dewormers don’t work in a way that makes it a sound idea to only treat part of the flock. The rest of the flock will still be shedding eggs throughout, and the treated birds will just pick them back up again. Dewormers “clean out” whatever life stages of the targeted parasite there are in the bird. There is no residual effect, so it’s not in your best interest to deworm only some of them; the untreated birds will just reinfect your treated birds and leave you back at square one. Also be aware that certain drugs can cause issues if birds are growing new feathers, amongst other things, so timing of treatment will be important as well.

I would see if Tufts would be able to run it for you, and if not, if they had any recommendations for you on a vet that may be able to just perform the float without needing to prescribe anything.