At a loss for poopy bottoms

[dawg53]

"By practicing good flock management, you can keep your flock as strong and healthy as possible, and this will allow your chickens to develop a natural resistance toward worms. Using wormers regularly short-circuits their ability to build this natural resistance and makes your flock more dependent on the continued use of wormers."

https://blog.mcmurrayhatchery.com/2015/04/29/how-often-should-i-worm-my-chickens/

https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/safety-health/antiparasitic-resistance

Move down south where we live, you'll learn real quick how to take care of worms. BTW: Worms weaken the immune system opening the door to poultry diseases. Gotta hit them hard and fast.

 

[amama]

I think I do have good flock management, although these were battery hens given to us at 2 yrs old, so I didn't have any control over them before that. I do think free-range birds get worms easier than non-free range. Our goats have also had worms, but that is a very common theme around here where we live. I don't know anyone whose sheep or goats didn't need de-wormed a few times a year.

 

[amama]

This might need a different thread, but I was going to try and incubate/hatch some of our eggs. Would that be fine still (obviously gather eggs before I deworm) or do you think they wouldn't do well hatching?

 

[dawg53]

I think I do have good flock management, although these were battery hens given to us at 2 yrs old, so I didn't have any control over them before that. I do think free-range birds get worms easier than non-free range. Our goats have also had worms, but that is a very common theme around here where we live. I don't know anyone whose sheep or goats didn't need de-wormed a few times a year.

Birds that are penned up all the time are most likely to get worms because they are on the same soil all the time.
My birds are penned all the time. I have sand in all the pens, coops and most of the nest boxes which helps keep everything dry, and it deters insects as well as worms, especially if poop is picked/scooped up and disposed of a couple times a day.

Free range birds tend to frequently get worms; tapeworm and large roundworms are the main vectors. Capillary worms are a big problem as well, they are killers.

I've never incubated/hatched eggs; however, I know others that have hatched eggs before and after worming that have hatched eggs successfully.
Whichever you choose, let us know how it goes.