[b][/b] OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN A POUND OF CURE

[markb816]

I have recently just got into the chicken raising adventure and I love it! My question is, should I be giving my 8 adult hens anything to prevent worms? And if so what can I give them? How common is worms in hens? What other ailments are my hens prone to and what kind of preventive steps can i take to assure that I have healthy happy girls??

 

[bockbock2008]

You can put ACV (apple cider vinegar) into their water to help with internal parasites. No grocery store ACV but from like healthfood stores. It needs to still have the "mother" in it. OR, you can do what I do and just worm once a year with wazine. For external parasites, mites, lice, etc., you can put down DE (diatomaceaus earth) here again not the stuff for the pool but food grade. They will dust themselves with it. OR, 14 days after you give them the wazine, you can put a topical ivermectin, 5 drops per large fowl bird, on their neck. You will not be able to eat the eggs for several weeks if you go the chemical route like I do but if you do it in a molt, it's no loss anyway!

 

[markb816]

i just bought my adult hens about 2 weeks ago, so I'm not sure if they have been treated for worms. Since you said that you give the wazine once a year I would be concerned about if they have already have had the treatment of wazine. What exactly is wazine, where could I get it? feed store? and how do you apply/administer wazine? The DE, where would I be able to attain that? At a feed store as well?
Thanks for all your help

 

[speckledhen]

Wazine is piperazine and kills only roundworms. Chickens can get many types and a healthy chicken can carry a small worm load with no problems. Diatomaceous Earth is thought by some to kill worms, but it loses effectiveness if wet (inside the body is wet, of course). DE has to be food grade to use around chickens and usually you'll have to order online. The brand is Perma Guard and is also called fossil shell flour. Some feed stores have it, but it has to be food grade. I use it in feed to kill any bugs that may get inside and in nest boxes and to dust the birds with it, not actually for worming.

Natural wormers are chopped pumpkin seeds and buttermilk, sometimes followed by a molasses flush. Curcurbit in the seeds paralyzes the worm so it can be expelled. That is more a preventative than a wormer for a large worm load.

Many folks never worm their birds until they see worms or the birds start to look dull and thin. I didn't worm one single bird till my original flock was two years old and then, only because I saw a worm in one rooster's poop. On range, they eat natural wormers. Penned birds are more likely to get worms.