Can Molting be dangerous for a chicken?

[Ksane]

Quote:
wazine is all that I have. what other kind of worms are there? How do I know it's not round worm? I have never seem worms in poop, and I look all of the time.

Tapeworms are about all you'd see with the naked eye. There's gapeworms, cecal worms, hairworms. Those worms can KILL them. I use Fenbendazole because it's easy to get. It's the same thing as Safeguard horse wormer. It'll kill all the dangerous worms, the only thing it won't kill is tapes. Valbazen will kill *all worms. Get some Safeguard horse wormer ASAP at the feed store and give each chicken a couple pea-sized drops down their throats. It's super safe and nearly impossible to overdose untless you squirt the whole tube down their throat. Repeat it in 10 days and it wouldn't hurt to repeat 10 days after that. Worms are serious and I've really been surprised that so few people know about wormers.
Molting will NOT kill a chicken.

 

[FisherMOM]

Thanks Ksane! I will get one of those tomorrow. Should I hold off on giving that to Emma as stated earlier?

I assume that I want the equine kind, right?

 

[speckledhen]

It may not be worms. We can't know that for sure. I have had birds molt and lose massive amounts of weight, in spite of extra protein given, mostly older hens. I've also had birds in heavy molt develop crop stasis (quits working entirely). The molt is very hard on them, to be sure, makes any other condition worse than it would be if they were not molting.

Generally, you don't want to worm a bird in heavy molt. Safeguard/fenbendazole/panacur can cause feather deformity in new feathers if given during a molt as well. Mostly, chickens do get roundworms, but can also get tapeworms, lungworms, etc.

 

[Ksane]

It's your call but if they were my chickens I certainly *would worm them. I've heard the whole "can cause deformity in new feathers" thing before. There's also a lot better chance of it NOT causing any feather deformity. No one can deny that worms KILL chickens. The wormer is SAFE, I would use it. Hopefully it's not too late, she sounds in very very bad shape.
Yes, it's the equine wormer. There hundreds of threads on here about worming. I can't imagine *not worming, molting makes them feel out of sorts sometimes (certainly not often) but it doesn't make them near death.
Your call.

 

[RedDrgn]

At this point, I'd strongly recommend seeking veterinary assistance to figure out just what is wrong rather than guessing at worms. As others mentioned, worm treatments are rather rough on the system (of anything being treated with them), so if she's already down you may quickly make a bad situation worse. Plus, if that's not the problem, treating for it is a waste of time and money. Save the money for the treatment and consult a vet so you know what you're dealing with.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Good advice on the vet.

Putting on a new set of feathers takes a massive amount of protein, hence the reason for no eggs.

I think the only time it could kill them is in the dead of winter.

 

[Godiva]

I agree with finding out what is actually wrong with her before going the route of worming right now, she sounds in bad shape if she is as weak as you are describing and you could push her over the edge with extra wormer. It would do her no harm to add a little DE to whatever she is eating and at least help that way if you are sure worms are the problem and then when she is stronger do the worm medication... I would like to say that Speckledhen is extremely experienced and is a wonderful resource for advice. If she says don't worm now I would be very reluctant to go against that! Just my two cents..... really hope she picks up soon or that you figure out what exactly is going on. It is so hard to wade through all the information and figure out what exactly is going to work for your bird and your situation.