Cat wormer for chickens?

[Longhaven Hen]

Today I discovered wriggling grains of rice on an otherwise normal looking poo, so obviously we have worms. (So much for being a "Natural Chicken"

) We live in a rural area with the closest feed store an hour away. I have some round wormer for cats that is 250 mg piperazine per 5 ml. Can I use that on my chickens, at what rate, and what is the shelf-life of said wormer? (I've had it for about year or two.) Oh, and what kind of worms are the wriggling grains of rice? Are they round worms or tape worm segments?

 

[vyshtia]

Sounds like tapeworm segments - so don't use the roundworm deworming med. Roundworms should look like long spaghetti. Expiration date should be on the container.

Edit: I don't know what's used to deworm tapeworms in chicken - but Albendazole is a tapeworm dewormer.

 

[killer]

give here 1/2 cc and wait 10 days and do it again.

 

[Longhaven Hen]

Quote:
Found it...07/08...but it doesn't sound like it's the right stuff anyway.

Now what?

If the chickens have tapeworms, would they also have round worms? The reason I am asking is that another thread recommended worming for round worms first, then using pour on ivermectin a few weeks later for everything else (gentle hit/hard hit) to avoid shock or blockage from trying to pass an excessive amount of worms at once. I want to take care of the issue, but I don't want to harm my birds in the process.

 

[vyshtia]

No, just because they have tapeworm does not mean they have roundworm. And if you are seeing that many tapeworms segments outside the bird then you have a heavy infestation inside the bird - so I would only focus on getting rid of the tapeworm for now.

Valbazen is albendazole and is used for treating poultry with tapeworms. First State Vet Supply carries it: http://www.firststatevetsupply.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=23&products_id=72&osCsid=2ba5adb8749ec881cb955064ba9d490a

After you take care of the tapeworms - wait 1-2 weeks and then you can take some fecal sample to your vet to do a fecal test to see if they have roundworms...or any other worms that you need to take care of as well.

 

[Longhaven Hen]

Thank you, vyshtia, I'll try to get some right away!

 

[Longhaven Hen]

Quote:
There is only one feed store within a 50 mile radius that carries albendazole, and their smallest quantity is 500 ml for $44.99. I don't need that much...I only have 6 chickens! Do I have time to order the Valbazen online before my chickens kick the bucket (or whatever it is that will happen if I prolong treatment)? At this point, they all appear to be healthy, but I have gathered from this forum that looks can be deceiving.

 

[vyshtia]

You have time. Tapeworm is rarely life-threatening - you'll see malnutrition before you see death. Go ahead and order.