chicken losing weight, help!

[Lesha]

I have one hen who has lost at least 1/3 to 1/2 her weight. I understsnd worms can be the problem. How do I trest it?

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[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. Has she had any certain symptoms such as refusal to eat, diarrhea, low pecking order or being kept from food, respiratory, or crop problems? Some chicken diseases can cause wasting. Good chicken wormers are Valbazen 1/2 ml given orally, then repeated in 10 days to a grown standard chicken. Fenbendazole can also be used.

 

[Lesha]

How can I obtain one of these meds? How is it given. I'm a nurse but have never given chicken meds.

Could this weight lose be from a pen that isn't cleaned wrll enough? If so how do I fix this problem in the winter?

 

[Eggcessive]

In winter, most of us stir the litter and add clean pine sahvings on top to keep the bedding dry and fairly clean. Letting them outside during the day can cut down on manure and moisture. Worms will be more of a problem when confined to the coop. Valbazen and fenbendazole (SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer, Panacur horse paste) can be found in many farm and feed stores in the cattle and goat departments. They are also available online. Valbazen is more expensive ($43,) but contains many doses, and can be shared with other chicken people to cost costs. It only needs to be given twice to get all worms, where fenbendazole ($19) gets most worms with 2 doses, but more difficult worms may require dosage of 1 ml for 5 days in a row.
http://www.jefferspet.com/products/valbazen-broad-spectrum-dewormer
http://www.jefferspet.com/products/safeguard-dewormer-goats-125ml