Chicks again

[Chinachik]

Live? What kind of worms?

Earthworms. live

 

[DobieLover]

Earthworms. live

Are you aware they are a vector for tapeworms?

 

[Chinachik]

Are you aware they are a vector for tapeworms?

No, but if your chickens free range wouldn't they eat them anyway so you treat them with a wormer every so often?

 

[DobieLover]

No, but if your chickens free range wouldn't they eat them anyway so you treat them with a wormer every so often?

They have to dig them up or "rescue" them from drowning during heavy rains. I do not feed them earthworms intentionally.

 

[Chinachik]

That's good to know I only gave them one a piece. So does the wormer help to keep the tapeworms at bay?

 

[dawg53]

Snails are hosts for Trematodes (flukes.) Praziquantel will treat both tapeworms and flukes.

 

[Chinachik]

So when we had chickens before they were totally free range, They ate what they found in the yard and we gave them feed. I'm pretty sure they ate earth worms,grubs, crickets, snails, ants, ticks, fleas and any other type of bug that appealed to them. All of these can contain parasites. I'm thinking we gave them a wormer in the spring and fall to take care of these issues. I also purchased these chicks at our feed store where they were supposed to have all that taken care of before they were shipped. I have had them since April 19th and I think they are about 8 weeks old. When should I worm them again?

 

[dawg53]

Normally chicks arnt wormed until they are about 5 to 6 weeks old and that's only if they have been on soil. I worm my birds once a month due to our warm moist/wet soil. How often you worm chickens depends on your environment and soil conditions.

 

[Chinachik]

Thank you. I live in TN we have gotten a lot of rain in the past years. Our coop will be covered but they will have access to dirt and a very large stump. Hoping to get the coop and run finished by Monday. Before all the fancy stuff for animals my go to is to add a little Watkins linement to their water about once a month. I haven't seen any worms in their droppings . We have let them peck the grass from their crate and I have been throwing them grass and weed pullings to put in their coop. They have water and a chick feeder with scratch in it.