Consolidated Kansas

[Deerfield Acres]

Quote: No you don't use ivermectin pour on for worms. That works for mites and external parasites. They might absorb some of it but not enough to do an effective job. You would need Ivermectin injectable.

I use Valbazen for worming because it works over time and will not overwhelm the bird's system with too many dead parasites. Just learned that this year. Previously, I was using Wazine, first, and then Valbazen. I switched to Valbazen because it is the only wormer effective against all parasites, the others kill most, but not all of them. I found that out when I added some birds from another flock and passed one of the birds to a friend. She found out it had the one kind of parasite not covered. So embarrassing, but it was a good thing she actually saw the parasite in the droppings and could determine what kind it was. I never saw them in the droppings but the one bird just had a continually messy backside until my buddy figured out what was going on. Problem solved with Valbazen. I think Ivermectin works so well for Danz because she never gets that particular parasite, and probably most people don't. I've had it here so that's what I will continue to use, just in case it's still in the soil. Valbazen is a lot of extra work also, you have to syringe it into their mouths. It is also expensive.

I mentioned ivermectin because she said she had some. I actually use Safeguard wormer one time and ivermectin the next. Safeguard will kill capilliary worms, cecal worms and tape worms where invermectin won't kill cecals or capilliary worms. Neither is actually rated for tape worms but according to HEChicken the ivermectin works better than Valbazen on tape worms. I tend to believe that, because they are the hardest worm to alleviate. Panacur is what vets usually use in a three day dose for tape worms and that is the same medication febendazole, that is in safeguard.
Ivermectin has a reputation because it is the medication used to prevent heart worms. If it kills a bunch of heart worms in a dog it can block the valves and kill the dog. So it has a reputation of being strong. It is actually very safe as a chicken wormer. Any wormer is going to be hard on any animal. The important thing is to make sure the animal is in other wise good health and supplement with probiotics or good greens etc while worming. They actually get very little wormer at a time cause it is mixed weak and they hesitate to drink any more than they have to.
All wormers have their benefits I guess. I figure by worming one time with one and the next with the other I am catching all ends.

Ah ha! That makes great sense and seems like the way to go. Valbazen is so expensive and if I can cut costs, I am more than happy too. Thanks, Danz! You always know your stuff.

 

[Trish44]

Valbazen is what I worm my sheep & goats with but I wouldn't want to use it all the time for the chickens, it is pricey. I just gave another dose to my buck goat a couple of days ago because he is looking so thin. I had wormed them all once when the hoof trimmer came & she & her mom helped hold while I gave shots & wormer. Boy was that a big help! Try holding a 100+ pound goat still to give them wormer, not easy. For the chickens I have been using the triple wormer by Rooster Booster, it covers 3 kinds of worms. I may try Ivermectin next time when I worm in the fall. I do like the Rooster Booster wormer because it's in granules & I can mix it into my FF. It goes by pound of feed & I just figure it according to how much I have in my tub. I have only seen round worms here once but I do see tapes at times. The tapes are extremely hard to get rid of, even in dogs. If your chickens free range you probably will have tapes. Here is a good article on them & treatment: http://www.thepoultrysite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26652

Congrats on the chicks JennyJane73! I hatch chicks all the time but I never get tired of seeing them, just cuteness overload.

 

[zigzag45]

@ashncarson - Your comments on taking chicks from the broody hen was of interest. I had a mean buff orp hatched some babies last year, but the babies were too wild for me to keep in the city.

We just had an australorp go broody, and one of the kiddos wants to put eggs under her. After that last experience, there was no way I wanted to mess with broody raised chicks again.

But, if we separate the mamma and babies after a week or so, does that mitigate the "crazy" aspect in the babies? With living in the city, we need birds we can handle and catch. Those broody raised chicks made me crazy. I was glad to give them away before I killed them. Joking aside, I was actually concerned they would get hurt when I was trying to handle them.

This broody australorp is super laid back. She doesn't peck us when we pet her, I pick her up nightly to give her a shot of Tylan, no drama at all.

I guess I'm not good at saying no to my kiddos....

 

[Momma2bellas]

Ok another ?, my 2 Bantams are now 4 was old and my 4 Silkies are just 1 wk old. Changed an old pack n play into their pen, so the last 2 days durning the day I have been putting them together and at night sperating them. First day was a lot of pecking and checking out the silkies but today no really much of anything. I am home all day since I do daycare so I can see them at all times in the playroom. Do you think after another 2 days I could leave together without separating at night. I do have a small tub of dirt I put in and the Bantams just love that but didn't want the cage a mess I had just cleaned it. I know not the best pictures.

 

[chicken danz]

For some reason my computer locked up and posted my last post a second time. I just emptied the incubator. So many chicks I couldn't count them. I am so very very tired. I wasn't even happy to see them. I was getting ready to go gather eggs and I usually mark the hatching eggs by breed. I think all the eggs are going into the bucket with no marks and will find there way on a dinner table.

 

[ashncarson]

Why does all this all have to be so confusing just to get rid of some worms? UGH. I don't deal well with all this and am confused on what I should do now

 

[Trish44]

Why does all this all have to be so confusing just to get rid of some worms? UGH. I don't deal well with all this and am confused on what I should do now

I would just get some ivermectin injectable & use it like Danz said in the water. That should cover most worms anyway other than tapes. If you think you have tapeworms then you will have to probably use another wormer. You can find pics of different poultry worms to identify them on the internet.

 

[ashncarson]

I would just get some ivermectin injectable & use it like Danz said in the water. That should cover most worms anyway other than tapes. If you think you have tapeworms then you will have to probably use another wormer. You can find pics of different poultry worms to identify them on the internet.

I bought the pour-on at the advice of a local friend who has a working farm and where I buy my eggs:


" I use Ivomec (Ivermectin) pour on (5 mg of ivermectin per mL), generic works fine @ 1/4-1/2 cc per adult bird on the back between where the wings attach or so (4 drops for bantams, 5 drops for most adult birds if you prefer an eye dropper. I just fill 6-20 cc syringe up and go down the line), lift up the feathers to squirt directly on the skin. Some follow up in 10 days b/c wormer does not kill eggs, just larvae and adult worms. The life cycle of most worms is about 10 days so worming again will get the larvae & adults that were eggs when they were wormed first. This is "off label" for poultry so egg with-hold time is anyone's guess but generally anywhere from 1-3 weeks is what the general consensus is. Ivermectin is used on humans for worms pretty commonly, especially in 3rd world countries. Some people use that as an excuse not to do any egg with hold time."

 

[chicken danz]

I bought the pour-on at the advice of a local friend who has a working farm and where I buy my eggs:


" I use Ivomec (Ivermectin) pour on (5 mg of ivermectin per mL), generic works fine @ 1/4-1/2 cc per adult bird on the back between where the wings attach or so (4 drops for bantams, 5 drops for most adult birds if you prefer an eye dropper. I just fill 6-20 cc syringe up and go down the line), lift up the feathers to squirt directly on the skin. Some follow up in 10 days b/c wormer does not kill eggs, just larvae and adult worms. The life cycle of most worms is about 10 days so worming again will get the larvae & adults that were eggs when they were wormed first. This is "off label" for poultry so egg with-hold time is anyone's guess but generally anywhere from 1-3 weeks is what the general consensus is. Ivermectin is used on humans for worms pretty commonly, especially in 3rd world countries. Some people use that as an excuse not to do any egg with hold time."

Don't let it intimidate you. If you have the Wazine and you have round worms go ahead and use it. Pour on ivermectin used the way she described is great for mites or lice. There have been no studies made on whether it would actually absorb through the skin and kill worms. Personally I don't believe it will because used on livestock, which is studied it doesn't worm them. I have used pour on many times for parasites and still found round worms in the birds, but those were birds that free range, so who knows.
If a bird touches the ground or has other birds fly overhead it's going to be exposed to parasites so it's really not anything to get upset about. Your best bet is to keep your birds in prime health condition so all these little things don't get them down.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Why does all this all have to be so confusing just to get rid of some worms? UGH. I don't deal well with all this and am confused on what I should do now

Are you confused about something we said or confused because there are different answers? There are different answers because poultry keeping is not an exact science. Most people without BYC have to learn by trial and error and end up losing birds and giving up. We have the privilege of learning from many experienced poultry keepers, whose advice and opinions vary. My uncle (not on BYC) got an electric fence for his birds because he heard I had one. The birds got shocked and stopped laying so he got rid of them thinking they would never lay again. I can't tell you how many silly mistakes I've made over the years (and would much rather tell you my uncle's than my own) that were many times correctible and other times not.

On BYC when you find someone whose poultry keeping you respect, then you really believe in their methods. In my case, I've known Danz and Trish and respect their methods and listen to them. Although I have a bunch of Valbazen I've been using up, I would very much like something less expensive. I used to have more birds than I do now. In Danz's case, who literally has had 100's of birds for years, when she finds something that is as inexpensive as possible and as effective as possible, she really believes in it and she has so much experience, I believe in her. It really is okay for people to have different opinions.

It seems like you are sort of like my husband who gets stressed out trying to find the ultimate best answer and want a consensus on what that best answer is. There are many degrees of right answers and if you decide you trust your friend's advice, what can it hurt to try it? You have the pour-on. Try it and if it doesn't work, try something else in a week. If you don't have that many birds it can't be that expensive to switch gears, should you be unhappy with the result. If it works, then you've learned something very valuable. If it doesn't work, then you've learned something very valuable. It's okay to do something we haven't recommended. We're not like the chicken police who are going to come arrest you.

We will be interested in your results and supportive, always.

It's okay, hang in there!