De-worm while they are molting or wait??

[BeardedChick]

I ordered some Eprinex and am ready to deworm. But one of the Delaware hens in particular is almost nekkid from molting so hard. Should I wait to deworm?

At first I thought she was wormy because her coat looked rough, then the bad looking stuff fell out at once, poor thing!

The positive angle is that I'm not getting many eggs per day anyway, so tossing them for a week wouldn't be much of a waste.

 

[speckledhen]

IMO, I'd wait. Molting is very stressful and so is worming. And, some wormers, like Safeguard, can actually cause feather deformities during the molt.

Most of my hens have all their feathers back way before they start laying again, at least this year, so you may still be able to worm before they're laying again, but after the molt.

 

[gritsar]

I agree with speckled. One stress at a time.

 

[davidb]

I would wait, molt is hard enough on them without something extra

 

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

Quote:
Get a fecal float done to confirm worms before treating. Poor feather condition is caused by many things, some serious & some not.

If the fecal comes back negative, there is NO point in using a wormer. They do not act as a preventative

 

[silkiechicken]

Quote:
Get a fecal float done to confirm worms before treating. Poor feather condition is caused by many things, some serious & some not.

If the fecal comes back negative, there is NO point in using a wormer. They do not act as a preventative

I agree. Have a test run. No point in worming if they don't have any, and no point in using a wormer which doesn't work on a type of worms they may have. They don't all work equally.

 

[Jenski]

The research only claims worming "can cause feather abnormalities," but I can tell you first hand that worming during the molt can cause the feathers to NOT GROW BACK. Knowing what I know now, I'd wait.

If you're really chicken-obsessed, you might invest in a nice little microscope and do your own fecals. Good times!

Good luck ~

 

[Sissy]

Is it necessary to de worm?
I have never seen any worms in the poop.
and they are 9months old.

 

[speckledhen]

No, Sissy, you do not have to worm them. If they are healthy and have good weight, they are probably just fine. If you see worms in the poop, then you certainly may worm them. I wormed my flock at over two years old for the first time just because I saw a worm in one rooster's poop. I've wormed them once since then when we had a really juicy time period and they were eating lots of them, but I do not worm with chemical wormers unless they really need it. I do feed them pumpkin seeds and buttermilk once a week or so, since that combo is a natural wormer, but that's it. However, if you see lots of worms in poop, it may be time for something like Eprinex.

 

[Guinea Goonie]

Just look at their poop now !! Take a few pics of it for a reference and go online and compare what you have. Remember some poops look really odd, these can be what is called "cecal poops". They show up every so often in all chickens and it is not a large concern.

Really, poop watching has become a BIG part of managing my flock.

I even have empty feed bags under some of the roosting areas of my birds. I keep them there for a week or so. I look at them EVERY DAY and it has saved a few of my birds. After awhile you learn what is normal and what is not.

Poop is not a favarite topic of conversation, but IMHO it is really improtant to "read" your chickens health this way.

Don't worm unless you actually see evidence of this. It takes a while for the chickens to get back to normal after a worming and for some of them it is hard on thier system.