De-Worming Chickens...Natural vs Medication...???

[OG_SHAMOS]

I have some baby chicks that are about 2-3 months old and I think they are all infected with some intestinal worms.

Symptoms:
1. Hunched over
2. Little energy
3. Diarrhea stools
4. Stools have blood or worms.
5. They have a really strong stinky 'smell/odor' to them

Should I deworm naturally or deworm with medication...?

Most of these chickens will be slaughtered for meat. So...I figured I would rather go the 'natural' deworming route since I don't like the idea of eating chickens that have been medicated.

What solutions do you guys have as far as a 'natural' deworming solution...?

The only solution or route I have seen or heard is supplementing their feed with some kind of natural herb, vegetable, plant or food that has anti-microbial/anti-bacterial properties to help kill the worms/parasites in their stomach.

I was thinking of using a mixture of Lemon Grass, Ginger/Turmeric, Garlic and Rosemary...mixed in a 1:1 ratio with their feed and given to them for as long as it takes until I see no more diarrhea/worm symptoms.

Help...?!?!?

 

[coach723]

Can you post some pictures of the droppings, any pictures of the suspected worm?

 

[dawg53]

Use Safeguard liquid goat wormer or Valbazen liquid cattle/sheep wormer. Either will take care of worms. At the very least, Wazine mixed in water.
Natural products are questionable at best. How much to give, how much is enough, contraindications, withdrawal periods, when to redose, effectiveness etc...
Chemical wormers are the way to go, no guesswork about it.

 

[rebrascora]

I would be surprised if they have a heavy worm burden at such a young age. Can you post a photo of what you see that makes you think this

4. Stools have blood or worms.

It sounds like it may be shed intestinal lining and/or they may be suffering from coccidiosis rather than worms in which case Corid would be the treatment to give them. Coccidiosis will be lethal more quickly than worms so you would be best treating them for that first, or getting a faecal float test done, either by a vet or your state veterinary diagnostics lab which may accept a faecal sample sent via the postal service and probably be significantly cheaper than the vet. Much better to know what you are dealing with and treat accordingly.... they will check for worms and coccidia via this sampling.
Corid, which is the treatment for a coccidiosis does not contain an antibiotic. It is a medicine called amprolium which blocks the uptake of vitamin B by the coccidia in the gut and effectively causes them to starve. It is a relatively mild drug and there is no egg or meat withdrawal period in the USA for it. Coccidiosis can kill fast and there is no accepted natural treatment for an outbreak as far as I know.... prevention is best by gradual exposure to the soil and/or the use of medicated chick feed.... the medication is just a very low dose of amprolium. Broody reared chicks are much less likely to be affected by it because they have exposure to the dirt from the start and pick up some good gut bacteria from the broody by eating her poop which helps to balance their digestive tract.
Once you have an outbreak of coccidiosis, you need to use a much higher dose, so prevention is a better option. Corid can be purchased in the cattle section of your farm supplies store and depending upon whether it is in liquid or powder form, you want 1.5 teaspns per gallon of water for the powder or 2 teaspns of the liquid to a gallon, made fresh each day for 5 days with no other water available. If birds are seriously affected and not eating and drinking, a direct dose of a couple of drops of the concentrated liquid into their beak twice a day for the first few days may help kick start the process before they are overwhelmed and die. After the 5 days a lower does is recommended for a further 10-14 days I believe.

 

[dawg53]

Large roundworms can infect chicks in as little as 6 weeks old if they are reared on soil. By week 12 they are already in the second generation. Coccidiosis is a possibility but if it's straight blood you're seeing and not shed intestinal lining, then the chicks will quickly die. Treating them with Corid will be too late and they wont drink it.
If it's frequent shed intestinal lining, get them started on Corid like Rebrascora mentioned. Then follow up with one of the wormers I mentioned. Just for your info; worms can be a cause of shed intestinal lining, particularly capillary worms.

 

[casportpony]

If you decide to treat with Corid, which I would, here are the poultry dosing instructions:

Treatment	20% Powder	9.6% Liquid
For 3-5 days	1.5 teaspoons per gallon	2 teaspoons per gallon
then for 7-14 days	1/3 teaspoon per gallon	1/2 teaspoon per gallon

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ol-ampromed-the-correct-amprolium-dose.73341/

---

If they aren't drinking enough water you can also do this:

When treating a bird for coccidiosis one can give an oral drench in addition to their medicated water. Here are the instructions:

Corid 9.6% liquid - Do not dilute

• Give 0.1 ml per pound of body weight orally once or twice a day for 1-3 days.

or

• 0.02 ml per 100 grams of body weight orally once or twice a day for 1-3 days.

Corid 20% powder - Mix 1/2 teaspoon powder with 2 teaspoons water.

• Give 0.34 ml per pound of body weight orally once or twice a day for 1-3 days.

or

• 0.07 ml per 100 grams of body weight orally once or twice a day for 1-3 days.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/corid-oral-drench-instructions.74391/

Edited to add:
I would also de-worm with Valbazen or Safeguard