Dead Hen, Parasites!! Please Help Fast. Not much time!

[matthewschickens]

I am taking a very short "break" from my "break" of BYC because I have a VERY important question!!!

As some of you know. We have 2 coops in our yard. One big stationary one for production birds and one smaller one (the Henspa) for my pets.
Thursday is our busiest day of the week because we are out ALL day. This morning I went to the production coop but did not go to the Henspa because they had plenty of water and food. When I came home and opened up the top. I saw a Blue Andalusian lying on the ground. Dead. She had layed an egg that day but Rigamortis had already set in. The only sign of wounds was her bottom was very bloody and around it was also bloody. We removed her and took her out into the woods for someones dinner. I do have pics of her if you need those. I was checking out my other pets and saw that one named Sweetheart pooped a poop that looked like a worm except for that it was clear. The other birds quickly ate it. All the eggs that they laid except for one had blood on it. I did not see any signs before today so it was very sudden. I think that it was Parasites and I know that it may be a helpless case but I am determined to find a cure (if there is one) for my little girls.

Any help will be much appricated!!

Thank you VERY much!!

Matthew

P.S. There is a Broody in that coop that has not spent much time (if any) with the others. Is it okay if I move her away into another place. I have seen her poop and there is no blood in it and she is looking fine. She is a dear pet and I would like to save her. So again, should I move her away? Thank you!!

 

[dawg53]

You could possibly have a worm infestation due to the fact one of your hens excreted what looked like a "clear" worm and the others ate it. You need wazine17 to clean out roundworms that they probably have. You must give it to all your chickens. Do not eat eggs for two weeks. Follow directions on the bottle. I recommend you get a one gallon plastic container,wazine calls for one ounce per one gallon of water.Give it to them first thing in the morning and leave it out for them to drink in a 24 hour period, then remove and put out regular water. After two weeks follow up with ivermectin pour on, or safeguard. Use one or the other on them,they will kill roundworm larva that may have hatched after their first worming with wazine.Also, they will kill other types of worms your chickens may have. Again throw the eggs away for 2 weeks for a total of one month discarding eggs.

 

[trilyn]

You can also use Eprinex, and eat the eggs meanwhile. Do a search on here for Eprinex, it will give you the deets. Ewww, poor things, good luck!!

 

[matthewschickens]

Thank you for the fast replys!! I would also LOVE some more. Y'all are VERY helpful here!!

Does anyone have any sugestions about the Broody?

BYC has grown a lot since I was last on

Thanks!

Matthew

 

[dawg53]

I'd go ahead and seperate your broody hen from the others for now. Eventually,you're going to have to worm her also.

 

[387026]

Well, round worms are white, look like spaghetti. As the ground thaws with the spring rain the round worms come up and they carry a lot of round worm eggs in them from eating the dirt.
I am not sure what a clear worm would be. Was it moving?
Epernix is an ivermectin wormer used in dairy cattle as it is USDA approved with no residue in milk.
It is a pour on.
I like to use Ivermectin paste, it is inexpensive and I can put a does in their mouth and know with certainity every bird is dewormed with out guessing if it drank the water. Also the Wazine is a Piperazine which any one that has dogs and cats know it doesn't work because it has been used for so long the worms have developed a resistance to it so I really believe it is waste of money. If you don't see dead worms in the manure the next day I doubt it is working.
Ivermectin paralizes the worms and the birds pass them out, still alive but they can't move and release their hold on the intestines.
It is not USDA approved for poultry but neither is Epernix. I have eaten the eggs with deworming with no problems.
Ivermectin was first made for human use before it was used in animals, it is approved for human use so it is safe.
I have used it with peafowl, turkeys, guineas, all kinds and sizes of chickens with no side effects. They do not seem sensitive to the dosing like a cat either.
It will also kill any external parasite on them at time of dosing which is a plus too.
I have used Epernix as pour on under their wings but I could not get the dosing right, seemed it took quite a bit more than I thought to have a good effect. The paste seemed to work right away.

 

[dawg53]

387026, wazine is the only FDA recommended wormer for chickens. It's also approved for use in turkeys and swine. Wazine paralyzes roundworms,it does not kill them. IF.... IF there's an infestation,roundworms may be excreted in the poop and can be seen. If roundworms are not seen,then they have been absorbed as protein in the chickens digestive system. In 2 weeks it is recommended to use a different wormer rather than wazine again to prevent worm immunity to wazine. Yes, wazine does work. I've used it as a first wormer and each time I've noticed lethargic hens perk up in a day or so and start laying again a few days later. I like using ivermectin pour on, 2 weeks after using the wazine. Ivermectin kills worms, period. It not only kills roundworm larva that have hatched since the wazine use 2 weeks prior; it kills gapeworm,whipworm, gizzard worm just off the top of my head. An added benefit of using ivermectin pour on is that it also kills lice and mites. It is for this reason I prefer the pour on. It' true, eggs can be eaten after using epernix. I'd rather play it safe and discard eggs for one month. Both wazine and ivermectin pour on are poisons,albeit wazine is a mild wormer,it's still a poison and I dont want to consume poison. Furthermore,If there is an infestation,it's entirely possible that worms can pass into the eggs. I'll still wait one month for withdrawal time required. Another reason to use wazine first is because if there's an infestation and you use any kind of ivermectin; paste,epernix or pour on first- you risk killing your chickens because of the accumulation of dead worms in the chickens system will turn toxic due to the worm overload. Six months later, I use Safeguard instead of ivermectin...to prevent worm immunity to the ivermectin,rotation of wormers is best. Valbazen is used to kill 3 or 4 different types of tapeworms and of course roundworms, it's used for goats and sheep,and can be used for chickens. Zimecterin Gold paste is a horse wormer used against roundworms and one type of tapeworm,it has ivermectrin and praziquantel in it which kills roundworms and tapeworms respectively.It is a very potent poison and it's use in chickens must be exacting.

 

[387026]

Dawg53, sorry for the confusion, I was talking about the Ivermectin not USDA approved for chickens, which a lot of times just means they don't have enough justification to spend the money to test it for chickens.
Praziquantel has some serious side effects. Overdosing horses has caused a lot of problems. Since I have not seen tapeworm segments or tape worms hanging out of my chickens rear end I have never gave it any thought. Tape worms are rare in chickens. I have stuck with double strongid dosage for horses.
Since you have used it how many milligrams do use per pound of weight? How do you measure it? You are right, dosage would have to be right. Have you ever seen any side effects? It can not be used in dogs in cats so I wasn't sure of usage in chickens and never want to try.
The Fenbendazole does not have the same kill rate as the ivermectin so I never used it. I have seen a problem with over use of it as I have seen other wormers. Also the Fenbendazole is ususally used in 5 consecutive days for dogs and horses for enysted small strongyles, do you do the same with chickens?
Thank you for your great info!

 

[matthewschickens]

I am not sure what a clear worm would be. Was it moving?

I was not moving. I saw that Sweetheart was having a good amount of trouble getting it out so I was trying to get her out so that I could help her but before I could get her she got it out and the minute that it came out it was eaten. I looked like a big, fat, gummy worm that was clear to look at. When the other hens ate it it came apart pretty easy so no, I do not think it was a real worm. And no, it was not moving.

Thank you for the replys and I hope to have some more soon

Matthew​

 

[387026]

Could you be dealing with something else? You need some one else chime in but I am wondering if it is not an illness and that was not the lining of the intestine from inflamation? Just does not sound like worms to me as I have never heard of a clear one and the fact they ate it.
I would not deworm that bird till you know because the dewormer might make her worse as you do not want to deworm an ill bird unless you are sure it is worms.
By the way I am a Virginian too!