⠀ Deworm??

[saturner415]

Hi! New to having chickens... I have read a lot of great advice on this site. SO HELPFUL! But also a lot of contradictions.... So I shall ask for my self? We have 12 week old pullets... What do we need to do to make sure our chickens don't get worms? Is it common for them to get worms from your back yard?

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi, it's impossible to prevent worms. Generally speaking, it's nothing to worry about. Some people routinely de-worm their flock, others don't. I'd suggest reading up on the subject so you can make an informed decision.

Ct

 

[MorganC]

Parasites are a natural part of life.
In a perfect world, with perfect animals and perfect feed, no animal would have harmful parasites. Notice I said harmful.
HOWEVER, this is not a perfect world, we do not have perfect animals, and the feed is BY FAR perfect, no matter what feed you get.

That being said, yes......worms are normal and it is normal for all birds to get them.
Some people worm frequently, like every 6 months if the birds are free range, once a year if not.

I myself have never used any chemical dewormer on any of my birds, whether they need it or not. Instead, I used natural things like diatom. earth and ACV, garlic and pepper, usually for about 2 weeks.


Deworming is a personal choice. I know a lot of people that do it constantly and tax the systems of the poor birds far too much.
So, if you feel like you need to, use the least harmful of the dewormers and make sure you don't do it more than once a year and always alternate between two or three brands or methods or else the parasites will become immune.

Hope this helps!

 

[jennyf]

I've been thinking about this too. We have two small children who are constantly wanting to handle the chickens and hang out in the coop, and it occurred to me that it would be good to worm before they start to lay to minimize need to toss eggs. Called around and found a chicken vet who will run a fecal for me. Now just need to see a fresh poop occur when I have time to pack it up and head to the vet!

 

[MorganC]

Most of the time worms aren't a big issue with children and egg production. It's when it becomes an infestation that is prevalent that it becomes a problem. What I mean by that is that it's not a big deal unless you see them start showing up in the poop. Then that would be the time to do a worming. As far as eggs go, it's not real common to have worms in eggs, but the more prevalent the worms in the poop, the more likely they are to show up in the eggs.

 

[jennyf]

Sorry, my post should have been more coherent! Planning on having a fecal run at the vet to check for worms. Deworming with appropriate wormer then if worms found. From the research I've done, sounds like you need to toss eggs for 14 days after worming with most wormers, so would like to do it before they start laying (mine are 13 weeks).

 

[MorganC]

True true. Good plan.