Deworming 40 Chickens?

[josephinefarmsw]

I’m at my wit’s end trying to get an answer to this question: how does one deworm 40 hens properly? Before you answer PLEASE read the details…

1. I have 40 hens.
2. They sleep in a coop that doesn’t have easy access (not to all of them, anyway)
3. They are many different ages - 15 weeks to two years
4. I’ve seen signs of three different kinds of worms in fecal matter over the last 6 months, but not wide spread (meaning most poops seem normal) - I’ve seen round and tape worm for sure.
5. I have no way of knowing who has the worms, there are too many of them.
6. I have no way of weighing each of my chickens, I don’t have time to do that.
7. I am not getting a vet involved, as I do not have the means nor live in an area where I have access to one.
8. We have thousands of small frogs on our property and I’m guessing they are eating a lot of them..which is maybe where the problem started

now, what the heck do I do? Is there no way to put something in their water or food supply? How are large scale farmers deworming? I’m reading I have to dose them individually for 5 days? I cannot imagine how I can possibly do this - but I’m willing to. I’m frustrated, if you can’t tell

 

[GracePoultry]

Roosty's dewormer on amazon. dont use the red chili one as it isn't as effective. make sure the one you get contains wormwood. its safe to use for birds that are not infested and you can still eat eggs during treatment. I know you don't have a way to mix it into food supply so maybe buy a separate bag of food and mix the stuff in it and give it to your chickens, it's expensive, but mixing in black solder fly larvae would be a good way to be sure they eat it.

 

[Susan Skylark]

I would use a commercially available poultry dewormer, homeopathic treatments sound nice and natural but they aren’t all that effective especially on a flock level and can sometimes be toxic. I’d guess there are pelleted feed versions as well as water treatment options available, some may be prescription. Deworming also only treats the worms currently in the birds, they will get reinfected if not removed from the source so doing it several times a year is recommended if you aren’t going to confine them indefinitely. Go talk to your local feed or farm and fleet guy or call a local poultry vet, if you need a prescription get a fecal done at a local livestock vet then you could also have a vcpr for prescription dewormers too.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

4. I’ve seen signs of three different kinds of worms in fecal matter over the last 6 months, but not wide spread (meaning most poops seem normal) - I’ve seen round and tape worm for sure.

Is there no way to put something in their water or food supply? How are large scale farmers deworming? I’m reading I have to dose them individually for 5 days? I cannot imagine how I can possibly do this - but I’m willing to.

You are seeing Roundworms and Tapeworms? What's the third one?

Are you in the U.S.?

For Tapeworms, generally you want to use Praziquantel, so you can use Equimax to deworm them. Yes, it would have to be individually for the Tapeworms. Dosing and products are here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/treating-tapeworms-under-construction.1220309/

For Roundworms only, you can use Safeguard Aquasol which is very expensive, but it is formulated to go in the drinking water.

You could also use Prohibit Levamisole to treat the Roundworms, it can be used in drinking water.

Valbazen can be used to treat Roundworms, it would need to be given orally by weight, but it's once, then repeated in 10 days.

Hopefully @dawg53 can chime in with other suggestions.

 

[josephinefarmsw]

Yes I’m in the US - PNW specifically. It’s very rainy and wet right now, earthworms and frogs everywhere. I first saw a tapeworm a month ago and decided to “de-worm” the group using capsules that Wilco sells, called “Poultry Dewormer” - Each capsule contains 6.7mg of fenbendazole - but oddly it calls it a “supplement” for prevention. It recommends dosing in treats or feeding it to the birds directly (one capsule per bird)…every 10 days until desired results are reached. It claims to prevent tape,round,thread, cecal and gape worms. But the language surrounding “prevention” vs actual killing of the worms was vague. Anyway, I did that first. I painstakingly gave each bird a capsule which took forever. A few days later I noticed round worms in the feces and also saw tape worm segments. I should clarify I saw this in a couple droppings - the majority of the flock’s droppings were normal. I wondered if I saw gape worms but I’m not convinced that was anything more than “seeing worms everywhere” since it’s so gross and all encompassing when you have to deal with it. So now I need to follow up with another dose and I’ve surpassed the 10 days due to time constraints - and just today I noticed more tapeworm segments - I didn’t get a picture but they were like pieces of rice moving rapidly in the feces and dying off very quickly. And it was in the same spot as last time which makes me think it’s the same bird who likes to hang in one area. All that to say I’m just overwhelmed with the different needs per kind of worm, the difficulty in administration of individual doses - the expense of AqualSol for the rounds and also just knowing what is actually the best process.

My hens have a large, 800sq ft run, with a roof on it (we have lotsa raccoons) but they also free range when I am home to keep an eye. I see just as many bugs, worms, frogs etc in the run as I do outside it - so I don’t think isolating them would make a difference. We are due for some fresh ground cover (I use cedar chips - I know I know - cedar is sin! But in open air areas only, I’ve found it affective for reducing earthworms and freshening up the space (I’d never use it INSIDE a coop). I’m also do for a big scrub of everything - which I try and do weekly. I will look into the natural options for prevention but I agree that I need to hit this head on with real meds first, I just don’t know which one is best? Especially for a large group - I’ve been using a livestock marker to keep track of who had what but it’s almost impossible to catch all of them

 

[BGcoop]

If you are actually seeing worms I would definitely treat the whole flock cuz if one has them they probably all do. (But I’m not sure how to BEST do that for 40 birds- sorry)

 

[josephinefarmsw]

If you are actually seeing worms I would definitely treat the whole flock cuz if one has them they probably all do. (But I’m not sure how to BEST do that for 40 birds- sorry)

Oh yes I will be treating them all, no other option there. But yes, how to treat that many especially with evidence of different worms has been a nightmare

 

[dawg53]

Please read posts #2 & #4 in this link, they will help you.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/worms-in-chicken-poop.1575508/#post-26765905

For tapeworms, you need to use Equimax or Zimectrin Gold to kill the tapeworms. Only dose the birds that are excreting the segments that you see in feces. It's possible that only one or two birds have tapeworms. The moving segments in feces contain eggs. The segments work their way onto and into the soil where they release the eggs. The eggs are eaten by insects. Chickens eat the infected insect and the chicken becomes infected, not all insects will be tapeworm infected however.

You're not going to see gapeworms in feces since they are attached to the trachea. Their eggs can be detected in feces under a microscope.
I doubt your birds have gapeworm, you'd know it if you saw what they do to chickens.

Since you have alot of chickens, buy Valbazen. It will last you, and you only have to dose each chicken twice. The initial dosing, and another dosing 10-14 days later and you're done. It will eliminate every type of roundworm that a chicken can get.

I recommend setting up a regular worming schedule. I worm monthly due to our warm wet/moist soil most of the time. Perhaps you can worm your birds every 3 or 4 months or however you see fit since there will be worm eggs in the soil waiting to be picked up by your birds. Take a look at the poultry large roundworm lifecycle on the internet and you'll get a good idea how often you should worm your chickens.
We worm our dog monthly per our vet. Same thing, dogs easily pick up worms and need to be wormed as well.

 

[Folly's place]

Are your birds unwell? Are any underweight? Some level of worm burden is okay for many birds, and as long as they are in that environment, they will be reinfected often/ always.
Fenbendazole is the only wormer approved for use in chickens in the USA, and how it's dosed depends on the parasites present. It will kill one type of tapeworm, but not most species.
We have over thirty chickens right now, and daily individual dosing, for five or ten days straight, repeated three weeks later, isn't going to happen here (gapeworm treatment). Our university poultry expert told me that it isn't worth doing for my flock.
Aquasol is the fenbendazole that actually works when added to their drinking water as directed, wonderful! It is expensive, and we haven' bought it yet. Going together with a couple of other local poultry owners would make the price more 'user friendly', which is my plan.
Mary

 

[josephinefarmsw]

Are your birds unwell? Are any underweight? Some level of worm burden is okay for many birds, and as long as they are in that environment, they will be reinfected often/ always.
Fenbendazole is the only wormer approved for use in chickens in the USA, and how it's dosed depends on the parasites present. It will kill one type of tapeworm, but not most species.
We have over thirty chickens right now, and daily individual dosing, for five or ten days straight, repeated three weeks later, isn't going to happen here (gapeworm treatment). Our university poultry expert told me that it isn't worth doing for my flock.
Aquasol is the fenbendazole that actually works when added to their drinking water as directed, wonderful! It is expensive, and we haven' bought it yet. Going together with a couple of other local poultry owners would make the price more 'user friendly', which is my plan.
Mary

This is helpful thank you! I may invest in the Aquasol, saves me time which is most precious of all. In general, my birds look pretty healthy. There are a few who seem a little stressed, but they may be getting ready for a molt. I’ve not seen anything truly troubling. I don’t like the idea of constantly de-worming my birds with medication…especially since I’m an egg seller in my neighborhood. But I also don’t want sick birds or god forbid, worms in eggs (which sounds rare but can happen). I’m thinking I’ll do one detailed worming schedule this month followed by on going natural prevention and see how they do…deworming them every 2-3 months, all 40 of them with individual doses, doesn’t seem very sustainable, I agree with you.