Deworming experience from start to finish.

[Cynthia12]

I like this answer...makes a lot of sense. I don't think anyone knows for sure what's up, with deworming meds.

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/search/label/worming

 

[Cynthia12]

Wormers have no effect on worm oocysts, whether the oocysts are inside the bird or not. Wormer residue has no effect on worm oocysts in the soil neither. Look up online and see how long cecal worm oocysts last in the soil.
For most folks who dont have acreage (and those who do,) rotating wormers prevents worm resisitance...common sense.
Keeping birds off the ground is practically the only way to prevent birds from getting worms.
The bottom line is that if their feet touch the ground, birds will get worms.
Buttermilk is a better probiotic and is more easily absorbed than yogurt. Yogurt tends to pass through them.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

Just as an update, this chickens are looking good from the outside (personally, not going to check the inside). No worms or proglottids in the poop. And they're all alive and seemingly happy, so no overdose danger? And they seem to be gaining weight

Always good news when they're gainin' ground again, and if there were gonna be an negative impact? You'da seen the result almost immediately (usually during treatment).

You've created an excellent thread, w/ twelve pages of excellent resources for folks to find ... hopefully, nobody comes along 'n edits away five pages of it, as happens too often here.

 

[NotableNancy]

You've created an excellent thread, w/ twelve pages of excellent resources for folks to find ... hopefully, nobody comes along 'n edits away five pages of it, as happens too often here.

I have been following this thread to learn all I can and refer to when I need to worm. Just wondering since I'm new... who would 'edit' it? I guess I'm just not sure how that works on this forum.
thx.

 

[aggiemae]

Gaining weight is a pretty good indicator that the worms are diminished. But remember that chickens get worms all the time, personally I try to make sure that their guts are not good hosts so the infestations don't take hold.

 

[tgooberbutt]

Gaining weight is a pretty good indicator that the worms are diminished. But remember that chickens get worms all the time, personally I try to make sure that their guts are not good hosts so the infestations don't take hold.

any tips on how to make their tummies inhospitable environments? I now lace their drinking water with apple cider vinegar... anything else I can do without diminishing their quality of life?

 

[aggiemae]

any tips on how to make their tummies inhospitable environments? I now lace their drinking water with apple cider vinegar... anything else I can do without diminishing their quality of life?

I feed pumpkin and other orange squash including the seeds. Despite what skeptics here say, the pulp is loaded with vitamin A and the seeds contain cocurbitacin a proven wormer. I grow my own pumpkins is the rows between my garden beds. I take a few out of the garage a few at a time let them sit out to break down and (if we are lucky) freeze then feed then to the hens when they get soft (rotten)...or you can bake them whole in the oven if this is too gross for you or you don't have the right set up. The cocurbitacin is found in he shells of the seeds.

Once a week our hens get (live/active culture) buttermilk or yogurt (provides probiotics for healthy gut flora), a big sprinkle of hot pepper seeds either fresh or dried (makes the gut inhospitable to parasites) mixed with a small whole pumpkin until we run out then I mix it with their usual food. Sometimes I add garlic but I am not sure if it's of any benefit.

I also feed then black oil sunflower seeds, which I also grow in my garden and then sprout during the winter and they get any cracked eggs that I cook including the crushed shells.

As far as costs. I buy the buttermilk and Yogurt 1/2 price and you can get pumpkins for free, or nearly free, after Thanksgiving.

It's important to not that this will not prevent gapeworm, a parasite carried by slugs and earthworms but then again some chimerical products don't actually treat it since for most of it's life cycle gapeworms live in a chickens trachea. Though may species of birds can be infected with gapeworm is more common in young chickens.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gapeworm

I want to add that while I think that no one should wait until they see worms in a chicken's poop to start treating but on the other hand worming is not first thing you need to try when ever something goes wrong with your chickens. In 30 years, other than treating gapeworms when we lived in a particularly swampy place where they thrived, I have wormed a handful of times and on those occasions I took a mixed poop sample to the vet to verify worms first.

The most important thing not just for worms but for overall health is is so important. Monitoring their overall weight and appearence and a good going over a few times a year to check (at minimum) their crops, vents, skin feathers and feet is the best way to assure their health and well being.

 

[tgooberbutt]

The most important thing not just for worms but for overall health is is so important. Monitoring their overall weight and appearence and a good going over a few times a year to check (at minimum) their crops, vents, skin feathers and feet is the best way to assure their health and well being.

This is very helpful, and I'll definitely look into the cocurbitacin. What do you look for when you check their vents/crops/skin/feathers/feet?

 

[aggiemae]

This is very helpful, and I'll definitely look into the cocurbitacin. What do you look for when you check their vents/crops/skin/feathers/feet?

At first you just look and touch and get a feel for what is normal. Comparing one chicken to another is good for this too. For example if you know what a butt feels like when there isn't an egg you will be more likely to know if their is a retained egg. If you have felt a normal croup you will know if a sick hens' croup is empty or impacted.

If you hens are hard to catch you can take them off the roost in the evening one at a time. If you have more than one of the same breed and can't tell them apart ban their legs after to have checked them.


Basically I check to make sure a baby chicks butt is clean and not caked with poop with a hen I check to make sure the vent is moist and pulsing and that the skin around it isn't irritated, broken or infected. If it looks red or irritated in any way I apply a thin layer of grape seed oil. If it stinks I bath the chicken first. Either way I check again in a few days.

Though the skin does shed, the skin on legs and feet should be dry, smooth and unbroken. I check for broken nails that might need to be clipped (if you have small kids who handle them, trimming all of them is a good ideal anyway). I usually oil the feet and crown.

Check the skin for lice and mites. Pay special attention to the area around the eyes, the vent and bases of the feathers under the wings. This is important if your chickens are our of the run as they can get these from wild birds. I would treat this by adding wood ash and/or Sevin to their dusting area if its warm out I sometimes bath them after a few days.

 

[tgooberbutt]

@aggiemae - Thank you for the tips - yeah, the chickens hide a lot under those fluffy down jackets of theirs. It's good to know what 'daily' maintenance to look out for to catch potential problems early.