Our bottle of wazine-17 calls for 2 fluid ounces per gallon for 100 birds. I simply filled up a gallon jug with water and added two ounces. Then enclosed them for a day so that the only water they drank was that one. We have anywhere from 9-30 chickens at a time. Discard the rest that they don't drink.
We keep all of our animals on a worm treatment now. This includes our cats as well. We didn't initially in an effort to be all natural. I was in the same boat that any medication is unnecessary. But after two round-worm incidents, the reality is that animals get worms and it can be harmful in many different ways. In both cases, our child was affected as well. This resulted in treating every family member, sanitizing everything from the floors to our clothes and our bedding. It was an expensive process both times and something that could have been easily prevented. The second time it happened, I got smarter. After much research - animals that are free-ranging on any level need to be kept on a preventative plan. Free-ranging animals and backyard chickens are the most vulnerable as they are omnivores sharing space with wild-life. My chickens eat mice and shrews on a regular basis. After talking to quite a few small farms that raise their animals naturally, they do this as well. It's standard practice to protect their animals from worms. It's a reality that comes with natural free-ranging practices. Another preventative is to keep outsiders away from your chickens. Don't let strangers handle or touch your chickens as they can be carrying eggs, etc.
Our preventative plan is this: Monthly flea treatments for the cats (dogs should be included) as roundworm eggs live in fleas and this is the MOST common type of infestation. Roundworm typically live in fleas that in turn live on dogs, cats, raccoons, squirrels, mice, etc. These fleas drop eggs on the ground and the chickens ingest it. Both our cats and chickens now get de-wormed every 6 to 12 months at the same time. Drontal de-wormer is recommended for household pets. We put Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth in both the cat food and chicken feed as a preventative. We also put D/E on the ground around our home and in the chicken run where they sleep. We also give them pumpkin seeds, garlic and other foods that naturally kill them. We give them probiotics and other healthy foods during treatment to keep their immune systems strong. We avoid doing it during bad weather and wait for a nice sunny warm stretch. Be sure to not eat the eggs for 14 days. This is the hardest. Throwing away good eggs. While it's rare, worm infestation can occur inside the eggs so it's important to avoid ingesting those. There are natural remedies, but if you take the time to do the research, they are not proven to work and really should only be used as natural preventative in between treatments only. When we get our pigs and cows, we will strictly de-worm every animal every six months as the other local farms in our area does. The resistant issue is a very real concern. Most resistance issues occur with farmer that are de-worming too often. Especially commercial farmers. We see this most often with goats and horses where they are being wormed every two months no matter what. Horses, cows and goats are not omnivores and I would recommend a fecal test be done on them prior to treatment. Animals that eat meat and poop (chickens, pigs, cats, dogs, etc) should be put on a mild preventative plan (unless kept in a strict bio-safe area). Once a year is usually enough.
We have not had any issues since this new program.
Good luck!
