Deworming

[Giaallen]

First time I’ve ever had to deworm my chickens. I got aquasol and did the correct dosage in the water but do I also offer fresh water with no medicine in it?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

First time I’ve ever had to deworm my chickens. I got aquasol and did the correct dosage in the water but do I also offer fresh water with no medicine in it?

According to this dosing link (the makers of aquasol), all other sources of water should be removed until all the medicated water has been consumed..

https://www.merck-animal-health-usa.com/offload-downloads/safe-guard-aquasol-dosing-chart

On a personal thought level.. otherwise there is no way to guarantee the birds have received a proper dose.

 

[Giaallen]

I did two bowls of medicated water since we have one chicken that’s not as mobile as the rest so she needs to have easier access to the water. Will replace tmrw morning with fresh meds/water and See how this goes.

 

[coach723]

I much prefer to use Safeguard liquid goat wormer, Safeguard paste for horses, or Valbazen (labeled for cattle). These are all directly orally dosed, you know each one got the appropriate dose. When meds are mixed in drinking water it's based on the average normal intake of water each day. If a bird isn't feeling well, they may not drink enough. I do 40 birds when I worm, it's not that bad. Did you see parasites in droppings, get a fecal test, or are worming due to symptoms and don't know what parasite it may be?

 

[Giaallen]

I much prefer to use Safeguard liquid goat wormer, Safeguard paste for horses, or Valbazen (labeled for cattle). These are all directly orally dosed, you know each one got the appropriate dose. When meds are mixed in drinking water it's based on the average normal intake of water each day. If a bird isn't feeling well, they may not drink enough. I do 40 birds when I worm, it's not that bad. Did you see parasites in droppings, get a fecal test, or are worming due to symptoms and don't know what parasite it may be?

This morning there were long narrow worms in poop on roost. I don’t know who is came from. I also have the safeguard liquid dewormer for goats but how do I dose that? I’d prefer to do that for sure because these chickens clearly do not like the treated water it seems.

 

[coach723]

Dose of that is .23 ml per pound of body weight, orally. If you don't know what type of worm you dose that 5 days in a row. If you know it's roundworm only, you can do 2 doses 10 days apart. If what you saw looks like the image below, those are roundworm.

To give, shake the medication well before drawing up the dose, it settles out. Pull down on wattles, give .5 ml or less at a time, release the wattles and let the bird swallow. Repeat until the entire dose is given. Don't squirt it forcefully, that increases the risk of them aspirating it.

 

[Giaallen]

Thank you so much. This is very helpful. Yes that’s what it looked like but only maybe 2-3 worms if that but still enough to freak me out. Thank you. I’ll have to weigh my chickies and dose them. Thank you. Would it be best to just do 5 days in a row to ensure all the worms are gone in case there are others? I didn’t see it anywhere else in any poop which is good.

 

[coach723]

Yes, I would do the 5 days in a row. If you want to be completely sure you've got them all you can do one single dose again 10 days after the last of the 5. In the future, if you want to get Valbazen (labeled for cattle, usually have to order it online), dosing is a little easier. With that one you can do .5 ml for a standard sized bird, two doses 10 days apart, and that will take care of most parasites other than tapeworm. I generally use up whatever I have and then switch to the other for the next bottle, and so on. Roundworm is really easy for them to pick up in the environment, the eggs survive for a long time in the soil, so I would treat everyone. You may need to worm regularly, just depends on the load in your environment. Some can do once or twice a year, some have to do more often, every flock is different. Not seeing it in poop doesn't mean it isn't there. Usually the worms will live their entire lives inside the bird and are digested when they die. Seeing them in droppings can mean the bird is carrying a pretty good load. You may or may not see dead or dying worms after worming. Sometimes some will be expelled, but most will be digested. The repeat dosings are to get any eggs that haven't hatched at the first dosing. The meds kill the worms but not the eggs, so you have to treat again to get the eggs that hatch before they are mature enough to lay any more. That breaks the cycle.