Deworming

[new_chick_on_the_block]

Hello
I'm new at this chicken raising. But doing alot of reading.
It says that if your chickens are free range you really should deworm. I spoke with my vet and he recommanded Amprol which would kill Cocci, and everything else.
There is no blood in the stools but the stools are loose and watery.
I'm reading the directions on the jug and it makes 200 L of medicated water at a time. First I would never go thru all that!
Would anyone know how to mix in smaller doses and or is it really necessary?I have a flock of about 250 and all are free range. Would anyone have any other suggestions on why the stools would be loose.

 

[threehorses]

Wow, your vet recommended amprolium as a dewormer? It's not one, at all. It's activity is against cocci which are protazoa. It's not active against the usual roundworms, etc. You'd need to use a traditional antihelmintic (wormer) against those.

He probably recommended that against cocci. There doesn't have to be blood in the stools for coccidiosis - that's a myth. There are different kinds of cocci that cause coccidiosis and not every species causes blood, and blood only occurs in severe infestations.

Because protazoa are notoriously difficult to find in a fecal test (because they don't always shed oocysts), many vets will recommend treating based on symptoms with an anti-protazoal medicine. Amprolium is the one most used for poultry.

What you do is you make a smaller dosage. If you use 2.00 ounces of amprolium to make 200 liters, then you'd use you'd use .2 ounces to make 2 liters (the size of a coke bottle).

What's the amount of amprol that you add to water to make 200 liters?

Also, are your chickens adults? Adults usually develop an immunity to cocci by their adulthood - but only to the species to which they've been exposed.

And I have to ask, and I hope you don't take this wrong - but do you have any experience with chickens? 250 is an enormous number for someone to take on without experience.

There could be a number of reasons for loose droppings, but we need a flock history. If you could please answer the questions listed in the 2nd sticky post here in this thread for us, that would help.

Also, please let us know how much experience you have with chickens so that we can know how much info you'll need.

Honestly, 250 chickens is a chicken operation. With that many birds, you really have to have a poultry vet available. It's a huge responsibility because flocks that size - you really should have chicken experience before you start. You should at least know about worming.

And yes - they need to be wormed twice a year minimum. Worm first with wazine piperazine 17% in the water. Don't eat eggs or meat for 2 weeks. Then you'll need a stronger wormer. But please - let us know what you do know first.

I'm curious - why do you have 250 chickens? Have you ever even had them before?

 

[new_chick_on_the_block]

I've work on a chicken farm for the past year, if that's any experience...But they run in a totally different way. Any questions I had ,the farmer had no idea, and deworming was one of them, that's why I called my vets office.
ages range from 2 years all the way down to 2 days.
I have lost max 5 birds over the past year and all are looking good and healthy.
Energy level is norm for the weather and eating and drinking seems to be good.
I was just concerned as some have loose stools , not all. wasn't sure if they ate a plant they shouldn't have?
My vet clinic deals with small to large farm animals, and he recommanded the ampro for the cocci as it is most common one in chickens. I was just not sure about using it...
It started out with 6, then from there ones that were not caught or did not meet size requirement, the farmer dropped off at my house to raise .

 

[threehorses]

Ahhh good!! You kind of had me worried there. Yes, they're different. They don't deal with diseases in the same way. You worked in a broiler farm, yes?

You know, on the loose stools - are they normally colored but watery? IS it possible that you're finding them after the urine (clear) has had a chance to soak into and break up the feces (solids)? Especially since it's a particularly hot summer and they're going to be drinking more?

Do you think the loose stools are their cecal droppings, the ones that each bird gives every few droppings to clear the cecum? Like bad chocolate pudding?

Yes on the amprolium for cocci. It's not an antibiotic (like sulmet, which also can kill cocci) so it's the one that is the most gentle on their systems while still being deadly to cocci..

Are the ones you're losing some that were at the farmers? Is he using the same vaccinations as you? Like, did you vaccinate for mareks for example? Did he?