Deworming... ?

[Morgan7782]

Oh like flea meds for the dog! Okay thank you for the thread! I will read into this and learn the common signs so I can keep an eye out. All my chickens are happy healthy girls right now, but I like to be educated in case something pops up.

 

[allmypeeps]

Chickens don't always show any signs of worms....I noticed ONE of my hens felt 'light' when I picked her up. The others felt plump and heavy though hey were the same size.

When I went out to pooper scoop their pen one day I noticed gross white worms wiggling in a couple of the poops- in the thin birds poo AND the healthy plump birds poo...It surprised me. Now I worm on a regular basis, as if they had worms then the parasite eggs have contaminated the ground for sure....

If you gals are free ranging best to just worm them -at least every 3 months or 2x/year at very least. They can get parasites from eating dirt, worms, and grass and such that contain parasite eggs. You won't notice physical symptoms unless they are VERY infested.
Better to prevent than to wait until they are ill.

 

[dawg53]

Chickens that free range or touch the ground are always going to have worms. Chickens can handle having a small wormload in their system. It depends where you live too. If you live in an area where the soil is damp, warm, moist and humid most of the year like where I live.....the soil is condusive for worms. I have a 6 month worming program. If you worm any more than that in a years time (unless there's a worm infestation and you actually see worms) you are chemically overworming your chickens and IF you're using the same wormers, the worms will eventually build up immunity to those wormers. Not to mention all the eggs that have to be discarded. Remember, you are introducing poisons into your chickens to kill worms. Dont worm as a preventative. Worm if they have worms.

 

[Finn's Mom]

Thanks for all the information, dawg53. So are you saying that the preventative stuff that you mentioned is not effective? (i'm not going to bother if that's the case)

 

[BonnieJean]

From what I've read on here, DE isn't an effective de-wormer, but verm-x is. I didn't want to have to throw out eggs for a month or wait for my girls to get worms to treat. That is just my opinion, I feed them organic feed and try to stay away from strong chemicals as much as possible, but again, that is completely my opinion.

 

[dawg53]

Bonniejean. You are being misled by the makers/salesmen of verm-x, they are trying to make a sale on a product that claims to kill worms naturally that doesnt, like DE. Dont you believe it for one second. Dont fall into that trap, it's a waste of money. Otherwise it'd be approved by the FDA/USDA as an official parasite killer which it isnt. If you had a belly full of worms would you want your doctor to give you a natural product to sprinkle on your food for once a month for each of the next 6 months to get rid of your worms? Nope....you'd want the strongest stuff given to you to get rid of them in the least amount of time. Meanwhile, your chickens would be slowly dieing of starvation...wazine is one of the mildest wormers on the market. It's almost impossible to overdose on Safeguard paste. Ivermectin is given to people as well as Safeguard (fenbendazole). Praziquantel Pamoate is used for hookworms, tapeworms in people and pets. See, alot of these wormers are more safe than you ever thought. It's easier to throw eggs out for one month rather than have sick wormy dieing hens on your hands. This is my last post on this subject.

 

[allmypeeps]

Dawg said don't worm as a preventative- worm if they have worms- but in the same paragraph said chickens that free range will always have worms. This can be confusing.

Only....don't wait to treat until you see worms. I still say better to prevent than to wait until they are ill because of worms- you may never even see the worms even when a hen is sick. If they free range they most likely have worms- the goal is to prevent the worms from reaking havock, sometimes it depends on the individual bird;s immune system and health- worms will effect a young, feeble or old bird worse that a healthy lively adult. I recm'd 2-3X per year as far as treatments-- that is NOT too often, it is the same as the 6mo. program that dawg reccomended.

Good luck finding the right wormers.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

I read this https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=213065&p=1

and it answered all my questions.

 

[usschicago1]

I worm every six months with wazine and invermectin pour on. Its just nice not to worry about them. If they loose weight they also get an injection of invermectin injectable. My birds are very healthy.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I never wormed in 17 years, my bad. Never had a problem. I totally trust the FDA.