Do I REALLY need to worm?

[WallTenters]

Do you really need to brush your teeth? No, of course not! Should you go see a dentist if you have a cavity. Well, it probably won't kill you, so you should be okay.

DE works as a good prevention, but at least once a year isn't too much to ask. Ivermectin pour on (for cattle - lots of threads on here on dosage and administration) is a pretty safe wormer, kills about everything (including external parasites as well).

Withhold eggs for 7 days if you're selling them, I eat them. Humans are given ivermectin in third world countries, and they are thankful as it prevents "river blindness", which is caused by a parasite in persons living near rivers in certain parts of the world. However, be careful handling it - it soaks right into your skin and you'll get a little too much of it. It's nothing serious, but I noticed my psoriasis flared up a little for a day or two after I didn't wear gloves administering it. It hasn't done that from eating the eggs, and I'm so sensitive that my skin often gets angry at me if I eat non-organic produce, even after it's been washed, so I think I'm a good gauge

 

[cochicks]

Okay, so if I were to worm them once a year, what's the best time of year to do it? Also, if I'm not supposed to eat the eggs for 7 days, can I still feed them back to the hens?

 

[WallTenters]

Why not do it right as they're going into molt - they won't be laying (or at least hardly at all) anyway. Or do it whenever you want. I would still use the DE as a prevention - it's good for them anyway. And you can eat the eggs or give them back to the hens hard-boiled. Like I said we eat the eggs and are fine, and I can't notice any difference at all in taste or anything either. I kind of see it as an added bonus - I'll do it this summer maybe, then I can go hiking and not worry about the ticks for a few days maybe!

 

[miniwarrior]

I will chime in because I just had a consultation with Peter Brown- aka the Chicken Doctor- (http://www.firststatevetsupply.com/) about another issue but I also asked him about worming. He told me that there are no real regulations on how long you should really withhold the eggs after worming and that it's best to do it when they start laying less eggs or are molting and it's the off season. That way you don't have to worry about withholding eggs when there are lots of them to be had (like WallTenters said). He also emphasized that if you are selling your eggs, it's more of a liability issue because if one person had a severe reaction to the wormer because there were still trace amounts of it in the eggs it would come back to you. I do believe that most food allergies are actually not to food, but to what we put in food (medicines, antibiotics, pesticides, etc...) so it might be something to think about. Most people are probably fine eating the eggs, but there's always that possibility.

Personally, I have a 3-yr. old flock and have never wormed. I have never had a problem, and I just look at their droppings regularly and inspect them for worms. If there is a problem, you will most likely see it and then you can do a fecal sample if you want and worm them if it ever gets to be a problem.

Not so sure about the dentist analogy, as you wouldn't want a dentist to treat a cavity you don't have... but people worm their chickens without there necessarily being worms...

 

[deerman]

Quote:

FOR Those that don't worm , this mean your chicken have worms.....they will pick them up from eating earthworms as they are host to others....So even if your chicken look healthy....they are not in their top health.

Like people who don't worm their dogs , most will pick up worms if running outside.


Will worms kill you laying hens ,noooo will they hurt their health yessss.

To each their own........for sure worming will not harm them, and will improve their health.

For some as long as they can't see their chicken have minor heathy problem, they are happy. So no need if you are happy with avg. health in your chicken. Just look at top show chicken next to ones that have not been wormed, feather are in top shape and all , because these show chicken are in top health.

 

[WallTenters]

I agree with deerman. I KNOW my horses have worms. I KNOW my dogs have worms. I KNOW my cats have worms, and my chickens have worms. I don't think I have worms, but with all the animals I've worked with who knows. I'm pretty good about washing my hands and I've never had any... come out... shudder...

You will only see worms in the poo's if there is such a major infection they cannot all survive in the host, or if the adults have lived out their life and are dying anyway. 99.9% of shed worms are eggs, microscopic. It doesn't help that even if a full sized adult does come out, chickens turn around and gobble them back up. Protein's protein.

I'm not saying that you should worm them every thirty seconds. We are very conservative with any medication we give any of our animals. However, once a year is pretty conservative. Your birds will still have worms, but that should keep their population knocked down enough so that unless your birds are having other immune system issues, the worms won't slow them down. I think it's best to worm after the first frost then after the last frost (in spring) but we just do the fall/winter one as the birds have more range to go out on in the summer, so I'm more concerned with parasites in the winter. We are the same way with our horses that are retired, and with our dogs and cats.

Just because something is a parasite doesn't mean it kills the host. It is in the parasite's best interest to NOT kill the host. They are buying real estate to pass down to their children, remember. Destroying the place doesn't help their species. A healthy bird can support more parasites for longer than an unhealthy one. Free ranging and general good management keep your birds healthy. The parasite and the bird can live in semi-harmony for the bird's whole life. OR your bird could catch a little sniffle by getting wet, have a "bad day" and all of a sudden can't support the number of worms inside it.

It's a constant balancing act between the bird's immune system and the parasites. You could 100% eradicate all parasites and you'd have an extremely unhealthy animal, believe it or not. We have all evolved for thousands and thousands of years side by side with the parasites that live inside us.

Personally, I'd rather give my birdies a leg up, and save me some feed money by not supporting free-loaders

. Keep your birds well fed, give them lots of space, a good environment, and they should be happy ladies. DE is great to keep the worms from getting out of hand, and I'd worm once a year or so to knock them down some more.

Best of luck!

Hope my ranting and raving helps... I can't sleep so I'm BYC stalking again tonight lol

 

[dawg53]

DE is not a worm preventative nor wormer. DE is useless when wet until it dries out. It is wet inside the chickens innards, therefore it doesnt work as a worm preventative. It is good for preventing lice/mites, helps keeping the coop dry, as well as keeping feed dry.

 

[knaup109]

Here is a good article about worm in poultry. It is from university of Florida.

It is written by 2 PH. D guys

Intestinal Parasites in Backyard Chicken Flocks1

Gary D. Butcher, D.V.M., Ph.D. and Richard D. Miles, Ph.D.2

Intestinal parasites (worms) are very common in chickens in the backyard type poultry flocks. The presence of a few parasites do not usually cause a problem. However, large numbers can have a devastating effect on growth, egg production, and over-all health. The concentration of parasite eggs in the chickens environment is one factor which plays a major role in determining the severity of the infection. The chickens pick up the parasite eggs directly by ingesting contaminated feed, water, or litter or by eating snails, earthworms, or other insects (intermediate hosts) which can carry the eggs.

Clinical signs of parasitism are unthriftyness, poor growth and feed conversion, decreased egg production, and even death in severe infections. Furthermore, parasites can make the flock less resistant to diseases and exacerbate existing disease conditions.

Of all the intestinal worms, large roundworms (Ascaridia galli) probably inflict the most damage. Young birds are affected more severely. A mild infection is often not noticed. Large numbers of worms, however, interfere with feed absorption causing poor growth and production. In severe infections there can be actual intestinal blockage by the worms, causing death. Affected birds are unthrifty and more susceptible to other diseases. Roundworms are passed from bird to bird by directly ingesting the parasite egg in fecal contaminated feed, water, or litter, or by eating grasshoppers or earthworms carrying the parasite.

Another worm commonly found in chickens is the cecal worm (Heterakis gallinarum). While it rarely causes problems in chickens, its chief economic importance lies in its role as a carrier of the organism Histomonas melegridis, which causes a deadly disease in turkeys known as blackhead. Earthworms ingest the cecal worm egg containing the histomonad organism from the chicken litter. When the earthworms are ingested by the turkeys, they become infected. The cecal worm egg containing the histomonad organism may also be directly ingested by turkeys. Thus, one should never house chickens and turkeys together or allow turkeys on range which chickens have previously occupied.

Other intestinal parasites that cause problems are the small roundworms (Capillaria sp.). These parasites infect the intestines causing hemorrhage and thickening of the intestinal walls, leading to poor feed absorption and poor growth. Small roundworms are passed directly from bird to bird by ingestion of the parasite eggs or by ingestion of earthworms, insects, and other vectors carrying the parasite. Tapeworms are also very common, but unlike other worms must be passed through an intermediate host, such as a snail, slug, earthworm, beetle or fly.

Prevention and control of worm infestations in backyard poultry flocks involves proper management of diet, sanitation, and treatment. Chickens need a proper diet, especially an adequate supply of vitamins A and the B complex. A deficiency in these has been shown to increase the susceptibility to parasitism.

1.

Thorough removal of litter between flocks of chickens.
2.

Keep litter as dry as possible.
3.

Avoid overcrowding.
4.

Keep wild birds, pigeons and other birds away from chickens. They may be infected and shedding the worm eggs.
5.

Provide adequate drainage of ranges and move shelters frequently to decrease accumulation of droppings.
6.

Keep birds off freshly plowed ground where ingestion of earthworms and other insects is more likely.
7.

Use insecticides to control insect populations.

The treatment of chickens to control intestinal parasites can benefit the grower by decreasing parasite levels in heavily infected birds. This will result in a decrease in the build-up of parasite eggs in the environment. Specific worm infections require specific medications. A determination of which worms are affecting your chickens should be made by your veterinarian prior to treatment. Proper use of medication in combination with sound management and sanitation practices should limit production losses from intestinal worms.
Footnotes

1.

This document is VM76, one of a series of the Veterinary Medicine-Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication date January, 1992. Reviewed March, 2009. Visit the EDIS Web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2.

Gary D. Butcher, D.V.M., Ph.D., Poultry Veterinarian, and Richard D. Miles, Ph.D. Poultry Nutritionist, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Millie Ferrer-Chancy, Interim Dean.

 

[elmo]

I just brought a fecal sample into our chicken vet a few weeks ago; it was the third sample I'd had tested in just less than two years of chicken keeping. All the tests have been negative.

We live in Texas, which is prime worm country (heh), so I was a little surprised. I thought for sure the flock would have worms by now. But when I talked to the vet about it, he said it was not certain that our flock would get worms given the low stocking density of their housing and the fact that there are no other agricultural animals on the property.

I'm going to continue doing regular fecal checks and only treat for worms when and if a test comes back positive.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
Looks like thunderstorms building in that picture Beekissed! Heheheh!

Dawg, those clouds are typical for around here.....all the lower flying clouds have that appearance here. I call them Blue-bottomed Clouds. I think it has more to do with the reflection off the mountains than the moisture in the clouds, as most of our cloud formations have that blue or purple coloring at their bottoms. I love the look of them and have not seen any like them around other parts of the state.

These mountains and big valleys are addictive and ever changing in their raw beauty. I never get tired of watching it and taking pics of it.