Do you de-worm on a regular basis?

[NHchicks]

Seems there is a thought that chickens are going to get worms, period.

Do they really need to be treated?

And should they be treated on a schedule, and just assume they have worms?

I've had my chickens for 2 years and never gave worms a thought, but today my rooster is sick (I think he has a fever - I don't think it's worms, but who knows) and it does make me think about whether or not they all need to be de-wormed regularly.

I don't really want to do it, so what I'm looking for is: Nah, nature takes care of it, you don't have to de-worm unless your population starts getting sick.

 

[donrae]

I don't ever worm, had my flock for six plus years. All healthy

 

[briteday]

I live in a very dry climate that has freezing temps over the winter. I only de-worm if I have suspicions. If I see something unusual I take a stool sample to the vet for a fecal float so that I know what type of worm I might be treating for. Also, if any of our dogs or cat is treated for worms I will also do the flock. This winter we have had 150% of normal precipitation (rain and snow...

) so I may find more of a need to de-worm this year than in the past years. Also, fleas are very rare here, it's just too dry in the summer and too cold in the winter. But again, with the wet weather we've had fleas are a good indicator of other parasites being present. But I always have the vet do a fecal float ($10-15 here) before treating.

 

[BWKatz]

If u are going to do it regularly best time is in the spring & fall when they moltnad egg production is down anyway. Or if u don't use artificial light u could do it in the winter when alot of chickens stop laying.

 

[hippiehen]

I sprinkle out diatomaceous earth around my pens and garden (and everywhere) to help control fire ants - my chickens pick it up there and it works great for a de-wormer. I've never had any problems with it!

 

[gritsar]

I worm once a year, in the fall.

 

[BarredBuff]

I dont worm, never have except with pumpkins. They lay great I dont see a need to use meds unless necessary...........

 

[Qi Chicken]

I just posted a question similar to this. If you DO worm what do you use??

 

[puredelite]

I kinda suspect that all farm animals get worms from time to time. One of my young hens has had what I would term health problems- pale comb, emaciated, lethargic. In other wordsshe looks and acts like "death sucking on a cracker". Gave her a very small dose of liquid Valbazen ( what I use for worming my sheep) and also medicated her water with Sulmet which is prescribed for several poultry ailments including coccideious(sp?) Forgot to mention she also has a poopy behind. In my longtime involvement with livestock I strongly believe she is suffering from internal parasites. Just hope that I didn't wait too long to start treatment, all other chickens are strong and healthy.

 

[Pine Grove]

I worm at least 6 times a year with Valbazen....