Do You Worm Your Geese?

I have been using the red label DE. I use about 1lb per 50lbs of food and just hand mix it in the storage barrel. I try not to catch pockets of it at the bottom and when its time to add food to the feed can I dump the remainder into a bucket and re spin it into the new feed. seems to be working fine just make sure you keep plenty of water on hand for the animals. as is I am only doing it every other month or so. my birds smoke through 100lbs every 2 weeks

 

Here in the UK I use Panacur (Fenbendazole) as a paste (comes in pre-loaded syringes). The paste goes into the back of the oral cavity and tends to 'stick' which helps stop the bird rejecting it. It comes in different strengths so check the dose rate first. Worm them in late summer and late winter.

Pete

 

I use Epernix pour-on in the fall and spring.

 

No


But we don't even have earth worms - the soil/sand is so bone dry.


Maybe I should once

 

Do you HAVE to worm geese? (And what does 'worming' mean?!

 

Worming an animal is when you give them a strong medicine/chemical that they usually eat or drink. It kills internal parasites (worms etc). Some animals, such as goats, are very prone to parasites. Others are not. Some people worm as a preventative basis (once every year/six months), some people only if they see signs that the animals are not doing as well (lethargic, poor color, poor coat/feather condition, etc).

My own personal practice is that we worm if the birds look unhealthy. If I do have to worm, I have to be careful what I use because we live on a certified organic farm and the geese are pastured in the fields where we might grow crops next year. So, I would tend to look first at non chemical methods, like DE (diatomaceous earth - food grade -- kills the parasites if applied in dry conditions) or possibly some kind of vinegar solution (I think - hasn't been a problem so I haven't researched solutions). If I had to use the chemical methods, I'd have to move the birds off the fields for a time till their droppings were clean. I also prefer not to use chemicals if necessary. My birds are looking healthy, with normal behavior and feathering and healthy appetites, so I feel like they are doing well - plus, I believe the farm books that I have read say that geese are usually parasite resistant. That is just my personal situation though . . . I'm lucky enough to have plenty of grass to rotate them onto when they graze out one section, and I have the organic farm issue. Everyone has different ways of handling the parasite problem.

Hope that helps out some. If you can find a good book on raising waterfowl or geese (most feed stores have at least one, and there's always Amazon) there will usually be a more in depth discussion of what other people have done . . .

 

Hi Miss Lydia,
How much Eprinex is used on goslings/geese. With all the moisture, earthworms have been in abundance in the grass and my gander is gaping. I have eprinex. I've been using Molly's Herbal on my poultry with great success. The gaping in my gander has me concerned......
Thank you!