Does DE do a good job of worming?

[srfjeld]

I have a chicken who eats like she's famished but doesn't seem to gain any weight... in fact, she feels like she's feather and bones. She has great energy though. Due to her feathers, you'd never know she's lacking in weight. I'm not certain it's from worms or parasites but I thought it wouldn't hurt to try that route. I'd like to do it naturally. If I mix some in their food, could this be all she needs?

 

[welasharon]

It seems, from reading on here, that most find DE is more of a preventative than a treatment for an infestation.

 

[CMV]

Nope. DE is useless as a wormer. You need to look at some other methods.

 

[klmclain1]

Making sure I understand... is she the same type/breed of chicken as your others? And is she the only one who is feathers and bone? Do you see any other signs of parasites? Look for posts from dawg53 for worming recommendations...he's the best. Doing some things naturally is great, worming is not one of them.

 

[srfjeld]

Yes, my buff is the only one who seems very lean. My cochin is hefty. They only get to free-range on the weekends b/c of my schedule. I've inspected the pooh as much as I can but I can't find any worms. Maybe she's healthy as can be and BOs are just really thin? But I thought I'd read that they get pretty big.

 

[CMV]

They do get big...eventually. They tend to grow out and fill in slowly. How old is your bird?

 

[dawg53]

Yes, my buff is the only one who seems very lean. My cochin is hefty. They only get to free-range on the weekends b/c of my schedule. I've inspected the pooh as much as I can but I can't find any worms. Maybe she's healthy as can be and BOs are just really thin? But I thought I'd read that they get pretty big.

She might be the lowest one in the pecking order and gets chased away from the feeder(s) by the others when you're not at home. Also, thoroughly inspect her for lice/mites. If you decide to worm one, worm them all. A chicken can have worms without seeing them in poop. If you see them in poop, it's an infestation usually and internal damage has occured.

 

[srfjeld]

I only have 2 hens and she's definitely the dominant one. After speaking with a person at the feed store, I came home and put ACV in the water and added some chick starter to their layer feed. She told me it should help so I'll wait and see.

 

[srfjeld]

Oh, and she's 10 months old.

 

[CMV]

Yeah, as I said in your other post. BOs grow out slowly. I don't think mine reached their full size until they were about 1.5-2 years old. They are really gangly until then...kind of like teenage boys...all limbs and rail thin.