Quote: I read that Ivermectin will not treat tape worm, and is less effective on cecal and gizzard worms. I never saw any signs of worms in my flock, but one bird that died and I had necropsied did have a heavy load of cecal worms (among other issues).
The BYC member that gave me the Valbazen is a pharmacist, so she knew the half-life of both the drugs in humans (apparently both are used in humans), and I think she said she eats the eggs after 3 days. But lots of other people on here say to wait 10 days, even just with Ivermectin, and I was paranoid.
Would you eat the eggs right away if you were using the pour-on? Or only for the one you put in the water? It seems like if it is in their blood stream, it must be in the egg (even if it is not really harmful). I also read that if it is the first time worming, you should use Wazine. I read that AFTER I had already wormed for the first time with Valbazen/ivermectin, and luckily all was well.
Tape worms are very rare in Chickens. A vet will do a fecal float test for less than $10.00. It's the same test they do for dogs. Round worms are very common and almost all free range chickens get them. If they have cecal worms then see if the 1/4cc by mouth will kill those(not pour on). I would bet they have round worms only though. You would see tape worms and gape worms are obvious. Gape worms come form eating earth worms, so if the dead one did not have them they are not at your place.
Pour on is better for mites and less able to kill the intestinal worms. Injectable is better at killing intestinal worms but not as good at the mites and lice. Both types kill both types of parasite though. Last spring I used injectable and got rid of Mites and worms.
We have eaten the eggs every time with absolutely now problems. The confusion comes with being able to sell them. That covers everything you give them, including vitamins I think! The eggs have been tested and Ivermectin does not get into the eggs. With pour on it gets into the oil glands at the feathers so it might be a problem for eating them.
Using Wazine is recommended if the chickens have a lot of worms. It kills them slower so the chance of intestinal blockage is lower. I just give them Injectable Ivermectin at 4 months or so. like the quote said, the pullets can have permanent reproductive damage caused by worms at that age. In other words, no eggs for you!
The only problem that make sense is making the worms resistant to the medicine if you use it too often.
I hope this helps!
. I treated with Ivermectin pour-on at the same time, since mine had mites and lice. And then I re-treated with both in 10 days.
