HELP WITH DEWORMER

[Theladyfarmer]

I tried giving my chickens the equimax dewormer from a syringe however, it's literally impossible to get it in their mouth. I mixed it in with their food today. Is there any other way to administer it?

 

[awagnon]

Some people wait til almost dark when they are roosting and administer then. Never tried it myself though.

There are some wormers you can put in their water, but if your chickens are picky, then they may not drink it so you run the risk of dehydration. Not good. Plus you have to change it each day so a lot of medicine is wasted. Also you can't be sure if each chicken got enough of it to make a difference. The same with food mixing unless you can feed each chicken individually AND they eat ALL the food with the correct dosage in it. I have never had much luck with this method with my girls, but you experience could be different.

I just kept practicing and finally have gotten pretty good at dosing via syringe. No, they DON'T like it. I don't like it either, but sometimes tough love is necessary. lol I have very small hands and it's hard for me to get my one hand around the back of their head to control them, but you just have to keep trying. Good luck!

 

[Tookie]

I would get some bread and cut it into chunks, then squirt the dewormer amount onto it and let it soak in. Take each chicken out by themselves and let them eat the bread with their dose on it. Easy peasy!

 

[Freeranger1989]

I tried giving my chickens the equimax dewormer from a syringe however, it's literally impossible to get it in their mouth. I mixed it in with their food today. Is there any other way to administer it?

The best advice I can give for this is to take a small piece a bread (dime size) and put the pea size or measured amount of dewormer past in the bread and sandwich it in. If the hens are separated feed them one at a time (they love bread) or you can just put it down their mouth at night while they’re roosting... (helps to have 2 ppl so one can hold the chicken)

 

[BigBlueHen53]

First, the "pea-sized amount" is incorrect. @Eggcessive can help you with that. Second, yes, do this at night after they're roosting as advised above, to avoid the whole chasing and catching drama. Third, if you don't have a helper you can either wrap the bird in a towel or tuck her under one arm like a football, pinning her wings. And finally, pull down on the wattles with one hand to get the beak open and insert the syringe along the side of the beak, not down the center. That hole in the center of the throat goes to the lungs, don't squirt anything in there!

 

[Freeranger1989]

First, the "pea-sized amount" is incorrect. @Eggcessive can help you with that. Second, yes, do this at night after they're roosting as advised above, to avoid the whole chasing and catching drama. Third, if you don't have a helper you can either wrap the bird in a towel or tuck her under one arm like a football, pinning her wings. And finally, pull down on the wattles with one hand to get the beak open and insert the syringe along the side of the beak, not down the center. That hole in the center of the throat goes to the lungs, don't squirt anything in there!

I just saw that now there is a safeguard for chickens so dosing is more accurate… Unless you have a tapeworm issue then you’ll need a different dewormer such as praziquantel…