My hen is 2 and a half yo, shares her space with two others of same age. I also have a 4 yo mean girl separated from the others in her own pen. About 3 days ago, I noticed the 2 1/2 yo with poo stuck to her rear end - looked like it was building up. She and her sister are white wyandottes so they have a puffy rear end (the third one is a welsummer). I trimmed her feathers to clean it up and kept a closer eye on her. Noticed she is drinking a lot of water, much more than the others. She is hardly eating. And she seems depressed, reluctant to move around a lot and walks slowly. Her tail is still up - good sign, she last laid an egg about a week ago and her comb is bright red. It is the off-season though. The others are not in laying condition and their combs are dull. We live in Southern Calif and we've had lots of rain lately but now drying out. I felt her crop after she's been out for 3 hours or so, can't even find it. No smell to her breath. Her tummy feels normal not swollen or warm, but she has always been skinny and feels even more so now. I looked in her mouth and didn't see anything unusual. Last year we came home to find she had camped out in the laying box in hot weather and had finally exited and was making breathing sounds like a horn, like she couldn't get her breath. I put her feet in cold water to cool her down, left her outside overnite in a doggie box and she seemed better by morning and had quit the wheezing. I mention that b/c I don't know if that affects body systems even this far out.
I've been trying to check poos, haven't seen any evidence of worms in them with the naked eye. They get cooked, chopped up broccoli in the morning, cucumber chopped, banana, quinoa cooked, and whatever greens I have on hand (lettuce, cabbage spinach etc) They don't free range but they have a large run. The get Modesto organic feed. In the eve, they get treats just before bed and she seems to still enjoy those - scratch and whole grains, sometimes mealworms. I put probiotics in water, but that won't help if its worms I know.
They have never been de-wormed and I am getting ready to do that now. Here's my questions. I've read plenty about worms on here and some say when they have worms they drink less, some say they drink more. Same thing with food. So - which is it? Do they drink and eat more or less? I have some Wazine (I've used it before on other hens) and I also have Safeguard (equine 10%) and Ivermectin paste 1.87%. I have Valbazen on order, but it won't probably be here til after the holidays. I hate to see her suffer and she seems to be getting worse with each passing day, so I was thinking of giving her something to help, then de-worming all when the Valbazen arrives. I hesitate - after what I've read - to use the Wazine if that's what it is. I don't want everything coming out at once. So should I use a dose of the Safeguard? I read 1/2cc - does that sound right to you? And how does it work - slowly like Valbazen does? Or, do you have any other ideas of what is going on with her I could or should look for?
EDIT: Now I see in the links at right, under medications it says this: Valbazen 1/8cc-1/4cc orally for tape womers. Does not kill round of Cecal worms.
So Valbazen doesn't kill round or Cecal worms - Really? I read some posts that said it did. So - what should I do?
I've been trying to check poos, haven't seen any evidence of worms in them with the naked eye. They get cooked, chopped up broccoli in the morning, cucumber chopped, banana, quinoa cooked, and whatever greens I have on hand (lettuce, cabbage spinach etc) They don't free range but they have a large run. The get Modesto organic feed. In the eve, they get treats just before bed and she seems to still enjoy those - scratch and whole grains, sometimes mealworms. I put probiotics in water, but that won't help if its worms I know.
They have never been de-wormed and I am getting ready to do that now. Here's my questions. I've read plenty about worms on here and some say when they have worms they drink less, some say they drink more. Same thing with food. So - which is it? Do they drink and eat more or less? I have some Wazine (I've used it before on other hens) and I also have Safeguard (equine 10%) and Ivermectin paste 1.87%. I have Valbazen on order, but it won't probably be here til after the holidays. I hate to see her suffer and she seems to be getting worse with each passing day, so I was thinking of giving her something to help, then de-worming all when the Valbazen arrives. I hesitate - after what I've read - to use the Wazine if that's what it is. I don't want everything coming out at once. So should I use a dose of the Safeguard? I read 1/2cc - does that sound right to you? And how does it work - slowly like Valbazen does? Or, do you have any other ideas of what is going on with her I could or should look for?
EDIT: Now I see in the links at right, under medications it says this: Valbazen 1/8cc-1/4cc orally for tape womers. Does not kill round of Cecal worms.
So Valbazen doesn't kill round or Cecal worms - Really? I read some posts that said it did. So - what should I do?
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