How long to use Safe Guard goat dewormer for unknown kind of worms

[Skyla]

Hello,
I purchased some safe guard goat dewormer to worm my chickens. It is too expensive to get a fecal test to find out which kind they had or even if they have any, so I wanted to use a pretty general dewormer. My hens have been sick recently and pooping blood, I treated for coccidiosis but they were still pooping blood so I'm guessing its not coccidiosis. I have been doing some research on the instructions but there is a lot of contradicting information so I'm hoping to try and get some clarity.
I know I am supposed to use 1/4 ml per pound, but the question is for how long. Some say just give it to them once, wait 10 days and then give them a second dosage (is this second dosage less then the first?). Other people say to give them a dosage 5 days in a row, take a 10 day break and repeat. Which one should I do given i am unsure of the kind of worms? Thanks!

 

[Isaac 0]

From a dutch website for chickens:
fenbendazole (Panacur) has been proven effective for birds! Only it is not used in the poultry industry and therefore it has never been investigated what the waiting time is. (Because that costs money)
(ps fenbendazole is also for dogs, pigs, sheep, and if you don't eat them also for primates, big cats, giraffe / antelope, ornamental birds, amphibians, reptiles, deer / roe deer, bears, pheasants / partridges, pigeons, geese and finches.

"Fenbendazole—In the United Kingdom, fenbendazole oral suspension is approved for treatment of gastrointestinal nematodes in laying hens at a dose of 1 mg/kg (0.45 mg/lb), PO, for 5 days with a 0-day egg withdrawal and 6-day meat withdrawal.19 Because fenbendazole is approved for laying hens in the United Kingdom, there is an MRL for residues of fenbendazole and its metabolites in eggs. Because it is not approved for use in laying hens in the United States, the detection of any fenbendazole residues in eggs is considered a violation, and the egg withdrawal period established for fenbendazole in the United Kingdom should be extended to ensure that drug residues in the eggs of treated hens are depleted below the detection limits of the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Currently, FARAD recommends an egg withdrawal interval of 17 days for hens following oral administration of fenbendazole (1 mg/kg)."

http://www.farad.org/publications/digests/122015EggResidue.pdf

It is used off-label in the U.S very frequently by avian vets.

 

[Isaac 0]

If the label doesn’t say it’s safe for poultry/chickens you should NOT give this to chickens. It can be poisonous for chickens and maybe even poisonous for you ig you eat the eggs or meat.

SafeGaurd (fenbendazole) is safe for chickens.

 

[dawg53]

But you have no proof that it is safe for the eggs and meat.
Is it allowed to sell eggs in the US if the chickens have been treated with this medicine?
Common practices are not always good practices.

I'm living proof that fenbendazole is safe for chickens. I've been eating the eggs for years after using the product as well as many other wormers such as albendazole, pyrantel pamoate, and levamisole. I worm my birds monthly at a minimum. I'm still here typing after all these years.

 

[dawg53]

@dawg53 Maybe you are right. I truly hope so it is. But do keep in mind that some heavy smokers get very old too. Do not claim anything without research, and certainly not on one individual case. After many years of ‘fighting’ against the tobacco industry it is proven that smoking is very bad for youre health, and imo you should not recommend to use this medicine if there is no proof that this is safe.

If you knew anything about benzimidazoles, to include fenbendazole, they are very safe wormers.
If you dont want to use the product or a derivative, then dont use any. That's your choice.
Your point has been made. Let it go at that.
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/pharmacology/anthelmintics/benzimidazoles

 

[humblehillsfarm]

If the label doesn’t say it’s safe for poultry/chickens you should NOT give this to chickens. It might be poisonous for chickens and maybe even poisonous for you if you eat the eggs or meat.

Unfortunately this isn’t necessarily true. Because nearly all poultry research has been completed on commercial flocks, some issues that might occur in backyard flocks and not commercial flocks (like works and parasites) have not been researched. Commercial farms pay for the research they need to know about and nothing more. Using goat dewormer on chickens has been a fairly established practice.

 

[Isaac 0]

@dawg53 Maybe you are right. I truly hope so it is. But do keep in mind that some heavy smokers get very old too. Do not claim anything without research, and certainly not on one individual case. After many years of ‘fighting’ against the tobacco industry it is proven that smoking is very bad for youre health, and imo you should not recommend to use this medicine if there is no proof that this is safe.

Your claims that Fenbendazole has not been researched thoroughly, and there is no proof that it is safe is highly false, and if you are going disregard the accounts of its effectiveness and safeness against the many poultry owners, and certified avian veterinarians who use it regularly, you can refer to the several studies below, and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), who have approved it as an effective treatment for gastrointestinal nematodes in laying hens.

"—In the United Kingdom, fenbendazole oral suspension is approved for treatment of gastrointestinal nematodes in laying hens at a dose of 1 mg/kg (0.45 mg/lb), PO, for 5 days with a 0-day egg withdrawal and 6-day meat withdrawal'

The US Food and drug administration, have also approved Safe-Guard® AquaSol (fenbendazole oral suspension) for treatment of some worm species, in chickens. Which is not technically SafeGaurd Goat Dewormer, but contains the same ingredient "Fenbendazole".

https://www.thepoultrysite.com/news...-expanded-use-of-safeguard-aquasol-in-poultry

https://www.drugs.com/vet/safe-guard-aquasol-for-chickens.html

https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/u.osu.edu/dist/3/28706/files/2016/03/Fenbendazole-13jcn85.pdf
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02242148#:~:text=It was concluded that fenbendazole,for use under field conditions.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1590337?seq=2#metadata_info_tab_contents


It seems to me that the discussion of whether Fenbendazole is safe, or effective, is quite clear

 

[dawg53]

I just dosed my 3 backyard chickens with fenbendazole dewormer for 5 days in a row. Do you recommend they get dosed again for 5 days after 10 days off?

You're done worming your chickens. Five days in a row is all that is needed. Good job.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

https://the-chicken-chick.com/contr...(fenbendazole) 10,Repeat treatment in 10 days.

Chicken chick recommends 10 days on, 10 days off, then 10 days on. The treatment doesn't kill eggs, so round 2 is to kill any that have hatched. I would follow her recommendations. There is no worm/parasite treatment effective on ALL worms and parasites, so without a fecal float test, you just have to treat for what you think it is, and wait to see if it works before trying something else. Good luck!

 

[Isaac 0]

How old are your hens? Happen to have a picture of the bloody poop? What Corid, dosing did you give?

It's been a week, so you may have already started dosing, but most folks give 0.23ml per pound of body weight, orally (PO), for five straight days. That will get rid of most worms, but has limited efficiency against tapeworms.

It's best to dose them directly instead of adding it to their feed like the link above suggests, as sick birds may not be eating much, and other birds may eat more than others, etc.