How quick will they start laying more after worm treatment.

[flyin-lowe]

I had to treat my flock (14 hens) after they got worms. Their egg laying had slowed down and this past week I started treating with Safeguard. Since I am treating all 15 hens I am adding it to a gallon of fresh water, every day for 5 days per the local vet. Once they are dewormed/treated how long should I expect it to take for their egg laying to pick back up?

 

[CindyinSD]

I believe there's a mandatory waiting period during which you must discard all eggs after worm treatment anyway. It probably says how long in the instructions. How long are your days now? Worms or no, they'll be on at least partial hiatus until the daylight lasts 12 hours or so.

 

[flyin-lowe]

I know about the waiting period and have not kept any eggs since I started medication, I was just curious how long I should wait to look for "normal" egg production. With the 14 hens, in the past I would still average 5-7 eggs a day in the winter. Before finding the worms I had a drastic drop off, like maybe 5 eggs a week, sometimes less. I just want to keep an eye out to make sure there is not something else going on. I'd like to know what to expect so if I don't see production pick back up in the "normal" time then I know I need to look for other contributing factors.

 

[Eggcessive]

Your vet may not be aware that you cannot use SafeGuard in the water. It is meant to be given orally to each chicken, since it is not soluble in water. There is a very expensive form called SafeGuard Aquasol that is soluble, but it costs a fortune, and comes in such a large quantity.

Dosage of SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer is 1/4 ml (0.23 ml) per pound given orally for 5 days.

Most chickens slow down laying in winter with the decreased daylight hours. They may start up soon as the days are getting longer. It requires about 12 hours of daylight to lay eggs after the first season. I used to put a small light on a timer in early morning for about 3 hours to give mine 12 hours of light daily.

 

[flyin-lowe]

I've had chickens for four years now and do always experience a slow down in egg production but nothing like this. Days are getting longer so we will see.

 

[CindyinSD]

I don't know what your weather's been like, but we were a little warmer for a week or so, then back to frigid. I was getting 5-7 eggs a day, now I'm doing good to get two or three. I'm sure they expend a lot of energy just staying warm and no doubt they also need those calories and nutrients in the healing process.

 

[dawg53]

I've had chickens for four years now and do always experience a slow down in egg production but nothing like this. Days are getting longer so we will see.

Egg production normally starts to slow down after two years.

 

[NatJ]

With the 14 hens, in the past I would still average 5-7 eggs a day in the winter. Before finding the worms I had a drastic drop off, like maybe 5 eggs a week, sometimes less. I just want to keep an eye out to make sure there is not something else going on. I'd like to know what to expect so if I don't see production pick back up in the "normal" time then I know I need to look for other contributing factors.

I've had chickens for four years now and do always experience a slow down in egg production but nothing like this. Days are getting longer so we will see.

If you've had the same hens for four years, they might just be laying less because of age.

If you currently have different hens than in previous years, they might be a kind that lays less well in winter (even the "same" breed from a different source can produce differently. And if you buy from the same source--maybe a local store--they might be getting the chicks from a different hatchery than in previous years.)