If Safe-guard is the same medication as Aquasol, does that mean no egg withdrawal?

[chickengoggles]

I should clarify, I pick out the coop daily, and it's 8x10, with 11 birds, and they're only in at night. They free range during the day around the barn and in the pastures. I also clean the barnyard daily with a pooper scooper, haha! I hate stepping in chicken poo.

 

[chickengoggles]

Most parasites are very easily picked up in the environment, so a single negative test doesn't mean they will never pick them up. It IS possible to have a false negative test depending on where in the life cycle the parasites are. Since you know that you have parasites in your environment it would be best to worm regularly, or have fecals done regularly to check, especially if you see symptoms. Some flocks can be wormed once or twice a year and that is adequate, if the worm load in your environment is heavy, you may need to do it more often.

They're birds I got as adults, between November and March, so not all have been wormed by me yet. I took those fecals in due to loose poops from those two birds only. I'll deworm everyone now, and follow the same protocol I use for my horses: fecals twice a year, and worm accordingly. Does that sound good?

 

[coach723]

Worm eggs can survive a very long time in the soil, they are microscopic in size. Some are picked up from the soil when pecking things off the ground, some are picked up from eating another host that has them, like earthworms, cockroaches, etc. Every time an infected bird poos, they are depositing hundreds of eggs into the environment. Even the cleanest looking environment can contain plenty to ensure reinfection. You will need to determine how often to worm based on what works for your particular flock, every flock is different. Try twice a year, but watch for symptoms and retest if necessary. If you find that they need it more often to stay healthy, then you adjust for that. I personally worm 4 times a year, that is what keeps my birds healthy.

 

[chickengoggles]

Worm eggs can survive a very long time in the soil, they are microscopic in size. Some are picked up from the soil when pecking things off the ground, some are picked up from eating another host that has them, like earthworms, cockroaches, etc. Every time an infected bird poos, they are depositing hundreds of eggs into the environment. Even the cleanest looking environment can contain plenty to ensure reinfection. You will need to determine how often to worm based on what works for your particular flock, every flock is different. Try twice a year, but watch for symptoms and retest if necessary. If you find that they need it more often to stay healthy, then you adjust for that. I personally worm 4 times a year, that is what keeps my birds healthy.

Wow! Good to know! I don't mind running fecals more often than twice a year. I'd just prefer to have a confirmed reason to worm. So I'll plan on 4 fecals a year and go from there. Thanks again for the information! Fascinating.

 

[coach723]

You are welcome. It is always best to do a fecal, when that option is available, then you know for sure that you are treating something that needs to be treated and exactly what it is so dosing is correct. You can always adjust your frequency up or down as needed as time goes by and you get a better idea of what is actually needed for your flock. I know that my flock is much healthier over all now that I treat regularly based on my flocks needs. If you worm regularly it's also a good idea to rotate meds to reduce the chance of breeding resistant parasites. I alternate Valbazen and Safeguard and keep Eqimax or Zimectrin gold on hand in case of tapeworm.

 

[Lortiz]

Sorry, I have searched and searched on here, and I can't find the answer. They're both fenbendazole, so couldn't I use the same dosage of safe-guard as aquasol, and skip egg withdrawal?

https://animaldrugsatfda.fda.gov/adafda/app/search/public/document/downloadFoi/3083

I know this is an older post, but I just replied to a similar post so I will copy that here. Safe-Guard/Panacur and Safe-Guard/Panacur Aquasol are formulated differently and the doses are vastly different. Here is my answer to someone confused about the conflicting dose information.

I was equally confused and did much research about it. The difference is because the higher dose is the dose you should use if you are using the products made for other species, like Safe-Guard Goat dewormer or Safe-Guard horse dewormer paste. Using these products for chickens is off label. The only Fenbendazole product approved for chickens is Safe-Guard Aquasol or Panacur Aquasol. The formulation for Aquasol is different so the dose is much lower. Unfortunately, many chicken web sites reference the information from the Aquasol data sheets and thus are giving the wrong dose. Plus they say there is no egg withdrawal based on this but there are no tests on egg withdrawal using the other Fenbendazole products that are used off label. I called the manufacturer, Merck to clarify. The rep told me the dose was 50 mg/kg, but then said I should talk to their vet because she looked it up in a book but it wasn't info for their products. The vet explained that they are different formulations and he could not advise me about the dose using the other products because of that being off label use for chickens. The Aquasol products seem to be marketed to poultry production farms and are very expensive, and they aren't available where I live anyway. I would use the dosage info you found on PoultryDVM. Also note that you should not give this when your chickens are molting because it will cause the feathers to grow in abnormally. So for that reason, I am currently using Zimecterin Gold horse dewormer paste. But I prefer Safe-Guard Fenbendazole because it is very safe even at many times the recommended dosage.
http://www.poultrydvm.com/drugs/fenbendazole
For chickens: 20-50 mg/kg given orally for 3 to 5 days, repeated again for another 3-5 days in 10 days.

 

[coach723]

Also note that you should not give this when your chickens are molting because it will cause the feathers to grow in abnormally.

I just wanted to say that this is more of a "could" cause feathers to have issues, rather than a "will" cause feathers to have issues. When there is a choice and worming needs to be done during molt I would use another product if available, but if I had a sick bird and Safe guard was all I had, I would use it. I've been using it for years and have never had an abnormal issue with feathers. So, I would consider it a 'potential' side effect. One that I have read about, but never actually seen in my flock. Might be more of an issue with a bird that was genetically prone to, or has a history of feather issues, I don't really know. And I have used it during molt, since my birds are wormed about every 3 months. I rotate wormers, but tend to use up what I have before switching to another.

 

[Lortiz]

I just wanted to say that this is more of a "could" cause feathers to have issues, rather than a "will" cause feathers to have issues. When there is a choice and worming needs to be done during molt I would use another product if available, but if I had a sick bird and Safe guard was all I had, I would use it. I've been using it for years and have never had an abnormal issue with feathers. So, I would consider it a 'potential' side effect. One that I have read about, but never actually seen in my flock. Might be more of an issue with a bird that was genetically prone to, or has a history of feather issues, I don't really know. And I have used it during molt, since my birds are wormed about every 3 months. I rotate wormers, but tend to use up what I have before switching to another.

Thanks for the clarification! I recently dewormed my chickens during molt and I was concerned about the feather issue, so I decided to use Valbazen (albendazole) instead. I ended up being happy that I was forced to do my homework to find alternatives because Valbazen is a lot cheaper, and I believe it is effective against the same parasites. But I will keep this in mind for next time!

 

[Lortiz]

Sorry, I have searched and searched on here, and I can't find the answer. They're both fenbendazole, so couldn't I use the same dosage of safe-guard as aquasol, and skip egg withdrawal?

https://animaldrugsatfda.fda.gov/adafda/app/search/public/document/downloadFoi/3083

I know this post is old but thought I'd clarify for future readers. Safe-Guard Aquasol is one of many formulations of Fenbendazole made by Merck. They also make Panacur which is identical but marketed through veterinarians. But Safe-Guard and Panacur Aquasol are the only Fenbendazole products approved for use in chickens. Most people use the goat, cattle or horse products which are all 10% Fenbendazole (100 mg/ml). Safe-Guard Aquasol is 200 mg/ ml, but that is not the only difference. The Aquasol product is formulated differently so that it can be used at a much lower concentration and also does not clump and clog nipple water systems. The information that is often quoted about Fenbendazole concentrations to use and that it does not require egg withdrawal only apply to the Aquasol products. They are the only ones studied and approved for chickens. If you use any other product you cannot apply the concentration instructions for Aquasol to using their other products. I confirmed this with the veterinarian that works for Merck. He could not advise me about how to use the other products for deworming chickens since that is off label use. But the concentration would need to be much higher since is is not the same proprietary formulation that apparently absorbs more easily. It is probably best to follow the guidelines on www.poultrydvm.com. http://www.poultrydvm.com/drugs/fenbendazole