If you've never wormed...do they show signs or problems?

[leeandtina]

Not sure if this should go here or in managing your flock so I started here since there seem to be a bit more activity. We've never wormed our flock and I was wondering if there are signs we should look for or is there somehow they'd be acting so we'd know there was a problem (But at that point I'm thinking it would be bad right)? All hens are laying an egg a day and haven't been skipping for quite some time. (They are just about a year old now.) They free range about each day and seem pretty happy and would like to keep them that way

The only thing we noticed was the question I had a week or so was about feathers missing and a spot where our roo had a baldish area w/a small place that looked like he had picked himself but healed. And the hens had some areas but I think that was from mating~or wondering if they were doing a molt. But then they never lost all their feathers either. So just wondering if it is something we should just assume they have and treat them? We are hatching some new little ones presently and wondering if we are to assume they have worms and treat them all, should we wait a few weeks and just do them all at the same time?

 

[meriruka]

Newly hatched chicks usually won't have worms unless they are outside on dirt or are with the other grown chickens.
Some signs of worms are weirdly shaped egg shells or consistently yellow, foamy poo. The best thing to do is take a few samples to a vet to examine, but that is not an option for everyone.....

The missing feather thing you describe could be mites or poultry lice. You can examine a bird by lifting it's feathers in various areas and looking at the skin to see if there is anything moving around.