Is this the right plan for worming?

[faykokoWV]

I am planning on starting a worming program. This is a preventative measure. I currently give DE in the feed. this will be my first time worming as only one of my chickens is over a year old and my youngest are just now 6 weeks.

My plan to remember worming is to perform the preventative worming every time there is a time change. It works for the fire alarm, figure it would work for this.

I'm going to use Wazine 17 a 16 oz bottle treats 800 chickens and only costs $6.50 here.

I'm removing the water Saturday night and medicated water will go in Sunday morning. I have 26 chickens. They never seem to go through more than a gallon a day, so I am putting 0.5 oz in a one gallon waterer. I will return regular water on Monday morning or late Sunday night.

all eggs for 2 weeks will be thrown away. During that two weeks I will give yogurt at least 4 times.

(I do have a question regarding the probiotics, can I get probiotic capsules that people take, open them up and mix them with the feed or possibly dust a pumpkin's inside with it as an alternative to the yogurt)



any feedback on this plan is appreciated!

 

[Big Chicken Little]

Wazine is cheap but very toxic. Have you ever tried using cayenne pepper in their feed along with ACV. I have used this method for a little over a year and my birds are happy and healthy ...great source for cayanne pepper is www.SFherb.com Just a thought ....good luck

 

[faykokoWV]

I use ACV and DE as preventative measures, but everything I read indicates that worming is still needed on top of those treatments.

Now, the question is, do I wait until I see worms, which would indicate a large infection, or do I go ahead and treat.

I thought Wazine was one of the least toxic wormers? Obviously wormers are toxic as they are designed to kill things, but I thought the wazine was fairly safe to use.

 

[Big Chicken Little]

The label says not to use it on egg layers but forgot about how much time can pass before you can eat the eggs. Meat bird producers use it but I am not sure how safe it is I guess for the first time use Wazine then get on a good natural program. You usually do not see worms in the chicken stool ...at least without a microscope and then you can see worm egg casings.

 

[speckledhen]

Wazine is good ONLY for roundworms. I do not worm mine as a preventative at all. In four years, the entire flock may have been wormed three times. There was a good reason each time. I've never used Wazine. If you are going to worm as a preventative, might as well do a broad spectrum wormer that gets everything, including lice and mites.

If you use chopped unsalted pumpkin seeds and buttermilk a few times a month, that is a natural preventative, ( but if they have actual worms, I'd use a regular chemical wormer) The curcurbit in the pumpkin paralyzes the worms so they can be expelled. Many follow this with a couple tablespoons of molasses in a gallon of water to make them poop out the worms after using the pumpkin seeds.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
That's always been my opinion on it. If you're going to use a chemical in the first place, might as well use one that's going to cover more than just roundworms.
I wormed my first year, the chickens were 7 months old. I wasn't going to this year until a hen gave me a reason to worm her. I went ahead and wormed the rest of the flock while I was at it. As it is, I see no reason to routinely worm more than once a year at most.

 

[faykokoWV]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=223555

The reason I was looking at Wazine is the above post, they suggest that the first time you do a prophylactic worming you use something gentle/mild and then the next time you can use something stronger.

I'm so confused as to what to do!

 

[speckledhen]

They say Wazine is mild and roundworms are probably the most common worm in chickens, but there are tapeworms, gapeworms, capillary worms, etc. If you do not know which worms they have, then you may use Wazine for nothing. Personally, I think it's better not to use a wormer very often, not unless, like me, you see worms in the poop or they seem to be losing weight or looking less than shiny and healthy. And if you think they do have worms and have not done a fecal test to see what type, seems better to use a more broad spectrum approach. That's just my take on it.
What many don't realize is that a healthy chicken can carry a small wormload with no ill effects. It's when they overwhelm the system that you have issues.

 

[faykokoWV]

ok, none of my chickens are underweight, if anything, they are a little on the plump side. Maybe I shouldn't worm at all then?

 

[loverOFchickens]

If you are concerned you can try raw garlic as a preventive treat.

You don't want to overworm with wormers or you can get immune birds.