Maine

[superchemicalgirl]

Alright you are all going to think I am nuts but just to change the subject briefly from vomit (because we all love vomit stories, I know) I have to share that my birds have WORMS! Now this doesn't sound like a 'yey' moment until you realize that I now have confirmation that my bird died from something very common and treatable and while I am not happy to think about how gross that is, I am happy to know it is something I can deal with easily. My son found worms in the feces to confirm this. Phew. So, I am guessing it is possible that the cider water and de in the food is helping but in the mean time I am going to try all of these things below, just not all at once:
soapy water drinks
bleach water drinks (yes, got this from a vet)
Safeguard from TCS
eating pumpkin (save that for the fall and will give the dog some too)
continuing to use DE in the food
cider vinegar for maintenance


Now, what do I do about the soil??? I don't want these buggers in there forever. Treating everyone and I made sure to tell anyone who bought from me. Just so I don't feel like a pariah, I read that this is very common and birds should be wormed at least once a year. Well, now I know and will. I say again, "phew." Hope this helps someone else.

I was kinda horrified when I found out mine had worms last year until someone very nice pointed out that all animals that scratch and peck in dirt will more than likely pick up worms at some point in their life. They'll most likely keep picking them up. That's why I worm mine each fall.
I do Wazine in the water (kills some of the load) then 10 days later I follow with an oral wormer, then repeat it again in 10-14 days. I usually do it each fall or if/when I see worms in the poo. Worms in the poo are a sign that they're pretty wormed up so you want to treat it asap.

Good luck!

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Let's see if I can post some goat pictures.



As you can see nothing fancy but it works.

Awesome pictures, this really helps! How moveable is your fence? Is it electrified?

 

[Widget]

Each panel comes apart so it is both expandable and movable. It isn't electrified. The only time we have had escapees is a couple years ago when the snow was so deep the Nubian was able to just step over the top rail. And the Nigerian is great at unlocking the latch so I have to use a bungie cord as a back up to secure the gate. She has yet to get through that.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Each panel comes apart so it is both expandable and movable. It isn't electrified. The only time we have had escapees is a couple years ago when the snow was so deep the Nubian was able to just step over the top rail. And the Nigerian is great at unlocking the latch so I have to use a bungie cord as a back up to secure the gate. She has yet to get through that.

Where did you get the fence? How much is it per panel?

 

[Widget]

The fence came with the goats so I don't really know the price but I believe they run around $45 a panel give or take. These came from Metcalf's in Cornish but I'm sure any local farm/feed store would have them. Or if you are lucky you might find some on craigslist or Uncle Henry's.

 

[buckabucka]

Alright you are all going to think I am nuts but just to change the subject briefly from vomit (because we all love vomit stories, I know) I have to share that my birds have WORMS!  Now this doesn't sound like a 'yey' moment until you realize that I now have confirmation that my bird died from something very common and treatable and while I am not happy to think about how gross that is, I am happy to know it is something I can deal with easily.  My son found worms in the feces to confirm this.  Phew.  So, I am guessing it is possible that the cider water and de in the food is helping but in the mean time I am going to try all of these things below, just not all at once:
soapy water drinks
bleach water drinks (yes, got this from a vet)
Safeguard from TCS
eating pumpkin (save that for the fall and will give the dog some too)
continuing to use DE in the food
cider vinegar for maintenance


Now, what do I do about the soil???  I don't want these buggers in there forever.  Treating everyone and I made sure to tell anyone who bought from me.  Just so I don't feel like a pariah, I read that this is very common and birds should be wormed at least once a year.  Well, now I know and will.  I say again, "phew."  Hope this helps someone else.

 

I was kinda horrified when I found out mine had worms last year until someone very nice pointed out that all animals that scratch and peck in dirt will more than likely pick up worms at some point in their life. They'll most likely keep picking them up. That's why I worm mine each fall.
I do Wazine in the water (kills some of the load) then 10 days later I follow with an oral wormer, then repeat it again in 10-14 days. I usually do it each fall or if/when I see worms in the poo. Worms in the poo are a sign that they're pretty wormed up so you want to treat it asap.

Good luck!

Okay, I have worm questions. I've never seen any worms in their droppings, but a vet also told me that all chickens get worms and parasites, and that it should not affect them if they are healthy. My necropsied hen had cecal worms.

Anyway, I was thinking of deworming them in the fall, when they are molting and not laying as much. I wanted to use the pour-on Ivermectin, for two reasons: 1. I already own it, and 2. I want to get rid of their lice and mites at the same time. Then I can clean and spray the coop and start fresh.

Does pour-on Ivermectin kill most internal parasites as well as external?

Cute goat photos!

 

[Mainechick168]

I've been reading the posts about worms and such....and oh boy! something new to worry about...my question now being, should I consider worming my chickens at some point??? they are all young ( 10-12 weeks) so maybe something in the future? Everyone's poo looks fine...which brings me to another subject..... My husband was remarking about a particularly smelly poo he stepped in in bare feet ( yuck!) and I started to tell him some of the things I have learned about chicken poo....along with asking him to keep a look out for off colored ones ( I had a scare when I fed them all a bunch of strawberries and found reddish poos..) and he just looked at me like I was nuts!! He said he did not care to hear about the kinds of chicken poop and that he thought it was a little crazy that I was talking about it and "studying" it.....all in good fun though!!

Also, here is a picture- we have been working on painting and staining the coop....it's almost there!! It's hard to tell in the picture, but the run is pretty good sized....we thought they would stay in it most of the time, and just let them free range for a short time before bed....well, they all love to be out so much, we let them out most of the day. They rush the door when we go to open things up in the morning, I feel bad not letting them out!

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Mine were not cured with pour on ivermectin. I did it twice and still had worms. The dawg (dawg53 I think?) guy on here that's a worm expert said it didn't have good penetration and wasn't surprised it didn't work.

When the worm load gets heavy the hens can have many problems, so I do treat yearly.

I bought and use albendazole: http://www.jefferslivestock.com/product.asp?pn=16387&green=2ddfd400-b13c-c3ae33-c53e-40fd57f31996 You can find directions for it on here as far as weight; I calculated mine out and remember it was somewhere between 0.4 and 0.7 ml per bird, depending on how big the bird was. Albendazole is used in humans and has a pretty short half life.

I have used it in conjunction with the ivermectin pour on. I figure I'm treating them, might as well hit everything I can while I'm throwing out eggs.

 

[BackwoodsDiva]

Mainechick168: cute coop....what did you fence the run in with?

 

[Mainechick168]

Mainechick168: cute coop....what did you fence the run in with?

Thanks!! It's built with mostly scraps- the base is part of a deck my uncle used to have on his house, all of the two by fours are left overs from projects of his or my grandfathers...same with the flashing, and the shingles. The door was from another uncles old house and the windows came from a friend.... We did buy the plywood and the some of the trim pieces new though.


we just used galvanized chicken wire- it is a little over 5 and a half feet tall, and it is in the ground a foot or so with rocks buried at the base.