Montly Worming/ Herbs/ Pestacides

[TXChickie918]

Hello

I recently brought on 10 chickens, and I am wondering what everyone does for monthly care such as liquid ivermectin in the water once a month or apple cider vinegar in the water and how often? How often dusting the coop with diatomaceous earth for mites? And anything else I am missing for monthly care to keep a healthy flock? Also if you give suggestions on products can you please list where to buy them? Thanks in advance.

 

[casportpony]

Welcome to BYC!

For mites and lice on chickens I use permethrin spray or dust. For lice on peafowl I use 1% ivermectin orally at 0.05 ml per pound of body weight.

For worms I use Valbazen or Safeguard liquid suspension orally as needed.

• Valbazen dose = 0.08 ml per pound of body weight orally, repeat in 10 days.
• Safeguard dose = 0.23 ml per pound of body weight orally for five consecutive day.

If you can, find a vet or lab to do routine fecals for you. Doing this will tell you what worms you have and will allow you to treat them more effectively.

Valbazen
https://www.jefferspet.com/products/valbazen-broad-spectrum-dewormer

Safeguard
https://www.jefferspet.com/products/safeguard-dewormer-goats-125ml

Edited to correct spelling

 

[chickenlittle21]

The only thing I do for my chickens is put a squirt apple cider vinegar in one of the waterers when I refill it. I also put diatomaceous earth in the coop after whenever I clean it out

 

[TXChickie918]

Welcome to BYC!

For mites and lice on chickens I use permethrin spray or dust. For lice on peafowl I use 1% ivermectin orally at 0.05 ml per pound of body weight.

For worms I use Valbazen or Safeguard liquid suspension orally as needed.

• Valbazen dose = 0.08 ml per pound of body weight orally, repeat in 10 days.
• Safeguard dose = 0.23 ml per pound of body weight orally for five consecutive day.

If you can, find a vet or lab to do routine fecals for you. Doing this will tell you what works you have and will allow you to treat them more effectively.

Valbazen
https://www.jefferspet.com/products/valbazen-broad-spectrum-dewormer

Safeguard
https://www.jefferspet.com/products/safeguard-dewormer-goats-125ml

So it doesn't really matter if the wormer if for cattle, goats or horses it can be used for chickens?

 

[21hens-incharge]

Knowing what if any worms you are dealing with is best course. A vet can run a fecal float test to be able to advise you.

DE is not proven to be effective as a treatment for a mite or lice infestation. It is however very irritating to tiny chicken lungs and human lungs. It is best to only treat real and known infestations as they occur with known effective products.
In over 20 years keeping chickens we have never found worms in fecal float tests and have only had two mite infestations.

No need to treat what is not there.

Treating excessively can cause any pests that get a mild exposure to become resistant and pass that trait to their young. That makes curing the issue when the resistant population grows nearly impossible.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I personally don't believe in treating for anything if a problem doesn't currently exist. I've never wormed, never treated for mites/lice. I don't use ACV or DE.

If you suspect worms, you should have a fecal done to assess what worms you need to treat for.

 

[aart]

I personally don't believe in treating for anything if a problem doesn't currently exist. I've never wormed, never treated for mites/lice. I don't use ACV or DE.

If you suspect worms, you should have a fecal done to assess what worms you need to treat for.

Same here.
All they need is good feed and clean plain water.

 

[casportpony]

So it doesn't really matter if the wormer if for cattle, goats or horses it can be used for chickens?

Yes, almost all medications can be used on any animal, but keep in mind, that unless the label says for use in chickens, it's not approved for use in chickens, and will almost certainly require an egg and meat withdrawal period.

Are these new chickens adults? If so, may I suggest that you start by collecting a bunch of fresh poop from a bunch of your new chickens, stick it in a baggie, stir well, and submit that to a vet for a fecal test. If the test comes back positive, let us know what worms were found and we can advise you on what de-wormer we would use.

Next, give each of the chickens a thorough exam. Check each one and look for lice, mites, scaly leg mites, obesity, weight loss, overgrown beaks, excessively long toenails, lumps, bruises, swellings, eye discharge, nasal discharge, mucus in the mouth, etc.

When you check for lice, check their entire body. I say this because the different species of lice live on different parts of the body. If you find bugs, get some permethrin spray or dust and treat them. If you find and scaly leg mites, let us know, those will need a different treatment.

Scaly leg mites (severe infestation) and excessively long toenails.

Mild case of scaly leg mites.

Anyway, I hope this helps, and congratulations on your new chickens, I look forward to seeing pictures of them!

 

[Sue Gremlin]

You do not need to/should not treat with parasiticides unless you know you have a problem and you know what you are treating for.