I got the following e-mail from my vet yesterday. I have put vinegar in the water for the past three days, but today, used the Wazine-17, and will return to vinegar in the water tomorrow. I used the cayenne pepper and garlic in the feed yesterday, and am letting them clean it up today. Here is my vet's information:
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Here's the scoop, and feel free to respond to the backyard ckns website with the following information from your vet:
The parasites we are dealing with in this case include 1) Heterakis gallinarum, an internal parasite that is not always associated with disease but is important as it carries other organisms along with it such as Histomonas meleagridis, the cause of blackhead disease in turkeys. (Tx recommended include fenbendazole and levamisole) 2) Ascaridia galli, a very important roundworm found in the small intestines of chickens that may result in decreased egg production, diarrhea, anemia in heavy infections, etc. Treatment options include fenbendazole, levamisole, piperazine, and thiabendazole.. Piperazine = Wazine
I have been on the phone with several university extension agents and have placed an official request for withdrawal times to FARAD (Food Animal Residue Avoidance Database), but they take 72 hours to process each request and as always, weekends tend to slow things up. The problem is that these are egg laying hens and the eggs are being sold to the public. I cannot recommend a treatment using medication as there are no dewormers approved for use in laying hens. The university poultry extension agents are in the same boat--they cannot recommend something that is not approved without the data I am working on getting from FARAD. Recommending something in this scenario without proper approval puts myself and others at risk for a lawsuit in addition to putting your customers at a health risk. I know that many, many people use eggs after deworming chickens and have not had a problem--I'm definitely not saying you will have a problem, I'm just saying it is a risk and one that I am not willing to put my name on without knowing how long residues are actually present in the eggs. My concern is simply for your safety and that of your customers. Unfortunately this just isn't an instant answer, and I understand you are frustrated, but it just takes time sometimes to get a "legal" answer. I requested withdrawal information on a few different products including wazine and ivermectin.
Other issues I have looked into include salt and protein percentage in the food as these will both affect egg production. Too much salt or too much water intake may also cause diarrhea although this is less common. As we discussed, an appropriate Layers diet with 0.3% salt and 15% plus protein is desirable--the diets you talked to me about all meet these recommendations. I would like to make a farm stop and get a good physical exam in on some of the birds, so feel free to call me and schedule that whenever if you want me to check them out
If you decide to have me out to examine the birds, we can check out any other environmental issues that might be playing a role, but I suspect you're doing everything right in that department
I will let you know as soon as I hear back from FARAD. If you want to go ahead and treat based on recommendations from other chicken producers, that is definitely an option you have--however, i cannot advise treating with anything that isn't approved. Hopefully the vinegar and cayenne tricks are working! Take care and talk to you soon.
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The vet called back yesterday, and she was able to speak with experts, who advised that I could use the Wazine, but she was told the eggs should be discarded for at least 17 days. However, they recommend a reworming after two weeks, then wait another 3 weeks before using any of these eggs, which I am definitely willing to do! I did look for Valbazen at the farm stores in town, and neither carries it, only the Wazine.
My new chicken coop will be done in a few days. I am definitely going to use Sevin Dust and pine shavings on the floor before I move them into their new area. I know that several of you recommended against using DE, but for future reference, what is DE? This is definitely a learning experience for me, one that I definitely do NOT want to have to go through again, but am so grateful for a caring vet and a caring bunch of folks on BYC! All this information has been SO helpful! Thanks to all of you!
