Spacee
In the Brooder
Yesterday while sitting outside and admiring my flock, one of the younger pullets took a nasty, foamy dump right infront of me. Upon closer inspection, there were teeny tiny worms moving around in it. 
with some research online, I think they are cecal worms?? I tried to smear the poo to get a better look at the worms but I still couldn't see them very well. I took a video which I will try to link here.
Now I'm trying to figure out what I need to get to de-worm the entire flock. I have ducks, guinea fowl, and chickens who all free range together. I've read that people use topical ivermectin for internal and external parasites, which seems like a good choice since I had noticed lice on one of the older hens the other day as well (which I purchased permethrin for but haven't used yet since the label kind of scared me a bit and we've been under an extreme heat advisory for last couple of weeks, I dont want to stress the birds more than they already are) but I've found conflicting information over wether there is no egg withdrawal period or lifetime withdrawal after using ivermectin, or if it would even get rid of the worms they have anyway. I was leaning towards purchasing Safe Guard Aquasol from Chewy since there is no egg withdrawal period with that, but then I read that it should not be given to young or molting birds.
I don't think the older hens have started molting yet, but there are 3 different age groups of younger birds in my flock right now. 18 week old chickens, 14 week old chickens, and 10 week old guineas and chickens. The youngest are still in a separate smaller coop but the rest of the younger birds have been incorporated into the adult flock and share the big coop/run. I've also seen mention of natural remedies like cayenne pepper and other herbs mixed with their feed, or using apple cider vinegar in the water, or raw pumpkin seeds which I can't get right now anyway, but that all seems better as preventative rather than treatment regardless? Ugh, I'm just not sure what to do at this point, so any advice/recommendations would be appreciated. I'm beginning to consider selling/giving away my entire flock at this point...
with some research online, I think they are cecal worms?? I tried to smear the poo to get a better look at the worms but I still couldn't see them very well. I took a video which I will try to link here. Now I'm trying to figure out what I need to get to de-worm the entire flock. I have ducks, guinea fowl, and chickens who all free range together. I've read that people use topical ivermectin for internal and external parasites, which seems like a good choice since I had noticed lice on one of the older hens the other day as well (which I purchased permethrin for but haven't used yet since the label kind of scared me a bit and we've been under an extreme heat advisory for last couple of weeks, I dont want to stress the birds more than they already are) but I've found conflicting information over wether there is no egg withdrawal period or lifetime withdrawal after using ivermectin, or if it would even get rid of the worms they have anyway. I was leaning towards purchasing Safe Guard Aquasol from Chewy since there is no egg withdrawal period with that, but then I read that it should not be given to young or molting birds.
I don't think the older hens have started molting yet, but there are 3 different age groups of younger birds in my flock right now. 18 week old chickens, 14 week old chickens, and 10 week old guineas and chickens. The youngest are still in a separate smaller coop but the rest of the younger birds have been incorporated into the adult flock and share the big coop/run. I've also seen mention of natural remedies like cayenne pepper and other herbs mixed with their feed, or using apple cider vinegar in the water, or raw pumpkin seeds which I can't get right now anyway, but that all seems better as preventative rather than treatment regardless? Ugh, I'm just not sure what to do at this point, so any advice/recommendations would be appreciated. I'm beginning to consider selling/giving away my entire flock at this point... 
