New puppy eats chicken poop. I have never wormed chickens, should I?

[Priscillakidder]

Hi,
New here. We have an 11 week old puppy who eats the chicken poo. I told the vet at my puppy's last visit and she said that I can add sulmet to the chicken water to kill coccidiosis, but never mentioned worms. My chickens are currently healthy happy free rangers, but should I worm them? I haven't added the sulmet yet because I read on the label it's not for egg laying hens where the eggs are for human consumption. It's not clear if I just need to toss the eggs after treatment.. should I even treat with sulmet if they have no symptoms? So many questions!
Thanks~

 

[FarmTillURdead]

I'm not a vet. I have chickens and dogs that eat chicken poo. It use to drive me CRAZY!! I did a ton of research on it and animals eat poo to obtain a B vitamin.
I do not worm my chickens. I want clean food. My dogs eat poo and I do not worm them on a regular basis. Your vet can do a fecal exam in 10 minutes to check to see if your dog has worms for around 15 bucks. When I get concerned I have them checked.
I have a dog that is 12 years old I have only wormed once who constantly eats poo. No problems.
I had a puppy I purchased that CAME WITH worms. She required a couple of worm treatments to deal with her infestation. Watch your pup. Worms have tell-tale signs. Losing weight, no color in the gums, a super round pot belly with bony hips, runny stools or stools with worms.
If your STILL worried try an herbal wormer. It is still toxic (as it kills worms) but likely a bit easier on an animal then chemicals. Hope that helps or eases your mind.
You can also put cayanne pepper flakes in the feed (its really good for them even in high doses!!) and your pup won't care for the spicy snacks.
I don't use medicines unless I see a problem... I won't use sulmet unless I think something is going to die. You should see what that stuff does to a glass jar.

 

[Priscillakidder]

Thanks so much.
EEk. I have put sulmet in their water, but have been throwing away the eggs until 10 days after. Did you look into food grade DE? My poor puppy got sick with hookworms, coccidia and giardia. I think he was drinking the chicken water and eating the poop. I had to treat him for worms and I cooped my chickens. They used to free range during the day. I am putting food grade DE into the feed and a little in my puppies food. I think I will dump their water though as I would rather have my chickens get de wormed with DE than the sulmet. I also think that once my pup is 5 months old, he won't be as susceptible to all the stuff that he's been getting. Meanwhile, my hens are adapting to not being able to roam the yard. Thanks so much for your response.

 

[SteveBaz]

Its a dog thing....

 

[Nslangton]

Hi, I bred and own Labrador Retrievers for 25 Years. They eat poop. Horse poop, cat poop, goat poop, chicken poop, etc. We consider it here recycled fiber. As long as the puppy is on a worming schedule he will be fine. Most Puppies have worms. We worm ours here two or three times before they go to their new homes. The vets check for worms during their visits via a stool sample and can treat according to the results. The puppy will be fine!!! It is gross, but dogs eat poop!!!

 

[Priscillakidder]

Thanks so much for the reassurance. It's funny, that's what the vet said at the first visit, but then the following week he had really bad vomiting and diarrhea and the hookworms. I really didn't want to go through that again. He was a rescue with a rough start to begin with. The litter got distemper at the same time they were vaccinated, so all but a few were able to survive... meanwhile.... He's out in the yard, probably finding some random poops to eat. sigh. I think it will all work itself out and I will just keep an eye on things and not worry too much.
Thanks again for the warm welcome.

 

[Lollipop]

Ya know why dogs eat chicken poop?............To get the taste of their butts out of their mouths............Pop

 

[Nslangton]

I use bene-bac for my puppies. It is a probiotic. A little tiny dab will do. I use this when I change their food from formula food to puppy food and at any time their poop doesn't look normal. Works great and it is safe and cheap. You can get a tube at any pet store. The puppies love it and will lick it off your finger. Good Luck