newbie - few questions on worms, lice etc

[Smithyard Farm]

Hello all! thanks for all the information on these forums... I am now a confused newbie. I am deathly afraid of our chicks getting worms, lice and mites. I have been reading to many horror stories I guess. We have 12 9 week old chicks, just put in thier outside ciiop/pen last week (which they love!) I have a fenced in yard for them to free range in the afternoon and weekends when we are home.

My questions are... do we regularly treat for mites/lice infestation as a preventive? or is it strictly just when you see a problem? and what about de-worming? should we be feeding them something or doing something on a regular (annual, monthly, weekly?) basis? any thoughts are appreciated. I just want to make sure i am doing all th right things to keep the girls healthy, thank you!

 

[Kikiriki]

I know how you feel... It is creepy! If you want to be proactive without using insecticide I saw this idea for using a steamer to disinfect. I like the idea. You can also steam dirt by covering an area with a heavy piece of canvas and sticking the steamer under it, but be very careful of burning yourself! I saw them do this on a tv show to kill weeds and seeds in an orange grove. It was an industrial steam machine and the tarp pulled slowly behind the tractor.

http://jackshenhouse.com/VSChickCoop.htm

Scroll down the page to cleaning section

 

[Uniontown Poultry]

Whether or not you treat for worms/mites/lice as needed or as a preventative is entirely up to you. You may find that it is more or less cost effective to pre-treat than to treat when a problem arises. For the purposes of avoiding using too many chemicals ( chemical worming can be hard on them) you may want to do as-needed, but have the items on hand that you need. This is what I do, and I find that I usually have to worm about once a year, and treat for lice/mites 2 - 3 times per year. The size of your flock, whether it is closed (meaning no new birds coming in & your birds don't leave for shows or fairs, etc.) or open, and where you live are also factors.

Generally, I give my birds a monthly health check, including feeling up each one to check for weight loss or loss of muscle tone (could be sign of worms), inspecting their feathers at skin level for lice or their eggs, looking closely at droppings on the ground that day, checking their legs and feet, and checking the bottom of the feet for bumblefoot (not a parasite issue, but a real pain if you wind up catching it late and have to operate). Monthly checks should allow you to get the jump on any parasites before they get out of control. Putting DE (diatomaceous earth) in their litter, dust bathing areas, and nest boxes can also help with prevention and is a great chemical-free way to keep the bad beasties at bay.

 

[Smithyard Farm]

thank you. I have read about diatomaceous earth in several other posts. Perhaps I will start with that.