Please - concise and easy to understand deworm how-to

[Mowglimommychick]

I have been reading a lot of threads and remain very confused about deworming peafowl.

We are in Virginia. What MONTH should the last deworming take place to be done before laying season as I've seen people reference?

Alternate between Safegard for goats and what other?

What are the exact instructions for each med? : How much to use? How many days? Replaced daily or leave out until finished? In food or water? Repeat after x days? If you know, what is the egg withdrawal on the chixken and duck eggs?

Please assume the following:
1. Peafowl can't be caught but will eat catfood and drink from waterers in a large fenced yard. Wings clipped so semi free-range - don't go far.

2. In the yard with chickens and ducks of different ages. Enter and poke around in chicken coop as they please. All of the birds will have access to same feed or water containing the meds.

Thanks in advance!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I suggest getting a fecal float at the vet and making sure you are using the right med for the right parasite... IF you even need to treat.

So far, all my floats come back negative... despite seeing some mud bum that peeps SWEAR means worms.

Your parasite load may be different than mine though.

Many of us will treat our chickens at night after dark with a flashlight as they don't really need chasing then. I'm not sure if pea fowl are similar or not. @casportpony I know you rock with the whole med thing, do you also have pea fowl? TIA

 

[Mowglimommychick]

I suggest getting a fecal float at the vet and making sure you are using the right med for the right parasite... IF you even need to treat.

So far, all my floats come back negative... despite seeing some mud bum that peeps SWEAR means worms.

Your parasite load may be different than mine though.

Many of us will treat our chickens at night after dark with a flashlight as they don't really need chasing then. I'm not sure if pea fowl are similar or not. @casportpony I know you rock with the whole med thing, do you also have pea fowl? TIA

My understanding is that this needs to be done routinely as a preventative with peafowl.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

My understanding is that this needs to be done routinely as a preventative with peafowl.

You can't prevent what you don't have.

You may be right though, I don't have pea fowl... but people say the same thing about chickens and dogs and yet I see no proof of such.

Everything will depend on YOUR environment, stock density, husbandry practices, weather and personal pasture conditions. Even proper nutrition will impact immunity which helps keep parasite loads in check.

Why not get a float and see where you stand before giving low dose poisons to your animals IF they don't need it? Don't get me wrong, if you have already done the float at different times of year at your location and know you need to treat, by all means... use something effective as you intend to. Only round worms and tape worms will ever be seen in droppings and then usually under heavy load. All other species stay in the guts and pass only the microscopic oocyst (eggs). The person I tagged will give the best and accurate information, when she sees it. You may even be able to search her user name and look at the links posted at the bottom of all her posts as they often have exactly the type of information you are seeking.

I'll tag a few other peeps who possibly have input or know someone else that does in case casportpony is on vacation or otherwise occupied. @Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock @ChickenCanoe... I value any experience ya'll have to share here, thanks!

 

[Eggcessive]

If you can find a local or your regular vet who will agree to do a fecal test on some fresh collected droppings, that would be great. If you cannot do that, it is wise to use a wormer given to each bird that gets most common possible chicken worms, such as roundworms, cecal worms, capillary, or gapeworms. Valbazen 0.08 ml per pound given once to each chicken and repeated in 10 days is good. Another, SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer 0.23 ml per pound given for 5 straight days is also good. With either, the eggs should be tossed for 14 days after the last dose. With tapeworms, which are rare and are seen as moving white specks in the droppings, another type of wormer should be used—one that contains praziquantel, so most do not routinely treat for those unless they are suspected.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I agree with @Eggcessive. IMO it is important to know what you are treating before you treat, possibly unnecessarily.
@casportpony is a med/anthelmintic guru on dosing and she raises peas.
I rarely worm but I don't live in a year round warm moist environment.
Worming is not a preventative but a treatment for something already present in the system. By that I mean, once the drug exits the system in about a week, the next day a bird can eat a worm, cricket, beetle, ant or other secondary host and become infected. Therefor it doesn't prevent anything.
A coccidiostat on the other hand is a preventive treatment in a way for coccidiosis until resistance develops.
Keep in mind that using any anthelmintic, especially low dose, can cause resistance in many worm species. That's why if one worms on a schedule, it's important to alternate medications.
The correct approach is to determine if worms are present and apply a knockout dose of the proper meds that target that species.
If you can't find a vet to do a proper fecal float test, contact your state poultry lab. They'll either do it or give you guidance.
VDACS Harrisonburg Regional Animal Health Laboratory
261 Mt. Clinton Pike
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22802-2551
Phone: 540-209-9130