Pour-On Ivermectin / Safeguard question

[Feathyr]

Hi there!

My flock is currently dealing with not only roundworms, but de-pluming mites as well. The girls have already been wormed once with Safeguard 10% liquid suspension, and today is the re-worm date.

Does pour-on Ivermectin effectively treat roundworms in poultry, or am I better off using the Safeguard again? Ideally I'd like to kill both the mites and worms at the same time, the poor chickens look pretty rough right now.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks for reading!

 

[Eggcessive]

Good question. I would see if @casportpony or @dawg53 can answer that. I would probably give the SafeGard myself, and treat the mites with the ivomec as well. But those two are more experienced with worming.

Spinosad, the ingredient in Elector PSP, is very good at treating mites and lice. It is pricey, but many say it goes a long way. Keep in mind that you need to treat at 7 day intervals with mites with many chemicals, such as permethrin, and ivomec is to be repeated at 14 days for a total of two treatments. With mites, the bedding should be removed, then nests, roosts, and coop should all be treated with Permethrin 10 or the Elector PSP before adding new bedding.

 

[casportpony]

I would use both at the same time. Safeguard for sure internal parasites, ivermectin for mites and lice.

 

[dawg53]

I agree with Casportpony. I'd use both Safeguard and Ivermectin at the same time. Depluming mites are spread via direct contact. You wont see eggs neither, younguns are born alive.

 

[Feathyr]

Thank you @Eggcessive, @casportpony and @dawg53!

The coop was cleared of all bedding and sprayed with permethrin two weeks ago, but it probably wouldn't hurt to do it again... I've dealt with various mite species over the years, but these are new to me. Nasty things.

I have one more question regarding the Safeguard - I'm aware that fenbendazole causes feather damage when used during molts. Of course, as soon as I wormed them the first time, they decided to start dropping feathers. Will upping the protein in their diet prevent or reduce damage?

 

[dawg53]

Thank you @Eggcessive, @casportpony and @dawg53!

The coop was cleared of all bedding and sprayed with permethrin two weeks ago, but it probably wouldn't hurt to do it again... I've dealt with various mite species over the years, but these are new to me. Nasty things.

I have one more question regarding the Safeguard - I'm aware that fenbendazole causes feather damage when used during molts. Of course, as soon as I wormed them the first time, they decided to start dropping feathers. Will upping the protein in their diet prevent or reduce damage?

This is why I prefer using Valbazen or Pyrantel Pamoate around this time of the year due to weird feather regrowth after using Safeguard when birds are recovering from molt. I've had it happen.
You can feed your birds gamebird feed which has higher protein content. Give it to them for one month, then slowly wean them off the gamebird feed back to regular layer feed.
Hopefully feather regrowth will be normal, but no guarantees.