Question on using Drenches (Ivermectin or Valbazen)

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BeccaSmith

BeccaSmith

Songster
8 Years
Apr 9, 2011
518
14
133
Meridian, ID
I've been trying to read up on using Ivermectin, I have read that some people use the 1/2 cc on the back of the neck of the sheep drench for lice and mites. Obviously this wouldn't help with any internal worms using this type of application, or am I incorrect?

I have also been reading on Valbazen. I am new to chickens and I am just figuring out terminology and that a drench is meant to use with a tube (gun?) that gets inserted down the throat to get the product into the animal. So how difficult is this with a chicken and is there a special drench tube for chickens? Also how is the injectable given? Feel free to laugh, but I assumed that a drench was to be applied as in bathing and an injectable would be given by a needle? So obviously the drench is meant to be given orally (by a tube (gun?) down the throat) so how is the injectable given?

I am mainly looking for abroad spectrum wormer that isn't going to cost me an arm and a leg...I'm fine with spending $30 dollars or so, but to buy the drench gun and wormer it would be more like $60! So what are my options? I'm not even sure if the girls need to be wormed, I have one in particular that is not doing well and I have her indoors and I am just going on a hunch that her problem could be worms as she is severely under weight to where if I pick her up and set her down I have to help balance her so she doesn't fall on her face until she gets her weight on her two feet. I also know I need to treat her for lice and mites ( I just started with DE but I still see lice after 4 or 5 days). It doesn't look like a severe case yet as I have seen pictures online and she is no where near as bad off as the pictures I have seen. She may also have mites as well. Her vent seems to be free of any bugs though but I picked up some Garden & Poultry Dust for the lice and mites. I am also wondering if there is a product with an application that would get lice, mites, and internal/stomach worms? I'm hoping her problem is just worms or the lice and not something else like a coccidia but I don't have the money to take her to a vet and called to find out the price of s stool sample and it was nearly the same price as the fee they charge for an office visit!

I originally thought the hen that I need to treat was egg bound but she hasn't passed an egg and some days she stands/sits with a tucked tail and other days she looks like she is sitting normal. I gave her a couple warm water baths but she didn't pass anything. She had a distended abdomen so I thought maybe she is an internal layer but I think some of the swelling has gone down, but it is hard to judge because she is so under weight that I can feel her breast bone a good inch on each side all the way down to her abdomen. (Sorry I got side tracked!)

I would like the worm the other girls as well in the coop so I'm looking for something with easy application, just not sure how comfortable I am trying to stick tubing down the throat of a chicken and not get the air hole. Would using a syringe and giving it to them in their mouth work instead of using the drench gun? Sorry for so many questions!
 
Ivermectin will not kill lice, it will kill mites. You'd be better off using sevin dust on your birds, $4.97 for a 1 pound canister at Lowe's. Dust your birds with it and inside their coop and nests. Repeat dusting your birds and inside your coop again in 10 days.
Ivermectin and valbazen arnt cheap. A very good wormer that can be purchased from Jefferslivestock.com or call them, is Safeguard liquid goat wormer, the 125ml bottle. It costs about $17+$6 shipping. So, for under $30 you can dust your birds/coop and worm them pretty cheap. Once you worm them with the goat wormer, you'll have to redose them in 10 days. You'll still have plenty wormer leftover for next time.
Use a syringe (without needle) to administer orally, undiluted. Dosage is 1cc for giants, 3/4cc for large fowl, 1/2cc for standards and 1/4cc for smaller birds. Again, repeat in 10 days. There's a withdrawal period of 24 days start to finish.
Here's a tip; pull the wattles down firmly and the mouth will open. Shoot the liquid in the mouth and immediately release the wattles at the same time, letting the bird swallow it on her own. That way she wont aspirate.
 
Great information! Thank you so much for the quick response! On the Jefferslivestock.com website they state that the Prozap Poultry and Garden dust would treat lice, but no where on the container did it state it was for lice. Good to know that the Ivermectin will not kill lice as well! Also if I recall correctly my local feed store carries the Safeguard products, I just wasn't familiar at them when I was standing and staring stupidly at all the products in the isle....lol. I'll give the Safeguard a try! Back to the store I will go again today! Do you think I should I take the Prozap Poultry and Garden dust back and get the Seven instead? Thanks again for your help, it is much appreciated!
 
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I'm willing to put the money into Valbazen as long as I don't absolutely have to buy the gun. I looked at the Safeguard and it only listed stomach and nodular worms, is this sufficient for treating chickens or would I be better off with a broad spectrum wormer such as Vabazen. Also if I am putting the money into it, should I go with Valbazen which has to be administered orally, or would I be just as well off with something like Ivomec Sheep Drench (also applied orally?) or the Ivome Eprinex (applied on the back of the neck). I think I am getting the hang of this but just want to be sure what is best to order before placing it.

Also I went to take the Prozap Poultry and Garden Dust back and get the Seven Dust, the employees freaked when I told them I was going to use it on my chickens, they said they would never use it on their chickens and have been raising them for a long time. I told them I read about it here on the BYC forum and they told me I could do whatever I wanted to but they wouldn't touch the stuff with their chickens with a 10 ft pole. Their reaction was enough to scare me and they told me to try the Poultry Dust. I just finished dusting this evening and the lice started crawling off my hen in mas amounts and dropped onto the floor where they died! I never saw that happen when I dusted with the DE. I may get rid of the DE unless I find another use for it. So if anyone is wondering, yes the Prozap Poultry and Garden Dust works on poultry lice! Wooho!

So now back to my question on what wormer to purchase, and should I start with Wazine first before using something like Valbazen? Thanks for all the help!
 
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Question?

Couldn't you use something like a small TB or insulin syringe and then cut the bulb off of a plastic pipette, fixing it to the syringe, to administer such small doses?

Just thinking out loud.

I sometimes work in a production lab at work.

 
BeccaSmith said:
I'm willing to put the money into Valbazen as long as I don't absolutely have to buy the gun. I looked at the Safeguard and it only listed stomach and nodular worms, is this sufficient for treating chickens or would I be better off with a broad spectrum wormer such as Vabazen. Also if I am putting the money into it, should I go with Valbazen which has to be administered orally, or would I be just as well off with something like Ivomec Sheep Drench (also applied orally?) or the Ivome Eprinex (applied on the back of the neck). I think I am getting the hang of this but just want to be sure what is best to order before placing it.

Also I went to take the Prozap Poultry and Garden Dust back and get the Seven Dust, the employees freaked when I told them I was going to use it on my chickens, they said they would never use it on their chickens and have been raising them for a long time. I told them I read about it here on the BYC forum and they told me I could do whatever I wanted to but they wouldn't touch the stuff with their chickens with a 10 ft pole. Their reaction was enough to scare me and they told me to try the Poultry Dust. I just finished dusting this evening and the lice started crawling off my hen in mas amounts and dropped onto the floor where they died! I never saw that happen when I dusted with the DE. I may get rid of the DE unless I find another use for it. So if anyone is wondering, yes the Prozap Poultry and Garden Dust works on poultry lice! Wooho!

So now back to my question on what wormer to purchase, and should I start with Wazine first before using something like Valbazen? Thanks for all the help!
Click to expand...
Dont buy the drench gun, you dont need it. Just buy the 500ml bottle, it'll last you til it expires in 2-3 years. Share some with others like I do if you wish, you'll have plenty. Like the safeguard liquid goat wormer, use a syringe without a needle and administer orally; 1/2cc for standards and 1/4cc for smaller birds orally. Repeat dosing in 10 days. There's a 24 day withdrawal start to finish.
http://www.jefferslivestock.com/product.asp?camid=LIV&pn=16387&cn=330
 
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Thanks! I have ordered it and it is on it's way, hopefully my hen hangs in there and this will help her. She isn't wanting to each much of anything, other then meal worms. Today for the second time she pooped a cream colored blob that smelled horrendus! I'm going to start another thread on it hoping someone might be able to tell me what the cause is or get some insight on what I might be dealing with!
 

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