Rescued hen

[LCsAChickenLover]

On Monday I picked up a random hen that showed up at my friends barn. I brought her back home and didn’t get to check for lice or fleas, she was pretty nervous after the 1.5 hr car ride and was having nothing of it. I did notice a few black spots on her comb (hopefully scrapes and not fowl pox) and slightly runny poop, but other than that she seems fairly healthy. Clear eyes, no sneezing and has shiny green legs. I put her in her own small sectioned off run area with a small coop to quarantine for 2 weeks, BUT she decided last night to fly out of the 6’ netting and join my other girls in the main coop. Great.
What should I treat her for and should I treat my flock as well? Twice a year I add DE to their scratch that we batch together, which we just did last week so they’re getting that as a dewormer. Is that enough?

 

[azygous]

I would worm her with a legitimate worming med. DE doesn't do squat.

Any other contagious disease at this point is moot since she's already exposed the flock to whatever she may be carrying.

 

[coach723]

When quarantining, for future reference, they need to be far enough away from your exsiting flock that they are not even breathing the same air, and you have to make sure you don't track things between the two areas on clothing or shoes or equipment. I would also worm her with either Safeguard or Valbazen.

 

[WindingRoad]

I would worm her with a legitimate worming med. DE doesn't do squat.

Any other contagious disease at this point is moot since she's already exposed the flock to whatever she may be carrying.

I'd clip a wing too. Next time who knows where she'll fly off to.

 

[coach723]

Neither can be mixed in water, it will settle out. You need to dose each bird orally. Not as hard as it may sound. Safeguard dose is .23ml per pound of bird weight 5 days in a row for most common worms. If you are treating for roundworm only you can do 2 doses 10 days apart. Valbazen dose is .2ml per kg, or .2ml per 2.2 lbs of bird weight, two doses 10 days apart for most worms. That will take care of pretty much everything, except tape worms.
The only water mixable wormer is Safeguard Aquasol (you would have to order) and it's extremely expensive. There is a method for using Safeguard in feed (most do this to avoid egg withdrawl) the instructions are here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/safeguard-mash-zero-day-egg-withdrawal.1254653/
I've never done it this way. I much prefer to know that each bird got the correct dose. A sick bird, or not feeling 100% may not eat a normal amount and may not get dosed correctly.

 

[hannah and the chickens]

The hen could have all kinds of things, coccidia and worms are just the tip of the iceberg. If you can, try to have a poop sample of the hen tested for coccidia and worms (most vets should be able to do that). If you know someone who owns a microscope you could even check yourself. That way you know wether you'll need to treat your whole flock or if you're "clean". If you want to be on the safe side, you can also treat the chickens against worms and coccidia without a test. Definitely take a legitimate med for that, DE doesn't help against internal parasites as far as I know.

I'd definitely check for mites and lice again, DE does help with prevention but if the new hen has a big infestation other treatments might be better.

Introducing new birds (even after quarantine) can always be a danger for your flock because they can carry viruses and bacteria without showing symptoms. Just make sure to watch everyone really closely.

If the poop of the new hen looks normal and just a bit runny, you could make her moro's carrot soup for a few days. That usually helped my chickens (and also my dog)

 

[LCsAChickenLover]

The hen could have all kinds of things, coccidia and worms are just the tip of the iceberg. If you can, try to have a poop sample of the hen tested for coccidia and worms (most vets should be able to do that). If you know someone who owns a microscope you could even check yourself. That way you know wether you'll need to treat your whole flock or if you're "clean". If you want to be on the safe side, you can also treat the chickens against worms and coccidia without a test. Definitely take a legitimate med for that, DE doesn't help against internal parasites as far as I know.

I'd definitely check for mites and lice again, DE does help with prevention but if the new hen has a big infestation other treatments might be better.

Introducing new birds (even after quarantine) can always be a danger for your flock because they can carry viruses and bacteria without showing symptoms. Just make sure to watch everyone really closely.

If the poop of the new hen looks normal and just a bit runny, you could make her moro's carrot soup for a few days. That usually helped my chickens (and also my dog)

Thank you! I will most likely treat everyone just to be safe since I was doing nothing with the DE in the scratch lol. Her poop is looking better already but will keep an eye on that too. I’ll keep the Moro’s carrot soup tip under my hat, I have a senior dachshund with a sensitive tummy and she loves carrots!

 

[azygous]

Neither of those is an effective, actual poultry dewormer. They won't do anything other than make you feel virtuous for not using a chemical. If there are worms, they will be laughing.

Safeguard is an all around effective wormer, but you need to walk over to the horse supplies in the feed store to find it. It will work on almost all kinds of worms. Or order it here. https://www.kvsupply.com/item/safe-guard-25g-fenbendazole-single-dose-wormer/SLT150554/

Yes, you can safely use a worming med at the same time you treat with Corid.

 

[micstrachan]

Hi,
I live in California and was able to get Valbazen shipped from valleyvet.com.

Good luck!

 

[LCsAChickenLover]

Hi,
I live in California and was able to get Valbazen shipped from valleyvet.com.

Good luck!

Thank you!! I will check them out