Rooster Booster multi-wormer...why won't my chickens eat it?

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Lady of McCamley said:
I beg to differ. It does work well if you use it for at least 2 weeks (research shows 2 weeks for most worms, 6 weeks for cecal). It effectively kills the 3 most common worms for chickens...cecal, round, and I forgot the 3rd at the moment (on smart phone killing time while truck is serviced or I'd look that up)

It is not an herbal but real meds. However it does not require egg withdrawal and the wormer (Hygromycin B) is currently the only FDA approved wormer for egg layers. I sell my eggs so that is important for me as I prefer to stay on approved label use. Valbazen and Wazene are now off label use and thus technically "illegal" for hens used for eggs for human consumption.

Industry uses Hygromycin B with continuous feed but many small owners use it periodically. I find it effective to use for 2 weeks quarterly or semi annually for 2 to 3 weeks then herbals in between to keep worm load down (keeping very clean litter management as herbals do not kill the worms...just help the body immune system expel them.)

Edited to add capillary worms!
Lady of McCamley
Click to expand...

Hygromycin B has been used as a poultry wormer for a long time. The problem with mixing wormers in feed or water is that birds wont eat or drink the mixtures, or they dont eat or drink enough of the mixture to be effective. Additionally most people are not proactive in preventing worms and are only reactive when they see worms in feces. It is then when birds are very ill due to the amount of worm feces excreted in the chickens digestive system. When this happens, sick birds will NOT eat nor drink anything. Soil conditions dictate how often and when one should worm their birds. Herbals may or may not work as preventatives, depending WHAT they are....I want to reiterate... that SOIL CONDITIONS are the deciding factor.
Wazine is also approved for use in chickens and it only gets rid of large roundworms and no other types of worms. The FDA has not directed that wazine be pulled from shelves. True, the label states "not for use in layers," or something to that effect, there is a 14 day slaughter withdrawal after using wazine. That is simply because there hasnt been studies to conduct egg withdrawal periods since eggs come from controlled commercial operations... the chickens are caged and their feet never touch the ground (to get worms.) Then at two years old, the chickens are hauled off to be processed. So, there is no need to worm these birds, it would be a waste of time and money for the manufacturers to conduct testing for backyard flock owners.
I understand why you want to stay legal regarding wormers since you sell eggs, and I agree.
For folks that consume their own eggs and not sell them; there are a myriad of "off label" wormers that can used, AND tests have been conducted in poultry for effectiveness in killing worms. Again, egg withdrawal periods arnt mentioned due to the fact that most eggs come from commercial operations and testing isnt needed. It boils down to cost effectiveness and profit.
When folks use wormers, common sense should prevail regarding egg withdrawal periods when none are recommended...giving time for the residues in eggs to dispel in case a person might have an adverse reaction to the wormer itself.
For folks that dont sell eggs; they have plenty of choices which wormer to choose.... whether or not they want to string out treatment times and have short egg withdrawal times(hygromycin B, flubenvet, levamisole) or short treatment times and have long egg withdrawl times (valbazen, safeguard, ivermectin, wazine.) Some wormers are better than others. I use valbazen and safeguard given ORALLY...that way I KNOW they've been properlty wormed. Whatever the wormer choice...the goal is the same...healthy egg producing hens.
 
dawg53 said:
Hygromycin B has been used as a poultry wormer for a long time. The problem with mixing wormers in feed or water is that birds wont eat or drink the mixtures, or they dont eat or drink enough of the mixture to be effective. Additionally most people are not proactive in preventing worms and are only reactive when they see worms in feces. It is then when birds are very ill due to the amount of worm feces excreted in the chickens digestive system. When this happens, sick birds will NOT eat nor drink anything. Soil conditions dictate how often and when one should worm their birds. Herbals may or may not work as preventatives, depending WHAT they are....I want to reiterate... that SOIL CONDITIONS are the deciding factor.
Wazine is also approved for use in chickens and it only gets rid of large roundworms and no other types of worms. The FDA has not directed that wazine be pulled from shelves. True, the label states "not for use in layers," or something to that effect, there is a 14 day slaughter withdrawal after using wazine. That is simply because there hasnt been studies to conduct egg withdrawal periods since eggs come from controlled commercial operations... the chickens are caged and their feet never touch the ground (to get worms.) Then at two years old, the chickens are hauled off to be processed. So, there is no need to worm these birds, it would be a waste of time and money for the manufacturers to conduct testing for backyard flock owners.
I understand why you want to stay legal regarding wormers since you sell eggs, and I agree.
For folks that consume their own eggs and not sell them; there are a myriad of "off label" wormers that can used, AND tests have been conducted in poultry for effectiveness in killing worms. Again, egg withdrawal periods arnt mentioned due to the fact that most eggs come from commercial operations and testing isnt needed. It boils down to cost effectiveness and profit.
When folks use wormers, common sense should prevail regarding egg withdrawal periods when none are recommended...giving time for the residues in eggs to dispel in case a person might have an adverse reaction to the wormer itself.
For folks that dont sell eggs; they have plenty of choices which wormer to choose.... whether or not they want to string out treatment times and have short egg withdrawal times(hygromycin B, flubenvet, levamisole) or short treatment times and have long egg withdrawl times (valbazen, safeguard, ivermectin, wazine.) Some wormers are better than others. I use valbazen and safeguard given ORALLY...that way I KNOW they've been properlty wormed. Whatever the wormer choice...the goal is the same...healthy egg producing hens.
Click to expand...

You brought up a lot of good information, and I agree with much of what you say, and have told others much the same, with the exception that Wazine (piperazine) is no longer approved by the FDA for egg layers. That specific approval was lost several years ago.

It is sold for swine and other livestock, hence not off the shelves, but is no longer an approved wormer for chickens used for eggs for human consumption.
(You can see the links within Merek's Manual, March 2012, for the FDA literature)
http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/pou...ons/overview_of_helminthiasis_in_poultry.html.

That is the status as of this moment. The FDA is constantly changing their approvals. (And I've read there is growing pressure on the FDA to pull all...much?...of the livestock meds and wormers off the consumer farm market so that all/much of the medicines must be administered by Vet prescription only...I think I read the FDA response/review of that is next year???....sigh.)

The only currently FDA approved wormer for egg layers is Hygromycin B, which is the worming ingredient in Rooster Booster Multi Wormer.

My comments were in the context that I begged to differ that Rooster Booster wormer (Hygromycin B) was a waste of time and money categorically.

There are many good reasons to use Hygromycin B and thus make the effort to get the birds to eat it, which was what my comments attempted to express without delving into the full scope of worming methods or philosophies. (Which I personally do find interesting as there are so many divergent opinions and options to the BYC owner, and learning how to manage a flock well requires a thorough understanding of worms as they are so much a part of a chicken's life....and again you brought up a lot of good information on that.)

And my original response to the OP was how to get them to eat it once you have decided to use it. I found it very effective to put in a mash with layer pellet, wild bird seed, and even a little yogurt or sticky rice to make the pellet stick to other food the birds are used to seeing. That helped mine get over the hurdle of the new pellet as it is quite hard.

Lady of McCamley
 
You're correct: Wazine is approved by the FDA, last revision dated 5/2011 (see link below.) However, wazine was NEVER approved for egg consumption and has 14 days slaughter withdrawal period in which birds may be eaten after the 14th day like I mentioned in my previous post. Again, money is the motivating factor NOT to have eggs tested for piperazine residue since worming is not needed in commercial operations. I figure if the chicken is good to eat after the 14th day...so are the eggs. I've used wazine many times, waited 14 days after last dosing and I'm still here typing. It's up to the chickens owners whether they want to toss the eggs or even eat them the next day after treatment (I've read that some people eat the eggs immediately after using wazine with no ill effects.) I'd rather not eat them and choose to toss the eggs in the garbage for a couple of weeks. I forgot to mention that there was a member here several years ago that was given piperazine as a treatment for a case of worms he had on a previous occasion. As you know, many wormers are used in humans as well.
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/spl/d...3bc3/d4ea340a-51a4-45e2-abcb-77736b823bc3.xml
I totally agree that the government is trying to control meds/wormers for our animals (like everything else)...much like Europe...next they'll be telling us what kind of toilet paper to use...it's a shame.
In the "Merck" link you provided it mentions piperazine as relatively non-toxic. Yet the FDA doesnt approve it for egg consumption...$$$$ Doesnt make sense at all. Good luck with your worming practices and egg sales.
 
Thanks for the link...yes I've seen that label.

My memory is that Wazine was allowed for egg layers a few years back, but that was withdrawn...per my Vet Tech daughter and her clinic's bird expert vet...but that may be misinformation. Other wormers were withdrawn but Wazine was left as it was water dispensed...but that may have been only for chickens used for meat.

Never mind as we both know that (sadly) Wazine is not currently allowed for chickens used for eggs for human consumption (love that government languagese...like you just can't say meat chickens and laying hens and you'd get it...what else would you get from a laying hen but eggs and what would you do with those eggs once you got them? Plaster the neighbor's house?)

Anyway, sadly we are only left with Hygromycin B if we want to stay within current (checking my watch) FDA guidelines for...hmmmm...layers laying...hmmmm....eggs...that we will eat and not toss at Farmer Brown.

And we both know the best course of action for ridding worms is first clean litter and proper field rotation; and since we live in confined areas where the neighbors complain if I use their yard for pasture, then I've got to deal with eventual worm build up in my soil...which leaves me to do something about it as those darn chickens scratch in that soil and eat anything that moves (and doesn't move) ingesting worm eggs.

I, like you, prefer to be proactive as keeping the worm load down (with its related diseases) is best done before it gets to be a noticeable problem....ie you actually see worms in the poo (its already a big problem by then).

When I was just raising my own chickens for my own egg consumption (and apparently occasional toss at the neighbor's barn), I used what wormer I wanted...and I ate the eggs without tossing...Pyrantel and 'zole type wormers stick in the gut to do their job and are poorly absorbed by the chicken/egg. But then I had friends who begged for eggs, and that led to selling eggs, and that led to a lot of headache with reading FDA literature.

And I agree...it is all so much political bureaucratic mumbo jumbo...as you astutely pointed out many (dare I say most) of these wormers are used for human deworming...so IF we got some in the egg, we would potentially merely be deworming ourself...maybe not such a bad idea for those of us who live in close contact with all these animals.
tongue.png


It is also ironic how the FDA champions for its nonuse here in the US in egg layers but how Ivermectin is pushed by the World Health Organization to treat so many children for river disease...maybe I should sell those eggs to areas that are trying to treat that parasite in human beings.

Obviously all said tongue in cheek, with a maybe just a little acerbic jab at the bureaucracy's arbitrary decisions for what is considered safe for all of us and the resultant thick reading...which I'll have to do all again on the next FDA approval rounds.
th.gif


Lady of McCamley
 
I'll trust a trial by a University Dept. of poultry husbandry or animal science before I'll trust the FDA. Albendazole is safe, easily administered, has a determined withdrawal period of only 14 days, and destroys all worms:
http://japr.fass.org/content/16/3/392.full.pdf
To waste time with a product such as Hygromycin B in a pelleted form, which chickens won't eat, just defies common sense to me.
 
Michael Apple said:
I'll trust a trial by a University Dept. of poultry husbandry or animal science before I'll trust the FDA. Albendazole is safe, easily administered, has a determined withdrawal period of only 14 days, and destroys all worms:
http://japr.fass.org/content/16/3/392.full.pdf
To waste time with a product such as Hygromycin B in a pelleted form, which chickens won't eat, just defies common sense to me.
Click to expand...

Well, I didn't know the chickens wouldn't eat it.

Michael Apple said:
Doesn't do a bit of good if birds won't willingly eat it. I'll stick the benzimidazole classes of wormers. Albendazole is a better wormer, just as the Department of Animal Science at University of Arkansas states: http://japr.fass.org/content/16/3/392.full.pdf
Click to expand...

How do you worm yours then: paste, liquid pellet, what?
 
Quote: Evidently, neither did the University of Florida

Quote: "Better" is subjective, since they both have a long history of working
 
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