Should I buy eggs or wait it out?

[ronott1]

Question.... Rumples has not gone broody. I want to get a couple of meat chicks and have her raise them. IF I give her chicks now... do you think she will accept them.

the usual advice is to wait a week before giving them chicks.

Hens cannot tell time but it does take some time for the hormones to get to the point that they will accept the chicks.

 

[ronott1]

Yes, you can eat those eggs (it isn't an antibiotic BTW). You can eat eggs after the chickens have been wormed, but the worms in my body make me feel tingly!

So I don't wanna kill them.

No, people have not chilled.

For those not chilling out....







Ooops, I may have been reading too many Trump articles......

 

[ShrekDawg]

Yes, you can eat those eggs (it isn't an antibiotic BTW). You can eat eggs after the chickens have been wormed, but the worms in my body make me feel tingly! So I don't wanna kill them.

No, people have not chilled.

Ahhh okay, thank you! Yeah, theyre not on medicated now and haven't been since 8 weeks but for some reason in the dream they were LOL and wait do i really have to worm them?

And aw that sucks :/

 

[ronott1]

Ahhh okay, thank you! Yeah, theyre not on medicated now and haven't been since 8 weeks but for some reason in the dream they were LOL and wait do i really have to worm them?

And aw that sucks

It depends on if they are on dirt or not. It is a good idea if they are on dirt to worm them before they start laying eggs. If they have roundworms, they can damage the reproductive system at that age. Later it is not as big of a deal.

Alternatively, you can take a poo sample to any vet that does a fecal float test for worms. Tell them it is from you "pet". Sometimes they will not do the test if they know the sample came from a chicken....Silly Veterinarians....

 

[ShrekDawg]

It depends on if they are on dirt or not. It is a good idea if they are on dirt to worm them before they start laying eggs. If they have roundworms, they can damage the reproductive system at that age. Later it is not as big of a deal.

Alternatively, you can take a poo sample to any vet that does a fecal float test for worms. Tell them it is from you "pet". Sometimes they will not do the test if they know the sample came from a chicken....Silly Veterinarians....

Thanks for the info! They were on dirt for a while but then i put shavings in their run and always had shavings in the coop. But sometimes they free range. How do I go about worming them? Ive neve really heard of it till recently so dont know if it's necessary?

And for the sample thing, you cant see them in the poo? I havent seen any

 

[ronott1]

Thanks for the info! They were on dirt for a while but then i put shavings in their run and always had shavings in the coop. But sometimes they free range. How do I go about worming them? Ive neve really heard of it till recently so dont know if it's necessary?

And for the sample thing, you cant see them in the poo? I havent seen any

The poo is floated and then a slide goes under a microscope to look for the eggs.

You almost never see the worms. If you do, then there is a real problem!

 

[ShrekDawg]

Ahhh I see. That makes sense.

So is it a problem for us or them?

 

[BullChick]

Both if you eat the chickens. It will kill the chickens,
You can always do natural wormers. Pumpkin is one. If you put a whole pumpkin in the run (or coop) it may take a few days for them to stop being afraid of it. They will then begin to peck. They will even crawl inside if they can. The seeds stun the worms, and make them leave the body is my understanding. Though I initially thought it killed the worms.

There are others, but I am not sure if it is true or not. Look it up.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Question.... Rumples has not gone broody. I want to get a couple of meat chicks and have her raise them. IF I give her chicks now... do you think she will accept them.

Ooo, I haven't had good luck with even broody hens taking chicks. I know she's been a good mama, but do you have a plan B if she rejects them? I also had trouble with chicks being afraid of the hen! My feed store holds the chicks until the next day before selling them, so they are closer to 3 days before you get them.

 

[ronott1]

Ahhh I see. That makes sense.

So is it a problem for us or them?

Worms are a problem for them--The worms feed off of blood so they take nutrition away from the hens--Won't lay as many eggs and if there are enough worms, it will kill them. For pullets reaching point of lay, It can hurt their organs causing egg laying problems and sometimes sterilization.

From a production standpoint you want to worm them at least one set(see instructions for the worm medicine) at 16 to 20 weeks old.

Like I said though, a fecal float test, which costs about $10.00 will let you know if you need to worm. It is a good idea to test them for worms two to four times a year-depending on where you live and how bad worms are in your area. For example, here I only need to test for worms in the winter and spring. Summer and fall is too dry for worms. Other places need to check more often.