OK... here's a PM dawg53 sent me regarding worming. Lots of details, but towards the bottom is your immediate solution!
Alot of people have a worming program with their chickens, including me. The bottom line is that if their feet touch the ground, they'll get worms eventually. The environment where you live plays a role in how often you worm. Here, where I live, it is hot...moist and high humidity most of the year. I live near the coast, a river and a swamp. Our soil is warm,damp and moist...it is mosquito heaven and worm soup. I worm mine quarterly. If you live in a cold or mountainous environment, it may only be necessary to worm once a year...the soil isnt condusive for worms. You could worm semi annually or worm every 9 months or 14 months....the choice is yours when you want to worm.
Other people only worm when they only see symptoms, or when they see worms in the poop. When a chicken is acting lethargic, not eating or drinking, basically not acting like a chicken should...it could be worms. Unfortunately those symptoms describe alot of problems a chicken could have. Some people never worm, then they post on BYC wanting to know why their chicken is sick. Worms weaken their immune system then it opens the door for all kinds of illnesses...then the chicken dies from the lack of nutrients that the worms are stealing from the chicken.
The best thing to do is take a fecal sample into a vet and have them look at it. That's the only way to tell for sure. For me, it's easier to have a regular worming program....saves me time, money and gas.
DE is not a preventive for worms and it certainly wont kill worms. DE is a drying agent that was originally put in grain bins to keep moisture from spoiling the feed after a harvest. The government has labeled it "food grade" for that purpose. It doesnt mean it's to be added to food to be eaten. More importantly, when DE gets wet it is useless until it dries. The insides of chickens are wet, therefore it is ineffective. If your going to use DE, sprinkle it inside your coop or run to help keep it dry....I dont use it for lice or mites neither. I use sevin dust, to kill them....DE doesnt work on lice/mite infestations. DE is silica and can cause lung damagr if inhaled not only to humans, but chickens as well.
Eprinex has no egg withdrawal and it is a pour on , never to be injected nor given orally. It goes on bare skin on the back of the neck of the chicken. The problem with using one wormer all the time is that worms can build resistance much like bacteria can build resistance to some antibiotics...you've heard that on the news I'm sure. I've been reading articles here and there that ivermectin pour on has been losing its effectiveness killing roundworms in chickens...that's the most common worm that chickens get. I've read that eprinex might be heading that way as well because of it's overuseage, just like ivermectin pour on. I have 4 or 5 wormers that I have used over the years in rotation. I recommend you purchase a couple as well. Eprinex doesnt kill all types of worm neither for your information.
I recommend Valbazen(albendazole) liquid cattle/sheep wormer, Safeguard (fenbendazole) liquid goat wormer or Safeguard equine paste adding these to your wormer inventory. All of them have a 14 day egg withdrawal....a small price to pay for healthy chickens that will lay eggs for a long time. Valbazen kills all types of worms that chickens can get including tapeworms. Only equine pastes with praziquantel can do that...but liquids are easier to provide to chickens than pastes in my opinion.
