So many worming posts! Who to believe?

I'd slow this down a bit. You need more information. Is the only reason you want to worm because a couple of your hens "feel a bit thin?" Do you have any records of their weights over time? If you're dead set on worming your flock, then I'm sure you'll get the right advice from BYC members. I'm just bit reluctant on how you arrived at the decision to worm your flock.

Dan

 

"Dirty backsides" sounds more like lice than like worms. I suggest collecting poop samples from your flock (not just one bird, but a sample from a number of them; not separate samples) and take it to any vet, asking for a faecal float test to see what is any internal parasites your animals have. Then you can actually treat appropriately.

 

All I have to say is Diatomaceous Earth! (the food grade kind) It works wonders, and it's all natural so it won't hurt any of your birds that may not have worms. I just mix it in with the scratch until it's coated in the powder, and feed it to them. The very first time I used it, about a year ago, one day after giving it to them, I saw my hen poop out a bunch of worms, and the next day again. (Pretty Gross!) And just to prove that it works, a few weeks ago, I noticed some worms in my dog's poop, so I immediately started mixing DE in with his food. Well, last week he had his yearly vet visit, and low and behold, his stool sample came back NEGATIVE! So in my opinion, DE is the way to go. You can actually just mix it in with their food all the time to prevent them from getting worms. It won't harm them. You can also use it to dust your chickens, and their coops, and your yard for that matter. If you'd like to read up about it go to earthworkshealth.com. It will tell you everything you need to know, and they sell it for a reasonable price. I hope this helps!

 

It's a simple microscopic exam (and shouldn't cost much) to have your Vet check the poo for worms. So, why not take a sample from several areas in the coop/run and take it in for examination? If the Doc says he/she sees no worms, don't worm them. If there are worms, Doc can tell you what type. Your Vet can advise you on the correct worm meds - just tell him/her you prefer to purchase it at the feed store. Nobody wants to give up eggs and nobody really wants to treat perfectly healthy birds, either. If yours do have worms, however, I believe the sensible approach is to use the chemical wormers prescribed by Vets and recommended by the poultry experts. They are fast-acting and give 100% results. The same can't be said for the "natural" remedies.

 

Well, I'll wade into this one. I wormed mine for the same reason the OP has concerns. I noticed a definite weight loss among the girls, by looks, feel and weight when picking them up. No scales for numbers but we could all tell the difference. I used Wazine followed by Ivermectin. Yes. lost a month of eggs to us but fed them right back to the girls. By the end of the month we could see weight gain coming back; after eight weeks, they really looked good and just seemed happier. They have not lost any weight since returning to their sizes before the worming.

Good luck.

 

DE is fine for what it's fine for, i.e. killing bugs that may get into feed or the nest boxes or on the birds, but if you see worms or have good reason to believe they have a worm load that is making them lose weight, go for the most effective treatment to nip the problem in the bud. I use natural preventatives like pumpkin seeds on occasion, but those really just keep the worm load down to a manageable level-a healthy bird can handle a small worm load okay. When you see worms, it's time for the big guns.

 

Quote:The original post and the copied post are what I would go with... and this is where I am right now also (even as far as feeding the eggs back to the flock) . After finishing with this I will use DE as a preventative. After looking at all the many posts, this is the conclusion I came to. Hope this works for all of us.