Tapeworm treatment with Zimectrin Gold, do I withhold food before?

[BlueberryOatmeal]

I have two chickens I’ll be treating for tapeworms, as I found segments in their poop. I’m seeing conflicting things about how much Zimecterin Gold to give, with some saying 0.06ml per lb and some saying 0.6 ml for a 5lb chicken (double what the former number would suggest). Which should I follow?

Also, do I need to withhold food for 24 hours in advance before administering?

 

[Eggcessive]

I recently used praziquantel to treat my dog for tapeworms, and the box said to not withhold food. Here is dosage by casportpony in post 6 that says that dosage is 0.06 ml per pound:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/worming-chickens-with-zimecterin-gold.1314819/

 

[dawg53]

You dont have to withhold food for 24 hours prior to treating for tapeworms, or for any worms for that matter. Dont feed them the next morning when you're going to worm them. That simple.
It's best to worm your birds early in the morning when it's still dark prior to letting them out of coop. They will be easy to snatch off the roost to worm and they will have an empty stomach. The wormer will be more effective eliminating the worms.
Then wait a few hours after treating your birds with the wormer, then feed them. Only feed them small rations at first, then increase rations back to normal during the day.
You do this because your birds will be starving after withholding their feed and you dont want them to gorge feed after worming possibly causing impacted crop/gizzard.
Just for your information; insects are the host for tapeworms in poultry.

 

[Eggcessive]

Many links say that you don’t need to withhold food, but food just after worming can help with absorption of praziquantel. Be sure to keep droppings cleaned up, and look for snails, slugs, earthworms, beetles, and other insects, since they are intermediate hosts for tapeworm eggs. When the chicken eats one of those hosts that has eaten tapeworm eggs, they get reinfested.