I would like to start this thread as a place for people to come and post their opinions, experiences, and other information about worming chickens.
Please share any info/stories. Here is mine:
I have been doing some research myself and I have found it to be an extremely confusing topic. I have 9 backyard pullets (and 4 roos... soon to be fewer) just for fresh eggs and nothing else. My goal is to raise them organically and free-range them whenever possible. However, I recently lost a pullet and in researching the situation, I think it's possible (but not definite) that she had gapeworm. Since then, I've been trying to learn about what I need to do, if anything, for the rest of my flock.
Many sources say that only if you have a worm infestation, you should treat. Other sources say you should always treat regularly. The ones that say you should treat regularly have recomendations anywhere from once per year, every six months, every 3-4 months, every month, or continually. That is very confusing to me. Also, when you do treat, most places say that you shouldn't eat the eggs from your chickens afterward. Some say for one week, some say for two weeks, some say for a month. Not only is that confusing, but it would kill me to throw away all those eggs! And if you treat regularly like some suggestions, you'd end up throwing away as many as half of your eggs from your chickens all the time! That's horrible!
Also, different sources make different claims about which medications kill which worms and also different dosage recommendations.
So, I am officially totally confused. I want to keep my chickens healthy. I want to eat the eggs from my chickens. I want to minimize the chemicals I give to my chickens (they've had none so far). But, I can't tell what's right at all. I know responses to this thread will vary greatly, but I am hoping to at least open a good dialog on the topic so that as much information as there is can be available in one place.
Thank you in advance for your responses!
Please share any info/stories. Here is mine:
I have been doing some research myself and I have found it to be an extremely confusing topic. I have 9 backyard pullets (and 4 roos... soon to be fewer) just for fresh eggs and nothing else. My goal is to raise them organically and free-range them whenever possible. However, I recently lost a pullet and in researching the situation, I think it's possible (but not definite) that she had gapeworm. Since then, I've been trying to learn about what I need to do, if anything, for the rest of my flock.
Many sources say that only if you have a worm infestation, you should treat. Other sources say you should always treat regularly. The ones that say you should treat regularly have recomendations anywhere from once per year, every six months, every 3-4 months, every month, or continually. That is very confusing to me. Also, when you do treat, most places say that you shouldn't eat the eggs from your chickens afterward. Some say for one week, some say for two weeks, some say for a month. Not only is that confusing, but it would kill me to throw away all those eggs! And if you treat regularly like some suggestions, you'd end up throwing away as many as half of your eggs from your chickens all the time! That's horrible!
Also, different sources make different claims about which medications kill which worms and also different dosage recommendations.
So, I am officially totally confused. I want to keep my chickens healthy. I want to eat the eggs from my chickens. I want to minimize the chemicals I give to my chickens (they've had none so far). But, I can't tell what's right at all. I know responses to this thread will vary greatly, but I am hoping to at least open a good dialog on the topic so that as much information as there is can be available in one place.
Thank you in advance for your responses!
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