Whoa! I started reading this thread and after several pages, I have questions! I'm quite confused and hope someone, Threehorses. or someone can straighten me out. There was just so much info and some people have different ideas and in between, I ended up lost. Rather than go back and try to sift through the advice, would you please just give me some simple directions and answers? I find the material on this thread to be very valuable but only if I understand it! I'm sorry to drag this all back up but I'm hoping someone will be nice enough to go over this with me. I will be extremely appreciative!
1. I've had chickens on and off for 30 years. Have never wormed a chicken. Have never seen a worm anywhere around the coop or pen, on roost or in straw, in poop or on ground and certainly not around a chicken's butt. I've never lost a chicken from illness or had a a sick chicken yet (O please don't let me get jinxed now!) For instance, I keep my dog on a flea med that also kills some types of worms. Then he takes a pill (to kill) heart-worms that I heard kills remaining worms. I believe this has the ivermectin. He gets a fecal exam once a yr. It's always clean. He's 11 yrs. old and I find it silly that I have to test him every year when the meds he is given have always wiped out any type of worms. My question: Do I need to worm my 5-month old bantam flock even though there is no sign of parasites, and all are healthy good-looking flock with no history of any worm infestation? I keep coop clean and pen is raked out once a week. I put apple cider vinegar in their water twice a week, with a Poultry drench added 2 of the remaining days. Throughout the week they get yogurt, fresh apples, spinach, pumpkin puree, lettuce, warm oatmeal on cold mornings and mashed eggs along with the shells crushed in as a sort of treat. They free-range my 1 acre yard several hours every day, unless raining. I spend enough time with them that I would spot a sick bird or one getting skinny or puny.
2. I had never heard that chickens should not be allowed to dig in compost piles or eat earthworms until this thread. I actually thought any bug or insect they found was added protein - not a problematic parasite-inducing creature! Up in the Mid-Atlantic states, there just aren't any insects left alive after a few cold mornings. If the chickens don't eat grubs or earthworms, their live diets just fell to 0%! Yes I do buy meal worms but they're expensive and at $10 for 200 live, it does not go far with a flock of 20. That comes out to 10 each in a fair world! The meal worms are gone before I can sneak away! My work in my vegetable garden is a constant progressive endeavor. The chickens love to come around and dig for the earthworms while I'm hoeing and mixing in the straw from their coop. Is this bad for them? Should earthworms and any other under-ground bugs be off limits? Should I keep them out of the compost pile? I read dozens of books about the correlation between gardening and keeping chickens and never saw anything that said digging in compost (comprised mostly of straw, chicken droppings, plant material, weeds, flowers and dirt) is bad for them.
3. I have Wazine on hand. I read on here that it should be used first mixed in their drinking water. Follow-up in 14 days with another dose or try the pour-on ivermectin using a certain size syringe applied as drops to the bare skin at the back of the neck or shoulder. Right? But that does not kill tape worms - which chickens that eat earthworms, from wet soil and compost piles commonly contract. From what I've gleaned, there's no safe way to get rid of the tape worm. Right? Or is there a safe tape-worm med that is not dangerous, not sold over in UK, but available here that will safely rid chickens of this problematic type of worm? Has anyone on here used it? Has anyone seen tape-worm in their chickens? Were you successful in eliminating it? Did your chickens recover alright?
4. Can chickens have several types of worms at the same time? If not treated, will these worms individually kill chickens? Is tape-worm potentially fatal? Can I feed the eggs from chickens wormed with either Wazine or Ivermectin back to the flock as boiled and mashed up eggs? I know humans should not consume these eggs. My flock should start laying around Thanksgiving. If I worm them now, will it put off the timing or affect new pullets just starting to lay? And would everyone please tell me how they feel about worming, for worming sake (since my flock shows no signs of having worms)? Sorry this is so long. I am a newbie at this part of chicken keeping! I am constantly learning and trying hard to be a responsible and good owner. Thanks so much!
1. I've had chickens on and off for 30 years. Have never wormed a chicken. Have never seen a worm anywhere around the coop or pen, on roost or in straw, in poop or on ground and certainly not around a chicken's butt. I've never lost a chicken from illness or had a a sick chicken yet (O please don't let me get jinxed now!) For instance, I keep my dog on a flea med that also kills some types of worms. Then he takes a pill (to kill) heart-worms that I heard kills remaining worms. I believe this has the ivermectin. He gets a fecal exam once a yr. It's always clean. He's 11 yrs. old and I find it silly that I have to test him every year when the meds he is given have always wiped out any type of worms. My question: Do I need to worm my 5-month old bantam flock even though there is no sign of parasites, and all are healthy good-looking flock with no history of any worm infestation? I keep coop clean and pen is raked out once a week. I put apple cider vinegar in their water twice a week, with a Poultry drench added 2 of the remaining days. Throughout the week they get yogurt, fresh apples, spinach, pumpkin puree, lettuce, warm oatmeal on cold mornings and mashed eggs along with the shells crushed in as a sort of treat. They free-range my 1 acre yard several hours every day, unless raining. I spend enough time with them that I would spot a sick bird or one getting skinny or puny.
2. I had never heard that chickens should not be allowed to dig in compost piles or eat earthworms until this thread. I actually thought any bug or insect they found was added protein - not a problematic parasite-inducing creature! Up in the Mid-Atlantic states, there just aren't any insects left alive after a few cold mornings. If the chickens don't eat grubs or earthworms, their live diets just fell to 0%! Yes I do buy meal worms but they're expensive and at $10 for 200 live, it does not go far with a flock of 20. That comes out to 10 each in a fair world! The meal worms are gone before I can sneak away! My work in my vegetable garden is a constant progressive endeavor. The chickens love to come around and dig for the earthworms while I'm hoeing and mixing in the straw from their coop. Is this bad for them? Should earthworms and any other under-ground bugs be off limits? Should I keep them out of the compost pile? I read dozens of books about the correlation between gardening and keeping chickens and never saw anything that said digging in compost (comprised mostly of straw, chicken droppings, plant material, weeds, flowers and dirt) is bad for them.
3. I have Wazine on hand. I read on here that it should be used first mixed in their drinking water. Follow-up in 14 days with another dose or try the pour-on ivermectin using a certain size syringe applied as drops to the bare skin at the back of the neck or shoulder. Right? But that does not kill tape worms - which chickens that eat earthworms, from wet soil and compost piles commonly contract. From what I've gleaned, there's no safe way to get rid of the tape worm. Right? Or is there a safe tape-worm med that is not dangerous, not sold over in UK, but available here that will safely rid chickens of this problematic type of worm? Has anyone on here used it? Has anyone seen tape-worm in their chickens? Were you successful in eliminating it? Did your chickens recover alright?
4. Can chickens have several types of worms at the same time? If not treated, will these worms individually kill chickens? Is tape-worm potentially fatal? Can I feed the eggs from chickens wormed with either Wazine or Ivermectin back to the flock as boiled and mashed up eggs? I know humans should not consume these eggs. My flock should start laying around Thanksgiving. If I worm them now, will it put off the timing or affect new pullets just starting to lay? And would everyone please tell me how they feel about worming, for worming sake (since my flock shows no signs of having worms)? Sorry this is so long. I am a newbie at this part of chicken keeping! I am constantly learning and trying hard to be a responsible and good owner. Thanks so much!
