To worm or not to worm that is the question.

[Jesusfreak101]

I have a flock of 21 hens ranging from 10 months now to three months. I keep reading where you deworm them twice a year. With from what i read is with a goat worm and you can not eat the eggs and they go to waste for a certian amount of time. I am not looking into saling the eggs so i could save eggs for the amount of time we have to worm the as we eat eggs every day. I bake and cook constantly so eggs are needed. At what age do you worm and what medication and how long is the withdrawl period? Whats the dosage i have different weight hens. Leghorns (light breed), delewares, golden sex links, rhode island reds, barred rocks, easter eggers, buff op, sl wyandottes. Some allow us to pick them up and others like one or more rhode islands will try to attack you (well my husband, me they ok with mostly). Right now i am giving them pumpkin and other preventives (will start cayenne pepper in feed soon) but what else can i do.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Kept chickens for twenty years, never wormed a single chicken.

 

[donrae]

Kept chickens for twenty years, never wormed a single chicken.

Me too. My birds are healthy, active, glossy feathers, good producers when appropriate. I figure if they're healthy, they balance their own parasite load.

 

[shortgrass]

Me either... Not for 20 years yet lol, but still have never wormed any of our livestock other than show animals and the dogs and cats

Well, I guess I DO worm, but not with chemicals. I depend on "nature to nurture", using the medicinal value of certain vegetation and timing if grazing to prevent infestation in the first place.

Chemical wormers do more damage than good, IMO.

 

[Pork Pie]

I only worm my chickens when i see evidence in their poo. The no-eating issue depends on the de-wormer ones uses (they will indicate the period on the bottle). The one i use here in Kenya indicates a 3 day period before eating the eggs.

CT

 

[nuklee0]

Following because I have the same question. Also, Maybe an odd question as I haven't wormed before either, but how long would a worm stay on the poo? I've never seen a worm in any of my chickens' poo, but One morning a few weeks ago, I saw a single worm (round worm looking thing) in the water bowl... I didn't know how it got in there... Then I started noticing that my Silkie that stays in this coop occasionally poos in the water dish. So could either be the worm somehow got in there or she pooed it out. I keep looking at her droppings but I don't see any worms. That was the first and last time I've seen a worm. And it has been several weeks now. Should I still worm her?

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi, some other members obviously may disagree, but if i see any signs of worms, i de-worm.

CT

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Olddoglikehens, donrea, shortgrass yall are the first on here to tell me you dont worm. I fall more in line with yall simply because i believe God designed them to beable to take care of certian things. In the wild they had to deworm naturally so i agree with yall i just kept reading deworm deworm. I have a friend who hasnt dewormed ever she had her flock three years. So thereis that. And ct i get where your coming from if you see an issue to treat it. But if there no issue why do so many treat regularly? Thats what has me confused. For us we would lose a lot of eggs which in my book is just wasteful. I am not sure i am ok with that part.

 

[aart]

I only worm my chickens when i see evidence in their poo. The no-eating issue depends on the de-wormer ones uses (they will indicate the period on the bottle). The one i use here in Kenya indicates a 3 day period before eating the eggs.

CT

Problem with that is you won't see worms in poop except for round worms...unless you are doing fecal floats and observing with microscope.
What 'signs' do you see?

 

[Pork Pie]

must be round worms i am seeing based on what you have said.

CT