To worm or not to worm???

[DPhillips]

I have 15 chickens which are all about 4.5 months to 1 year of age. I have never wormed them, and they are showing no signs of having worms. My question is.....Is it a good idea to go ahead and worm them??? I bought some Wazine at the feed store the other day just in case. It says to use it on birds younger birds( 4-6 weeks i think), not adult egg-laying poultry. They all seem healthy, i just wondered if i should worm them anyway? or should I use a different wormer? or just leave them alone.
Thanks for any advice!

 

[elmo]

I'm not going to worm until I see some signs or symptoms of a problem. One of my birds just had a fecal check and came up clear, so my flock is probably fine right now.

But if I was going to worm prophylactically, I don't think I'd do during winter.

 

[robin416]

Wazine is fine.

Here is the thing, when you actually see active worm infestations in the droppings the birds have a HEAVY load. That means there are so many worms in the bird's gastro intestinal tract that there is no room for any more. When there are that many worms in a bird's GI tract they are stealing much needed nutrients from the bird but worse yet, they are doing damage to the bird's organs. That damage is not reversible so could lead to a life time of problems for any bird that gets that bad.

Have a fecal check done to establish what kinds and how much of a load they might have. You can devise their worming program around that information. If your vet will not do the float then worm them twice a year. Wazine for round worms one time and another of your choice that will knock out everything else.

 

[elmo]

If your birds are hand tame, you can also weigh them regularly. That's what we do with our indoor birds, and all but one of our chickens is willing to step up on a scale. Weight loss is often the first clue that something's not right with a bird (they're so good at hiding symptoms). If you weigh regularly, you may be able to spot a problem developing and treat it.

 

[DPhillips]

ok!
Thank you all very much for your advise. I think I will try to wait until spring to worm so its not so hard on them.