Top soil in run?

[Harmoni]

I'd like to put a fresh layer if ground cover down. We've had some issues with roundworms and short of treating constantly and or moving, I don't see an end in sight. To my understanding, I can reduce the numbers by replacing dirt. I have these:

I bought them 2 years ago when we started a garden. So they have been sitting in bags outside for 2 years. Could I put this out in the run? Do any of the components seem dangerous? We moved one of our garden beds and the chickens had been digging in this stuff from that bed with no issue.

 

[Percheron chick]

Are you going to remove the old soil first?
You can't achieve the goal if you are just going to top dress it. Can you keep the chickens out of the run? Chemical free options would be dumping boiling water on the ground. You can cover the ground with plastic and let it bake in the sun.
Nothing bad in the bags of soil.

 

[Harmoni]

Are you going to remove the old soil first?
You can't achieve the goal if you are just going to top dress it. Can you keep the chickens out of the run? Chemical free options would be dumping boiling water on the ground. You can cover the ground with plastic and let it bake in the sun.
Nothing bad in the bags of soil.

I was thinking about removing some. I don't think I could remove all. I can keep them put for a few hours during the day. I'm just tried of having to treat multiple times a year. We've used safeguard and ivermectin. Valzaben is expensive. I don't think there are any other things I can rotate with. I don't think I can eliminate,but maybe just lower the amount? The chickens free range a few hours a day while I clean so technically the whole yard is likely contaminated.

 

[aart]

I'm just tried of having to treat multiple times a year.

In FLA you may have to treat regularly.
@dawg53 can help you out.

 

[Harmoni]

In FLA you may have to treat regularly.
@dawg53 can help you out.

Ugh yeah. Likely. Hopefully @dawg53 can give me some other treatment options. I saw a worm in poop a month or 2 ago and no one has died, but I'm assuming there are still worms and I have chicks ages 5-13 weeks on the ground that I am concerned about. The adults seem to be able to carry a pretty large load without ill effect. I was debating about ivermectin again this time and then I guess spending the big bucks on Valzaben. Then I will have rotated 3 different antiparasitic drugs over the course over 15 months. I really wish there wasa way to get rid of them though/make the birds resistant.

 

[dawg53]

I use Valbazen mostly, have been for years. Sunlight will kill worm eggs on your soil. I use sand in my pens and coops. Coops are cleaned early in the mornings and I scoop poop in the pens 3 or 4 times a day.
Sand helps deter parasites, dries quicker than dirt after it rains and doesnt wash away like dirt, no nasty mudpuddles that birds love to drink from neither.
Chicks on soil at 5 weeks + should be wormed due to our warm, moist/wet soil conditions. I worm my birds monthly, it's the only way to stop the worms lifecycle.
Other wormers I have used are Safeguard liquid goat wormer, Levamisole and Pyrantel Pamoate. Valbazen is my go to wormer. The 500ml bottle will last you a long time. I currently have 22 birds.
I stopped using Ivermectin a long time ago. It was ineffective treating large roundworms, probably due to its overuse for treating mites in poultry.

 

[raingarden]

I agree with @Percheron chick and think you should try soil solarization if the spot get enough direct sun. Use clear plastic, not the black stuff.

https://vric.ucdavis.edu/pdf/soil_solarization.pdf#:~:text=Soil solarization is a nonpesticidal method of controlling,trapped in the soil, heating the upper levels.

 

[Harmoni]

I use Valbazen mostly, have been for years. Sunlight will kill worm eggs on your soil. I use sand in my pens and coops. Coops are cleaned early in the mornings and I scoop poop in the pens 3 or 4 times a day.
Sand helps deter parasites, dries quicker than dirt after it rains and doesnt wash away like dirt, no nasty mudpuddles that birds love to drink from neither.
Chicks on soil at 5 weeks + should be wormed due to our warm, moist/wet soil conditions. I worm my birds monthly, it's the only way to stop the worms lifecycle.
Other wormers I have used are Safeguard liquid goat wormer, Levamisole and Pyrantel Pamoate. Valbazen is my go to wormer. The 500ml bottle will last you a long time. I currently have 22 birds.
I stopped using Ivermectin a long time ago. It was ineffective treating large roundworms, probably due to its overuse for treating mites in poultry.

We have 11 adult birds, 9 juveniles and 3 5 week olds, so 23. I scoop once a day and our runs are currently sand. I may get a truck load delivered to resand the areas.
valbazen, is dosing each individual bird, right?

 

[dawg53]

We have 11 adult birds, 9 juveniles and 3 5 week olds, so 23. I scoop once a day and our runs are currently sand. I may get a truck load delivered to resand the areas.
valbazen, is dosing each individual bird, right?

Yes, orally dose each bird individually using a syringe without a needle. It's best to worm them before sunrise while it's still dark. They'll be easy to snatch off the roost to dose them.
Cradle a bird in your forearm and use your fingers and thumb to pull straight down on her wattles and her mouth will open. Use your free hand with the preloaded Valbazen syringe to shoot the liquid in the hens mouth and at the same time release her wattles so she can swallow the liquid. If you dont let go of the wattles, she can aspirate. Then release her and grab another hen and repeat the procedure.

Dosage for a 5 pound hen is 1/2ml in the syringe. If you have a heavier bird, increase dosage to 3/4ml. However, it's best to dose 1/2ml at a time because chickens can only swallow about 1/2ml at a time. Any more than that and they will aspirate.

One more benefit by dosing them early in the morning is that your birds will not have been fed yet and will be starving, so will the the worms. The Valbazen will be more effective eliminating the weakened worms, no matter what type of roundworms they are.
Then feed your birds 2 hours later a little at a time, increasing rations during the day back to normal. Remember, they will be starving and will gorge feed possibly causing impacted crop or gizzard. So gradually increase rations during the day.
Repeat this procedure in 10-14 days.

BTW: For the 5 week olds, dose them orally 1/4ml. They wont have wattles to pull down, just pull down the skin under their beak or neck and their mouth will open, then dose them.

 

[Harmoni]

Yes, orally dose each bird individually using a syringe without a needle. It's best to worm them before sunrise while it's still dark. They'll be easy to snatch off the roost to dose them.
Cradle a bird in your forearm and use your fingers and thumb to pull straight down on her wattles and her mouth will open. Use your free hand with the preloaded Valbazen syringe to shoot the liquid in the hens mouth and at the same time release her wattles so she can swallow the liquid. If you dont let go of the wattles, she can aspirate. Then release her and grab another hen and repeat the procedure.

Dosage for a 5 pound hen is 1/2ml in the syringe. If you have a heavier bird, increase dosage to 3/4ml. However, it's best to dose 1/2ml at a time because chickens can only swallow about 1/2ml at a time. Any more than that and they will aspirate.

One more benefit by dosing them early in the morning is that your birds will not have been fed yet and will be starving, so will the the worms. The Valbazen will be more effective eliminating the weakened worms, no matter what type of roundworms they are.
Then feed your birds 2 hours later a little at a time, increasing rations during the day back to normal. Remember, they will be starving and will gorge feed possibly causing impacted crop or gizzard. So gradually increase rations during the day.
Repeat this procedure in 10-14 days.

BTW: For the 5 week olds, dose them orally 1/4ml. They wont have wattles to pull down, just pull down the skin under their beak or neck and their mouth will open, then dose them.

Ok, food withdrawal for all or just adults?