Topic of the Week - Deworming chickens

[sonshine15]

Thank you. It sounds easy to administer paste vs liquid, no chance of causing aspiration. I cannot imagine tubing the geese. Chickens yes. Geese oh no. Not unless an emergency.

 

[Ravynscroft]

Thank you. It sounds easy to administer paste vs liquid, no chance of causing aspiration. I cannot imagine tubing the geese. Chickens yes. Geese oh no. Not unless an emergency.

The dose can be put on a piece of bread or some similar treat they like and fed to them too...

 

[sonshine15]

Thank you again for your help
It's that time of year and crazy weather makes things really jump up and get the attention. Temps swinging like mad and poor flocks, herds etc are not liking the effects.....

 

[Sammster]

Because I cannot move/rotate my coop/run ~ I think it would be wise to worm my chickens twice a year. I live in Michigan, so it's not typically overly hot ~ but it has been a rather wet spring and summer. My chicks are 12 weeks old.

I happen to keep liquid cattle and swine Ivermectin because I use it monthly, for my dogs. I read on "The Chicken Chick" that this can be used either orally, or on the neck of the chicken for worming. Do any of you use Ivermectin? Which application would be better ~ oral or topical? Does applying it topically help with internal parasites? Are my chicks old enough?

I'm grateful that someone here shared the worm information link to "The Chicken Chick". I have given treats on the ground of the run a few times, without realizing it could lead to an infestation. Makes sense, of course. Aside from keeping the coop and run clean and dry, are there any other steps I can take to keep the environment/soil safe for my girls? I do clean up their poops, regularly, with a pooper-scooper that I keep in their pen. And I clean their poops from the coop, daily, as well. Their waterer is also cleaned, each day.

P.S. We do not have access to an avian vet, for poop samples. Could a dog/cat vet run Chicken stool parasite tests?

 

[FarmsteadOn4thStreet]

Does this poop look like maybe my chicken has worms? I quarantined the one because I noticed her poop was looking different but I’m not sure what it means.

 

[EIEIO Funny Farm]

Should you deworm regularly as a preventative, or wait until there is evidence of an infestation?

No, deworming indiscriminately can cause the worms to become resistant to the dewormers used. Randomly deworming is simply a waste of money and can harm more than it can help. You can never completely eradicate worms, so it is important that your flock has the opportunity to build up resistance to them.

What signs are there to indicate a possible worm infestation?

The ideal way to monitor the worm load of your flock is to get a fecal egg count done by a veterinarian a few times throughout the year. However, you can also monitor physical signs. Abnormal droppings, dirty vent feathers or droppings with worms in them can indicate a worm infestation. Also, look for general body condition indicators, including dull feathers, a pale comb, a loss of weight, and decreased egg production.

Do natural/organic dewormers and remedies work?

Diatomaceous Earth is often mentioned in the conversation about deworming. It is said that the small sharp edges slice and damage worm eggs. However, once Diatomaceous Earth is ingested, it loses these sharp edges, rendering it useless for the purpose of deworming. However, one natural remedy that makes a difference is giving your flock enough room. Even the most worm-resistant chicken will ingest too many worms if they are in a small space with too many other chickens. But, if they have some space, they can gradually build up resistance to parasites without being overwhelmed.

Dirty vent feathers? I’ve noticed some whitish streaks on feathers under the vent. Is that normal? I wasn’t sure if that was from laying or from droppings. I’m a new chicken owner and my hens have been laying about a month. I’ve been wanting to get a wash rag and wash it off.

 

[EIEIO Funny Farm]

Should you deworm regularly as a preventative, or wait until there is evidence of an infestation?

No, deworming indiscriminately can cause the worms to become resistant to the dewormers used. Randomly deworming is simply a waste of money and can harm more than it can help. You can never completely eradicate worms, so it is important that your flock has the opportunity to build up resistance to them.

What signs are there to indicate a possible worm infestation?

The ideal way to monitor the worm load of your flock is to get a fecal egg count done by a veterinarian a few times throughout the year. However, you can also monitor physical signs. Abnormal droppings, dirty vent feathers or droppings with worms in them can indicate a worm infestation. Also, look for general body condition indicators, including dull feathers, a pale comb, a loss of weight, and decreased egg production.

Do natural/organic dewormers and remedies work?

Diatomaceous Earth is often mentioned in the conversation about deworming. It is said that the small sharp edges slice and damage worm eggs. However, once Diatomaceous Earth is ingested, it loses these sharp edges, rendering it useless for the purpose of deworming. However, one natural remedy that makes a difference is giving your flock enough room. Even the most worm-resistant chicken will ingest too many worms if they are in a small space with too many other chickens. But, if they have some space, they can gradually build up resistance to parasites without being overwhelmed.

I was told raw pumpkin seeds will kill worms. My sister ground some and put in her cat food for the cat and it got rid of worms.
will this work for chickens too? What about pumpkin seeds as an occasional treat and preventative?
thanks!

 

[Araucana Nest]

I was told raw pumpkin seeds will kill worms. My sister ground some and put in her cat food for the cat and it got rid of worms.
will this work for chickens too? What about pumpkin seeds as an occasional treat and preventative?
thanks!

Pumpkin seeds, peppercorns and other “natural” dewormers have been used for centuries but under much different conditions than what most of us provide for our chickens. My family used natural dewormers in their flocks in Cuba where there is nothing else. You can’t buy safeguard or ivermectin in Cuba now or then. The big differences between what they did 150 years ago and what I do:
1) chickens free range and roost free range all the time. No cage time at all. Acres of space. 2) Natural predation and human eating eliminated most chickens older than two years old. 3) Sick chickens culled right away if they didn’t respond to treatments 4) the land and space was much larger than anyone’s backyard so the waste was more spread out 5) there wasn’t any trading, buying and selling. 5) hens hatched and raised chicks (I believe this makes for healthier chicks because the hens were also healthy)) They relied on themselves to produce meat and eggs from their flocks.

They had other “natural” cures most of which included hot pepper seeds. I don’t know if any of it worked but they were successful and had a sustained flock for their needs. The short answer was to cull anything that looked sick so naturally those treatments were thought to be effective. I can’t duplicate those conditions - very different conditions than what many of us have- and I dont kill my chickens if they’re having a bad day, so I use a chemical dewormer.

 

[casportpony]

Does this poop look like maybe my chicken has worms? I quarantined the one because I noticed her poop was looking different but I’m not sure what it means.

Looks pretty normal to me.

 

[casportpony]

I was told raw pumpkin seeds will kill worms. My sister ground some and put in her cat food for the cat and it got rid of worms.
will this work for chickens too? What about pumpkin seeds as an occasional treat and preventative?
thanks!

https://web.archive.org/web/20161121110323/http://www.acreagelife.com/articles/problem-pumpkin-seeds