- Apr 9, 2012
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Where do you buy Valbazen?
Thanks.
Thanks.
Topic of the Week - Deworming chickens
- Thread starter sumi
- Start date
Welcome to BYC!
Learn how to give a basic exam, which includes getting a baseline weight. Then once a month or so, re-examine all of them and pay special attention to how thin or fat they feel. If you aren't going to use medications, find a vet or lab that can do routine fecals for you.
-Kathy
bluebirdlane
In the Brooder
I am new to chickens and struggling with this very issue.
In late January this year I got my first chickens. I got 5 hens: 2 Wyandottes, 2 Cream Legbars, and 1 Rhodebar. They were 4 to 6 months old when I got them. The first 3 months I had them were fantastic. They began laying almost right away and once they were all laying we were getting about 28 eggs per week which was great. I enjoy their personalities and taking care of them. They are in a 100 sq. ft pen in my horse barn. I use pine shavings for litter and I pick the pen out daily. It only takes a few minutes and I am used to caring for horses so I keep the chickens in a similar way. Except my chickens don't go outside. I was planning on building an outdoor pen but I started having problems so did not go ahead with that yet.
The problems began about 3 months after we got them. One of the Wyandottes slowed down laying then one of the Cream Legbars slowed down too. Their combs became pale. I looked online for info (I don't have a chicken vet) and read about the possibility of worms and the need to deworm. Although my hens don't go outside, the person I got them from free-ranged them so it was possible they were exposed to worms.
With all the disparate information and opinion online it was hard to ascertain what product to use and how to administer it, so I called my friend who has a lot of chickens. She said that she had never dewormed her chickens and they are fine and she did not recommend "dousing them with chemicals". So I did nothing which I now regret. Then the two hens stopped laying altogether and the Cream Legbar became lethargic. At this point I knew I had to do something. I did some more reading online, and read that injectable cattle ivermectin administered orally by syringe .2 cc per bird would work. I drove to the feedstore and picked some up and we did the lethargic Cream Legbar. She was dead the next morning, so either the worms dying off killed her, or she was about to die anyhow. She was very weak by that point. It was on Sunday and I didn't think about sending for necropsy (another regret).
I did then find a vet who would look at fecal samples from my other chickens and the vet's finding was they were full of roundworm eggs. We tried dosing them with ivermectin by syringe but had trouble always getting them to open their beak and sometimes they would shake their head and send the dose splashing and then what, as you couldn't know how much has actually gone in. By then the first Wyandotte was losing about 10 feathers per day, comb still pale, and the second Wyandotte started losing about 100 feathers per day. I bought Gail Damerow's Chicken Health Handbook and it said I could use the injectable ivermectin dissolved in the drinking water at 4 cc per gallon for 2 days. After doing that the second Wyandotte immediately stopped losing feathers, the combs got red, and everyone seemed brighter and way more active. After two weeks I had the fecals rechecked and there were no eggs. But then three weeks after that she is losing feathers again and the comb is pale. The two Wyandottes are not laying and the other two chickens vary from laying well (6 eggs a week) to OK (3 to 4 a week).
After reading this thread I ordered the 60 ml bottle of Valbazen last night from a US kennel supply and am hoping it will ship to me in Canada. Assuming it does and I can treat them successfully by oral syringe, do I need to repeat in two weeks? Then should I strip out the litter from the pen and completely replace it? I'm guessing it could be full of eggs? If the Valbazen doesn't come I'm not sure what my next step should be.
I wish I knew exactly what to do. Chickens seem SO much more complicated to care for than horses!
In late January this year I got my first chickens. I got 5 hens: 2 Wyandottes, 2 Cream Legbars, and 1 Rhodebar. They were 4 to 6 months old when I got them. The first 3 months I had them were fantastic. They began laying almost right away and once they were all laying we were getting about 28 eggs per week which was great. I enjoy their personalities and taking care of them. They are in a 100 sq. ft pen in my horse barn. I use pine shavings for litter and I pick the pen out daily. It only takes a few minutes and I am used to caring for horses so I keep the chickens in a similar way. Except my chickens don't go outside. I was planning on building an outdoor pen but I started having problems so did not go ahead with that yet.
The problems began about 3 months after we got them. One of the Wyandottes slowed down laying then one of the Cream Legbars slowed down too. Their combs became pale. I looked online for info (I don't have a chicken vet) and read about the possibility of worms and the need to deworm. Although my hens don't go outside, the person I got them from free-ranged them so it was possible they were exposed to worms.
With all the disparate information and opinion online it was hard to ascertain what product to use and how to administer it, so I called my friend who has a lot of chickens. She said that she had never dewormed her chickens and they are fine and she did not recommend "dousing them with chemicals". So I did nothing which I now regret. Then the two hens stopped laying altogether and the Cream Legbar became lethargic. At this point I knew I had to do something. I did some more reading online, and read that injectable cattle ivermectin administered orally by syringe .2 cc per bird would work. I drove to the feedstore and picked some up and we did the lethargic Cream Legbar. She was dead the next morning, so either the worms dying off killed her, or she was about to die anyhow. She was very weak by that point. It was on Sunday and I didn't think about sending for necropsy (another regret).
I did then find a vet who would look at fecal samples from my other chickens and the vet's finding was they were full of roundworm eggs. We tried dosing them with ivermectin by syringe but had trouble always getting them to open their beak and sometimes they would shake their head and send the dose splashing and then what, as you couldn't know how much has actually gone in. By then the first Wyandotte was losing about 10 feathers per day, comb still pale, and the second Wyandotte started losing about 100 feathers per day. I bought Gail Damerow's Chicken Health Handbook and it said I could use the injectable ivermectin dissolved in the drinking water at 4 cc per gallon for 2 days. After doing that the second Wyandotte immediately stopped losing feathers, the combs got red, and everyone seemed brighter and way more active. After two weeks I had the fecals rechecked and there were no eggs. But then three weeks after that she is losing feathers again and the comb is pale. The two Wyandottes are not laying and the other two chickens vary from laying well (6 eggs a week) to OK (3 to 4 a week).
After reading this thread I ordered the 60 ml bottle of Valbazen last night from a US kennel supply and am hoping it will ship to me in Canada. Assuming it does and I can treat them successfully by oral syringe, do I need to repeat in two weeks? Then should I strip out the litter from the pen and completely replace it? I'm guessing it could be full of eggs? If the Valbazen doesn't come I'm not sure what my next step should be.
I wish I knew exactly what to do. Chickens seem SO much more complicated to care for than horses!
Last edited:
Here is an article that shows how to give oral medications:
http://www.hopkinslivestock.com/oral_dosing_article.htm
And this one:
How to give Oral Medications
Oral Dosing by @new 2 pfowl
• How do I know if I should be administering medication orally?
This depends upon various factors, such as what the medication is and how ill your bird is. In general, keep in mind that oral dosing is often the best way to control dosage and to ensure that your bird actually receives this dosage.
• What tools do I need to dose orally? Where do I get them?
You will need a small oral medication (needleless) syringe, suggested size 1 ml/cc, depending upon the dose being administered. They can be easily obtained online (for example, search for “oral medication syringe” on Amazon).
Please see details elsewhere in this thread about where to obtain medication.
• How do I determine the dosage?
Please PM me or tag me like this - @casportpony
• How do I do it, anyways?
You will need a helper to ensure the safety and proper medication of your bird.
1. Have your medication measures and the syringe prepared before taking any action.
2. Catch and restrain the bird.
3. Have your helper gently pry the bird’s beak open.
4. Be sure that you understand where the medication-filled syringe should be inserted.
The opening in the center at the back of the tongue is the trachea – nothing should ever go in there!
5. Gently insert the syringe alongside the tongue, and inject the medication slowly to ensure that it does not spill over into the trachea.
* Please note that images are courtesy of Craig Hopkins, http://www.hopkinslivestock.com/peafowl.htm
-Kathy
http://www.hopkinslivestock.com/oral_dosing_article.htm
And this one:
How to give Oral Medications
Oral Dosing by @new 2 pfowl
• How do I know if I should be administering medication orally?
This depends upon various factors, such as what the medication is and how ill your bird is. In general, keep in mind that oral dosing is often the best way to control dosage and to ensure that your bird actually receives this dosage.
• What tools do I need to dose orally? Where do I get them?
You will need a small oral medication (needleless) syringe, suggested size 1 ml/cc, depending upon the dose being administered. They can be easily obtained online (for example, search for “oral medication syringe” on Amazon).
Please see details elsewhere in this thread about where to obtain medication.
• How do I determine the dosage?
Please PM me or tag me like this - @casportpony
• How do I do it, anyways?
You will need a helper to ensure the safety and proper medication of your bird.
1. Have your medication measures and the syringe prepared before taking any action.
2. Catch and restrain the bird.
3. Have your helper gently pry the bird’s beak open.
4. Be sure that you understand where the medication-filled syringe should be inserted.
The opening in the center at the back of the tongue is the trachea – nothing should ever go in there!
5. Gently insert the syringe alongside the tongue, and inject the medication slowly to ensure that it does not spill over into the trachea.
* Please note that images are courtesy of Craig Hopkins, http://www.hopkinslivestock.com/peafowl.htm
-Kathy
Last edited:
Hiya Kathy. It often surprises me that people have so much trouble believing that chickens might need worming. I'm very pragmatic when it comes to animal husbandry. We worm our cattle , horses and goats, and the chickens are no different. Any animal that feeds from the ground is susceptible to picking up worms or eggs . This year in Australia we have experienced weather patterns that have made it ideal for parasites. The vets are reporting much higher incidents of colic in horses due to ineffective worming programs. I can understand why people with birds that are being grown for the table and aren't long lived might forgo the 'chemical ' option, but I have heritage breeds that are approaching 10 and 11 years of age. I could refrain from worming products, but I seriously doubt that my chooks would make to ' pensioner ' status.
http://www.langfordvets.co.uk/sites...imal_practice/Worms-in-Chickens-Factsheet.pdf
http://www.langfordvets.co.uk/sites...imal_practice/Worms-in-Chickens-Factsheet.pdf
TwinsLoveChicks
Songster
Does DE work for chicks?
Thanks!
Thanks!
newhamplover
Chirping
I agree with you on the worming. I have never wormed mine & they are 2 1/2 years old. I have had fecal checks ran on them from my vet & all were negative. I just had one ran about a month ago & it is not expensive. I know from all my years in horses that worming just to be worming is bad. In fact you are really building up super worms, the same principal as superbugs that antibiotics can't touch now. Every time you worm a certain amount will survive & those will be more resistant to wormers. You keep worming & worming & you are actually building more super worms that are more & more resistant. I would never worm without having fecal checks ran & know that I have a need to worm.
Also the conditions they are kept in has a lot to do with it. Mine free range & their coop is cleaned daily. If they are living in so much of their own poop the more likely for worms.
I only differ with you in that mine are pets...tooooo much so LOL.
I've had chickens live to almost 10 years of age with never being wormed. Nature knows what it is doing. I always speak from my experiences with keeping goats. I have had goats die from worms, worming them did nothing, they still died or needed to be put down. Breeding for resistance is a better option. I keep my own chickens to have clean food, putting chemicals in them doesn't make sense to me.
Glad to hear someone else thinks the same as me about it. And I lied a bit, I get attached to some of my chickens, but I don't handle them a lot. I still really enjoy them and want the best for them and to give them the best life. Mine are 100% free range, so it probably does help with keeping them healthy.
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