Topic of the Week - Deworming chickens

[nuthatched]

I have in past years, I have used
wood ash around all the baseboards in the coop,
I have sprayed an all natural Flea & Tic spray on the roost and wood frame,
I give my flock as needed hiney washes ( prevent fly strike)
and once a year a dawn dish soap bath-
I use only sand for coop flooring
In the nesting boxes- Eaton Pet & Pasture USA Grown & Sustainably Harvested Bird nesting pad made with 100% sustainably harvested aspen excelsior: and I keep the boxes clean
and real wood chips from the neighbors saw mill in the run.
I use a cat litter scoop every morning and scoop up the PM poop from under the roost.
If I see any red in poop I keep an eye out for more in the days to follow, and if need be treat with Corid, but have had to do this in over a year.

I feed them Kalmbach Feeds Organic 17% Layer Pellets
When I have these herbs in the garden I give the flock, oregano; comfrey; horseradish greens; cabbage.
Once a week they get clover/grass trimmings. I grew extra kale for them.
They do not like and wont drink water with ACV in it
They do get the egg shells back for added calcium and have oyster shell available.
When it is very hot, 90+, I uses Rooster Booster electrolytes if needed. I as needed use rooster booster Poultry Cell OR the dry Pelleted top dressing.
BUT, with all of that ,,,,
I find their feathers very dry, they break easy, 6 of the 11 layers have rooster tread marks,
One has bad molting on her neck

I always worry about red spider mites and lice-- I think they peck/pull each others and self, feathers.
I have done the best I know how over the last 10 years,

I was thinking but havent done it yet---Ya know the tubs of pre cut chopped garlic you can buy at costco?????,, I wonder if I put some out and just let them eat what they want if their guts would handle it????
Well Thats all I got ,,, and its 4:50am I think I'll go get more coffee

I just woke up so I'm not sure of the the intent of your response. Maybe I need tha coffee...
What's the protein on the feed?
Do you still use wood ash?
I've found that garlic does had some anthelmintic properties but the doses that will be even the least effective are crossing the line into toxicity.

 

[Grandmas Coop]

I just woke up so I'm not sure of the the intent of your response. Maybe I need tha coffee...
What's the protein on the feed?
Do you still use wood ash?
I've found that garlic does had some anthelmintic properties but the doses that will be even the least effective are crossing the line into toxicity.

It was like 12 hours ago, I dont remember, my intent
the feed is 17% protein
I haven used wood ash since last January. When I get my yearly bags of new sand I will after cleaning the inside of the coop, put ash down then the sand and then ash around the edges / base boards inside the coop..

 

[Stravager]

If the chemical Deworming is SO good and effective way you should repeat it?

Worms are constantly being reintroduced by other wild animals or insects and chemical dewormers only last in the system for so long.
But healthy space and regular maintenance of that space goes a long way to keeping worm loads low.
Sorry, just glanced at this feed and that line caught my eye.

 

[Stravager]

I had noticed that unless I am careful, when sucking up the amount I need into the syringe there will be an air bubble in there which, for small doses like the 0.07ml of antibiotic I am giving one of the hens twice a day, could make the dose quite inaccurate.

Any time you are giving a medication with a syringe you always flick the sides with your nails or tap it against something hard until any visible air bubbles are dispersed.

 

[nuthatched]

It was like 12 hours ago, I dont remember, my intent
the feed is 17% protein
I haven used wood ash since last January. When I get my yearly bags of new sand I will after cleaning the inside of the coop, put ash down then the sand and then ash around the edges / base boards inside the coop..

I wonder if the sand is dehydrating the feathers somehow. Kind of like how your hands dry out when gardening.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

There is a possible third option which is to have regular faecal worm egg counts done and use medication (wormer) when the results indicate their worm burdon is becoming too high, in much the same way as I do for my horses. The lab that does my horse faecal samples now offers the same service for poultry I believe.

I'm a big believer in only using medication when it is necessary. I have to confess that I have not used the worm egg count service for my chickens yet and with so many of them it is probably not economic in my situation. In the past 3.5 years I have not wormed my chickens other than using Verm-X natural wormer once and I'm not really convinced of it's efficacy. If I have a chicken die of unknown causes, I do a DIY post mortem and I check the digestive tract for worms as part of that. I have found the odd round worm but so far no more than that. I have a large mixed flock of varying ages that free ranges and also several pens, so worming would be complicated. I do have poultry wormer in stock as part of my first aid kit along with Corid, but so far I haven't needed either.

I do use ACV in their water daily (although they have access to other mostly rainwater whilst free ranging) but I wonder if the slight acidity from that makes the digestive tract less hospitable to parasites, although I appreciate the digestive tract is already acidic. I am a regular poop checker and whilst I did find a round worm in a cockerels poop a couple of years ago, I haven 't seen any since.... Of course with so many chickens free ranging, I know there will be some that I miss but parasites are inevitable and it is really only when they get out of balance with their host that it becomes a problem.

I think there is a temptation to try to eradicate parasites altogether and whilst that sounds attractive, I think there is a balance in all things in nature and trying to exterminate one that we humans don't like, often leads to an imbalance and other unforeseen problems like resistance to medication developing. Of course, sometimes things get out of balance for other reasons and that is when medication should be used in my opinion to try to level the playing field again.

I agree.

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

I’m seeking the answer to the question of whether to routinely deworm as a preventative or to treat on a case by case basis; the community seems to be split.

For those that deworm with liquid dewormer routinely I’m curious to learn of how many variables exist that led to the decision. For instance, is there excessive wild bird activity, other farm animals, wet conditions, very large flocks, confined housing?
How often to deworm for prevention? Do you stagger administration among flock members so as to have some edible egg supply, or administer to all and deal with no eggs for a time?

 

[BDutch]

Worms are constantly being reintroduced by other wild animals or insects and chemical dewormers only last in the system for so long.
But healthy space and regular maintenance of that space goes a long way to keeping worm loads low.
Sorry, just glanced at this feed and that line caught my eye.

Yes!
I havent use any dewormers for as long as I have chickens - > 10 years.

I wonder if the sand is dehydrating the feathers somehow. Kind of like how your hands dry out when gardening.

The sand cleans and has a positive nourishing effect on the feathers.

How often to deworm for prevention?

This is impossible. You can only deworm if the chickens actually have worms. And it’s best not to interfere with dewormers as long as the contamination is low. Conclusion after research on this subject by the Wageningen University in my country and an institution (Louis Bolk) for organic chicken keepers.

 

[copyteclt]

View attachment 2855102

Any chickens exposed to the outdoors, whether free-ranging or penned, are at risk of at some point picking up intestinal worms. Many of us deworm the flock as a preventative, while others prefer to wait with the drugs until there is evidence of an infestation. I would like to hear your thoughts and practices when it comes to worms and deworming, specifically:

- Should you deworm regularly as a preventative, or wait until there is evidence of an infestation? Which do you prefer and...
- What signs are there to indicate a possible worm infestation?
- What is the best dewormer to use for chickens?
- Do natural/organic dewormers and remedies work?
- Can the eggs be eaten during the withdrawal period and are they safe to eat?
- Did anyone incubate eggs laid during the withdrawal period and what were the results?

For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

I have an indoor rooster. He has a cat litter box full of grit. And I put diatomaceous earth in it for my boy to scratch around in. He also lays down and does a dirt bath in it. He seem to do well with that, as he eats it with the rocks/grit.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

This thread needs to be updated with the latest FDA restrictions as most of the products mentioned have been taken off the shelves by the FDA due to concerns for superbug build up for humans. Thus sadly many of the recommended dewormers on this thread are no longer available over the counter (hygromycin, valbazen, wazene). I can only find goat fenbendazole anymore. Rooster Booster and others mentioned have gone totally herbal with no medication whatsoever (typically with lots of oregano).

@casportpony could you update this featured thread with the current recommendations for dispersal of fenbendazole?

The other information is good such as the poop pics and recommendation to field rotate and give space as your number one defense against worm overgrowth. Keep in mind that for us small field holders (backyards) rotating can be rotation of your topsoil by recovering with fresh bark. It's important to keep the runs clean.

Herbals *can* help *slow* build up of worms, as they help flush the gut (for the next bird to pick up...see field rotation again) but do NOT eradicate. Once you get to a certain tipping point, you have to go to medication such as fenbendazole. I agree that Ivermectin is best for mites, though I have read that it can address round worm *if* there has not been a resistance built up.

If you go herbal, I agree that ACV in the water to acidify the gut is good (per my Vet Tech daughter). Pumpkin and paprika and garlic in the mash can also create a hostile environment. I have used Molly's Goat Wormer with wormwood, but my chickens don't care for the taste. Her website indicates they have seen effectiveness. https://mollysherbals.com/Herbal-Worm-Formulas_c_14.html

Unfortunately, again, most of the wormers mentioned on this thread are no longer over the counter other than Safeguard/fenbendazole.

Bottomline...field rotate (or chip bark rotate), keep a reasonable number of chickens, use herbals/ACV to slow, when evidence (messy vents or live worms in poop or positive fecal) use medication which right now is fenbendazole in the US. There is (at this time) no egg withdrawal for poultry using fenbendazole (latest reg cite 2019 https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/LSFenbendazoleDDFall2019.pdf ).

LofMc

Edited to add: As stated in thread DE, or diatomaceous earth, loses its sharpness in the gut and is ineffective against worms. Worse, it is highly irritating to fragile lung tissue. I do not recommend it for chickens or humans for that matter. There are industry articles about silicosis which is the effects of DE exposure.