Topic of the Week - Deworming chickens

[dawg53]

Hygromycin B and Wazine were the only wormers taken off the market. Valbazen, Levamisole and Pyrantel Pamoate are still available OTC. I miss the Wazine, it was a good large roundworm flush.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Hygromycin B and Wazine were the only wormers taken off the market. Valbazen, Levamisole and Pyrantel Pamoate are still available OTC. I miss the Wazine, it was a good large roundworm flush.

Good to know...but readers take note...it really depends on your local farm supply. Here in Oregon, they have gone very green. I can't find most of the stuff OTC that I used to in ANY store. I have to go to Amazon for some of it. I found Valbazen in the local feed store for cattle, in a huge $65 bottle, not really useful for birds. I can find the horse pastes (Ivermectin, Pyrantel). Often I go to Amazon now to find what I need.

Agreed, hygromycin and Wazine are gone with the regs.

 

[dawg53]

Good to know...but readers take note...it really depends on your local farm supply. Here in Oregon, they have gone very green. I can't find most of the stuff OTC that I used to in ANY store. I have to go to Amazon for some of it. I found Valbazen in the local feed store for cattle, in a huge $65 bottle, not really useful for birds. I can find the horse pastes (Ivermectin, Pyrantel). Often I go to Amazon now to find what I need.

Agreed, hygromycin and Wazine are gone with the regs.

Here's where I buy Valbazen, 500ml bottle lasts a long time and I worm 20 birds monthly.
https://www.jefferspet.com/valbazen-oral-suspension-500ml-w-cap/p?skuId=6539
I'm sorry to her that you have restrictions. Can you find Safeguard liquid goat wormer? That's another excellent wormer for chickens.
https://www.jefferspet.com/safe-guard-goat-dewormer-10-suspension-125-ml/p?skuId=122700

 

[FunnyBunny89]

Welcome to BYC!

Tapes can be very hard to treat. Perhaps you could try something with praziquantel in it, like Equimax horse paste? Most effective dose is ~0.03 ml per pound, or ~0.16 ml per five pounds.

Dose is 10 mg/kg and math is this:
1 pound - 1 / 2.2 x 10 /140.3 = 0.032 ml
5 pounds - 5 / 2.2 x 10 /140.3 = 0.162 ml
Above dose is for Equimax only!

Equimax is 1.87% ivermectin (18.7 mg/ml) and 14.03% praziquantel (140.3 mg/ml). Bonus with Equimax is that it will also treat lice f they have any.



-Kathy

This stuff works super well! I just give my hens a pea sized amount, wait 10 days, do it again, and the problem is eradicated!

 

[casportpony]

This stuff works super well! I just give my hens a pea sized amount, wait 10 days, do it again, and the problem is eradicated!

How much do your hens weigh? And what worms are you hoping to treat?

Have you read this:

The Truth About the "Pea Sized Blob" of Horse Paste De-Wormer​

 

[SkyAJK]

I do not worm my flock as I was before because of the 7 days egg withdrawal, too much waste so I worm the hen that show she has worm.

Yesterday I found Sunny my bantam hen was shaking her bottom and in a pooping posture. She was trying to shake off a long worm as she pooped. Her poop dropped, but the worm curved back inside her vent....grrrr. This morning I will worm her and start counting the egg withdrawal days.

I pick up my chicken poops a few times a day, this is with the hope that no worm eggs are eating by chickens again.

My chickens do not drink their worm medication in their water, I added sugar to make it tastes better, but they don't so I have to feed it individually which is a real pain.

 

[BDutch]

I have chickens for 11 years now. Never dewormed. Deworming medicines are bad for their health if it isn’t necessary bc of a severe infestation. A research of WUR and Louis Bolk institute in the Netherlands claims it’s better to do nothing as long as the chickens are healthy and there is no worm overload bc the chickens can coop with some worms. The research was conducted on chickens in organic factory farming who free range daily.

I tried to find the article mentioned above to add the link here but came across a new research in the Netherlands (started in 2024). The researchers aren’t ready but already claim that there are fewer worm infections when chickens use the outdoor area frequently and spread out. Fewer chickens from a flock are infected with worms if they go outside earlier in the day. This is evident from research on more than 100 organic farms. One reason mentioned are the number of worms in stables and small runs are much higher than in large free range settings. The second is probably self medication. (In Dutch about this new research and natural additions; https://www.louisbolk.nl/sites/defa.../wormbestrijding-met-natuurlijke-middelen.pdf)

 

[dawg53]

It's soil conditions that determines when birds should be wormed. Warm, moist soil may require frequent worming. Cool/cold or sandy soil may require less frequent worming.
Dogs and cats are wormed monthly as well. I've seen what tapeworms do to cats and dogs. It's the same for chickens. I've seen what heartworms do to dogs, it's sad and gut wrenching.
I've seen what capillary worms and large roundworms do to chickens. It's sad.
One female large roundworm produces thousands of eggs a day which ends up in feces which is excreted onto soil. Birds constantly peck soil picking up eggs and swallowing them. It's called the direct lifecycle of worms.
As an animal owner; we are responsible for their health, safety and welfare.