Treating Tapeworms - Under Construction

[jBabychickn]

I am about to treat my infected hens with zgold for the first time, I was told treat once and then again in 14 days but you are saying withhold feed for 24 hours after both treatments? Also for how long do you not eat their eggs after first and second treatment?

Are you sure 24hrs of feed withholding is necessary? That seems like a lot of undue stress and nutrients taken from them at an important time…
I didn’t need to withhold, things worked out great for my flock. Treatment went very well with going out early, a couple hours before they come out of the coop for the day, so that the medicine is given while they aren’t actively eating. It sucked to get up at 4am, basically. But I’d rather do that than not feed my birds for a whole day. — They got their medicine at 4am after their crops emptied overnight. And didn’t eat breakfast until 7:30-8am. I just put out enough for one meal really. This seemed to work very well and got rid of the roundworms and tapeworms, as well as threadworms, as I got a fecal floats. Although, vet said the threadworms weren’t a heavy load or an issue…just a nice catch that was addressed while getting those other nasty worms out …

Do egg withdrawal is throughout the worming process and 15-21days after the last dose.
I always just went with 15days; I felt comfortable enough knowing that most, if not all, of the meds were out of their little systems. — No one in my household has any known allergies anyway…

Good luck

 

[dawg53]

I am about to treat my infected hens with zgold for the first time, I was told treat once and then again in 14 days but you are saying withhold feed for 24 hours after both treatments? Also for how long do you not eat their eggs after first and second treatment?

All you have to do is give them the zgold first thing in the morning. Do not feed your chickens prior to worming them with the zgold.
Your chickens will be starving, so will the the tapeworms and they will be at their weakest making the wormer more effective killing the tapeworms. Once you've dosed your birds, wait about 2 or 3 hours before feeding your chickens.
Keep an eye on their feces during that time frame, you might even see parts of the tapeworm excreted.

 

[dawg53]

Are you sure 24hrs of feed withholding is necessary? That seems like a lot of undue stress and nutrients taken from them at an important time…
I didn’t need to withhold, things worked out great for my flock. Treatment went very well with going out early, a couple hours before they come out of the coop for the day, so that the medicine is given while they aren’t actively eating. It sucked to get up at 4am, basically. But I’d rather do that than not feed my birds for a whole day. — They got their medicine at 4am after their crops emptied overnight. And didn’t eat breakfast until 7:30-8am. I just put out enough for one meal really. This seemed to work very well and got rid of the roundworms and tapeworms, as well as threadworms, as I got a fecal floats. Although, vet said the threadworms weren’t a heavy load or an issue…just a nice catch that was addressed while getting those other nasty worms out …

Do egg withdrawal is throughout the worming process and 15-21days after the last dose.
I always just went with 15days; I felt comfortable enough knowing that most, if not all, of the meds were out of their little systems. — No one in my household has any known allergies anyway…

Good luck

Threadworms aka capillary worms are deadly. I highly recommend that you dose your birds with Valbazen, then repeat again in 10 days.

 

[jBabychickn]

Threadworms aka capillary worms are deadly. I highly recommend that you dose your birds with Valbazen, then repeat again in 10 days.

I used Valbazen on an empty crop in the morning 4hrs before breakfast. That got rid of them. I suspected roundworm/tapeworm. But, we had confirmed roundworm, tapeworm and a low count of capillaria via fecal float.

Ahhh… I see now; misspoke during my last post. — I meant by the fecal float that they caught a few threadworms, but it wasn’t a high load of them compared to the roundworm count or the tapeworm infestation.

I got a repeat fecal float after treatment, and all was well. I was very happy with Valbazen. I gave them one dose, then another 10days later. — I had the float done again 2-weeks after the second dose, that’s when they got a clear read… This was last year.

— Now, I worm yearly around this time of year; Nov-Dec …

 

[dawg53]

Great job!

 

[Jmml219]

Fenbendazole will kill some types of tapeworms if dosed correctly for the right number of days. It won't kill all tapeworm species though, so depending on what your birds have it will be ineffective. Praziquantel kills all tapes (as far as I know) and is a one dose treatment, but not approved for poultry.
I haven't looked to see if there's research showing issues with long concentrations in the egg yolks, or if there's insufficient research. Birds who visit wetlands and eat snails and crayfish, for example, are more at risk. Commercial flocks, indoors all the time, and short lived, aren't likely to have such issues. That's where research money comes from, not from those of us with small backyard flocks.
So far my birds haven't had issues with intestinal parasites, wonderful!
Mary

Just a thought here…why not take them to a vet? I see pages and pages of guessing about products and doses. Why not take your bird to the vet and then give the medicine to all the flock. That’s what I did and it removed all the guess work. I mean no disrespect, just asking.

 

[fowltemptress]

Just a thought here…why not take them to a vet? I see pages and pages of guessing about products and doses. Why not take your bird to the vet and then give the medicine to all the flock. That’s what I did and it removed all the guess work. I mean no disrespect, just asking.

Personally speaking, no vet here will look at a bird. It's struggle enough to find a vet who will bother looking at any farm animal, let alone poultry. Funnily enough, when I lived in a huge city it wasn't nearly as big a struggle -still a struggle, but you were bound to find some vet who'd agree to look at a bird if you searched hard enough - but as soon as we got to a rural area where we can keep all the birds we could ever want, vets are not an option. The money just isn't here to attract them, and driving hours and hours both ways to see a vet who may or may not be more helpful than a thorough web search is prohibitive in and of itself, even without factoring in the cost.

 

[Jmml219]

Personally speaking, no vet here will look at a bird. It's struggle enough to find a vet who will bother looking at any farm animal, let alone poultry. Funnily enough, when I lived in a huge city it wasn't nearly as big a struggle -still a struggle, but you were bound to find some vet who'd agree to look at a bird if you searched hard enough - but as soon as we got to a rural area where we can keep all the birds we could ever want, vets are not an option. The money just isn't here to attract them, and driving hours and hours both ways to see a vet who may or may not be more helpful than a thorough web search is prohibitive in and of itself, even without factoring in the cost.

I had a very sick bird and found that our local University has a veterinarian school, like many do, so I take my birds to their vet extension and they are more than happy to help. It costs a lot less than a vet clinic. The students are overseen by their teachers so it’s very safe. They can prescribe medication, do procedures and recommend products for whatever ails your chicken. Maybe this can be an option for anyone that has a University or vet school within driving distance. It was a lifesaver for us. I also found a vet that treats “exotic” animals. Chickens also fall into that category for some reason. I agree it’s hard to find care for our beloved chickens.

 

[fowltemptress]

I had a very sick bird and found that our local University has a veterinarian school, like many do, so I take my birds to their vet extension and they are more than happy to help. It costs a lot less than a vet clinic. The students are overseen by their teachers so it’s very safe. They can prescribe medication, do procedures and recommend products for whatever ails your chicken. Maybe this can be an option for anyone that has a University or vet school within driving distance. It was a lifesaver for us. I also found a vet that treats “exotic” animals. Chickens also fall into that category for some reason. I agree it’s hard to find care for our beloved chickens.

Yeah, none of that exists here, unfortunately. Coming from one of the top ranked vet schools in America, it's been an adjustment!

 

[Jmml219]

Yeah, none of that exists here, unfortunately. Coming from one of the top ranked vet schools in America, it's been an adjustment!

Hopefully it will help someone out there in our far reaching chicken community!