Treatments for roundworms

[Sunny Side Up]

Today I found a 3" roundworm on the butt-fluff of one of my hens, and another one in a watery poop on the ground below her. Other than that, she & everyone else is looking/acting/eating/drinking/laying/pooping just fine.

Okay, now what?

I have a large flock of layers who must sell their eggs to pay for their feed. So I don't want to dose everyone with Wazine, though it's affordable, available, and I already own a bottle. Because after dosing with Wazine I'll have to discard the eggs for a while, I think the withdrawal period is a week.

I know there's Verm-X which has no withdrawal period, but my hens cannot afford it.

I have some food-grade DE which I don't use all the time, just when it seems to be needed. Like now. I added some to all the feeders. I also put some raw ACV in all the waterers (except the metal ones) and made plastic dishes of ACV-treated water available in those pens.

What else could I give them that would help rid them of worms? Canned pumpkin? Pumpkin seeds? Cayenne pepper?

And how concerned need I be about their possible roundworm content? Since they free-range, aren't they exposed to them in all the things they peck at & scratch up? Need I worry unless they start to look/act scrawny or lethargic?

If I must treat with Wazine, I'll treat half of the flock at a time. They are divided between two pens, so I could treat one & discard just their eggs, but still have at least half of their eggs that would be good for sale/eating. Then after a week or so I could treat the other half.

From searching the site on this topic, I could see where there are a variety of opinions on causes & treatments. I'm not trying to open a big can of worms, so to speak, but just looking for some help in deciding what to do for my flock. I appreciate all your input, thank you.

 

[Renee]

Hee hee, opening a can of worms.

I think if you are finding the worms the chickens must be pretty infested, and a worming is probably called for.

If you use Wazine, you may want to find out a little more about the waiting period. It says right on the label not to use on egg-laying chickens, so I would say two weeks is the minimum time to avoid eating the eggs, but I am speaking as an individual egg-eater, not as a scientist or chicken expert.

Since you sell the eggs, it may be a good idea to worm the chickens. The last thing you need is for a customer to discover a roundworm in an egg! It's a shame to throw all of those eggs away, but the worming may help you protect your investment. I'd do all the chickens at once, toss the eggs for two weeks, and scrape out a layer of soil in their run and put in sand to rid it of worm eggs. But I'm paranoid about bugs.

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

The way I look at it... if the worms are that big, you can either dose with Wazine and get it over with, and continue to sell eggs...

Or loose the whole flock while waiting for things like canned pumpkin to work.

It sounds like the worms are rather advanced, and you dont really have time to wait for "organic" stuff to work. You need to take care of it now, otherwise they'll start loosing weight FAST and you'll end up not being able to sell eggs anyway.