Under weight flock

[smw18]

Well my flock is under weight, and are always free ranged. Here is on of my problems, I can't leave a feeder out because my grandmas minis eat it all. They all get fed twice a day. I am from Florida and cracked corn spikes the body temp high and we are still in the cool months and it's already ranging from 80's and 90's
What feed mix can I give with out killing them
Right now I am feeding laying hen, very small small amount of cracked corn, crushed oyster shells. I was also told steam rolled oats puts weight on fast and just started that. Any other advice?

 

[teach1rusl]

What breeds do you have? Are you sure they're actually underweight and that they're not just a slim built breed? Formulated ayer feed is what should be fed unless you're buying bulk grains from a mill and mixing your own. And lastly, are you certain that your birds are worm free??? A worm infestation can cause poor weight...

 

[smw18]

Silkies, cochins, leghorns, rir, old English game, guinea fowl, JG, and EE
I can feel the chest bone. It's not horror able but they are more under weight then I would like.
I worm regularly, and haven't notice any other signs oh worms. Though, just in case I will go through and worm again this weekend

 

[ChickChickChicky]

What are you worming them with? If you are using piperizine you're probably wasting your time and money. Be sure you're using a wormer that actually kills a wide variety of worms, not just one type. You also need to check for, and possibly treat for, mites and/or lice.

 

[smw18]

I have been dusting but mites and lice cause weight lose? Good to know!
I had someone say just a pea size drop of horse wormer and I do DE in their feed every so often

 

[ChickChickChicky]

What breeds do you have? Are you sure they're actually underweight and that they're not just a slim built breed? Formulated ayer feed is what should be fed unless you're buying bulk grains from a mill and mixing your own.

True, true, true. A bird like a leghorn is gonna be built different than something like an Orpington or JG. An adequate amount of layer feed should be enough to keep them in decent condition.

I have been dusting but mites and lice cause weight lose? Good to know!
I had someone say just a pea size drop of horse wormer and I do DE in their feed every so often

Yes mites and lice can cause weight loss and general malaise as well as sad-looking plumage and bald spots. In extreme cases they can even kill birds. DE in their feed isn't going to do anything for worms. What kind of horse wormer are you using?

I used Safeguard goat wormer on my birds (they had capillaria worms, diagnosed with a stool sample). They could eat non-stop. After worming they still weren't in the condition I thought they should be and still eating like bottomless pits... further investigation revealed they had lice, so I used ivermectin pour-on for cattle on them (5 drops to back of neck with eyedropper, be CAREFUL not to overdose). The ivermectin made a big difference, they are eating less and now are in good condition.

 

[smw18]

I gave the equine ivermectin paste 1.87%.
This is all great information, I will go out and give that a shot. Maybe the horse stuff didn't work. I haven't seen any bugs on them but I know I haven't looked hard and wild birds are coming in and out all the time.
I am not going to rule anything out, and it's always safe to have the stuff on hand in case of extreme need. Always have duramycin-10,vetrx,sulfadimethoxine, baytril, the horse wormer, and DE on hand at all times in case of a scare or regular routine. Now will the horse worker work or is it Somethig I am wasting my money on?

 

[ChickChickChicky]

Here are quotes from dawg (THE resident expert on worming) from another thread ( https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/660295/worming ):

"I do NOT prefer ivomec products. My wormers of choice are valbazen and safeguard."

"I use valbazen and safeguard for rotation purposes. Ivomec products wont kill certain species of worms, whereas valbazen does. Safeguard kills most worms, except tapeworms. Both valbazen and safeguard are given orally, that way you KNOW they've been properly wormed and no guesswork about it."

If you have more questions about worming, he is the go-to guy.

 

[Chris09]

When I worm I use Fenbendazole [Safeguard] first and 10 days later I use Ivermectin[FONT=Lucida Grande, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].[/FONT]

The Safeguard for goats is best to use on poultry and you mix 9 parts water to 1 part Safegaurd then give 1cc of that mix orally to large fowl breeds.
Ivermectin injectable is given 5 to 7 drops orally for large fowl breeds and can be put on a small piece of bread.

Which ever wormer you use remember is to reworm after 10 days.


Chris

 

[ChickChickChicky]

When I worm I use Fenbendazole [Safeguard] first and 10 days later I use Ivermectin[FONT=Lucida Grande, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].[/FONT]

The Safeguard for goats is best to use on poultry and you mix 9 parts water to 1 part Safegaurd then give 1cc of that mix orally to large fowl breeds.
Ivermectin injectable is given 5 to 7 drops orally for large fowl breeds and can be put on a small piece of bread.

Which ever wormer you use remember is to reworm after 10 days.


Chris

That is not the correct dosage for Safeguard. First off, do NOT dilute it. Given straight from the bottle with a needless syringe or eyedropper, the dosages are: 1.0cc for giants; 0.75cc for large fowl; 0.5 cc for standard-size fowl; 0.25 cc for small fowl. Re-dose after 10 days. There is a 14-day withdrawal period on the eggs.