Underweight chickens ?

[Coenobita]

hi all!
A while back I wormed my chickens, because they showed a few symptoms of having worms (they were underweight and had green poop), but they didn't regain all their weight. I've been feeding them extra, and adding corn and sunflower seeds to what I've been giving them, but they still aren't getting any more weight. All of them are getting lighter in weight, and their breastbones are very sharp. I'm really worried about them, I thought maybe I could worm them again since it's been quite a while since I wormed them last, but i'm not sure if that is the problem. Does anyone have any helpful info? It's very cold where I live as well.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Some vets will do a fecal test for worms for a small fee. Since worming them involves tossing eggs, you might think about checking for worms at the vet.

I have found that simply treating once for worms doesn't take care of it where I live. Since they aren't gaining weight you might seriously consider that it might be lifesaving for them to be treated again unless they have other signs that would lead you to believe they have some other illness.

 

[Coenobita]

Thank you for your fast reply! Hopefully if I treat them for worms one more time it will help them get over this. I'm guessing that wormer won't harm the birds if they don't have worms? I will check over the instructions before giving it to them. Also I believe that the vet nearby does do the tests, so I may do that as well!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Thank you for your fast reply! Hopefully if I treat them for worms one more time it will help them get over this. I'm guessing that wormer won't harm the birds if they don't have worms? I will check over the instructions before giving it to them. Also I believe that the vet nearby does do the tests, so I may do that as well!

Wormers are VERY hard on chickens. And you have to throw away eggs too, so it isn't very convenient.

The worm eggs are all over on the ground now that they have had worms. So once having had the worms, they may need treatment again and again. Frankly I think it is a good idea to set up a worming schedule or a schedule of poo testing with the vet (a better idea) if you have had a problem.

Additionally, if you used Wazine, it only gets rid of roundworms. If they have another type of worm they will need another medication.

 

[dawg53]

If you decide to worm your birds, make sure you reworm them 10 days later to kill larva hatched from eggs, effectively ending their lifecycle.