Valbazen Dosage Intervals

[AlectryonKotopoula]

Hi all! About to worm my flock for the first time with valbazen and am wondering if administering the 2nd dose after 7 days instead of the recommended 10 is ok, or will it be ineffective to do it that soon? Would it be ok to do a 3rd dose just in case and at what point would I do that if it is? Timing has not been on my side lately, so I’m trying my best to work around my crazy schedule…

 

[dawg53]

Anywhere from 10 to 14 days is best with the second dosing. No need to do a third dosing.

 

[AlectryonKotopoula]

Anywhere from 10 to 14 days is best with the second dosing. No need to do a third dosing.

Thanks very much!

 

[wolfwalker]

The reasoning off the days between doses is that is how long the first dose takes to get out of the system and the second dose will not have a chance of building to toxic levels in the system. so always err on the side of a longer interval between doses than a shorter one.

 

[coach723]

They actually metabolize the medication rather quickly, which is why they get more dose per pound than many other species. The spacing of doses is based on the life cycle of the parasite. The meds kill the worms but they don't kill the eggs. So the first dose gets the worms, the second dose gets any that were still eggs and hatch after the first dose. That breaks the cycle and that's why the second dose is important. The interval needs to be long enough to allow those to hatch, but not mature enough to start laying more eggs.

 

[AlectryonKotopoula]

The reasoning off the days between doses is that is how long the first dose takes to get out of the system and the second dose will not have a chance of building to toxic levels in the system. so always err on the side of a longer interval between doses than a shorter one.

Is it possible to overdose them on valbazen? I plan on weighing them to give them the accurate dosage, but thought it would be ok to round up for easier measuring, would that be a mistake? I definitely don’t want to give them a toxic level!

 

[AlectryonKotopoula]

They actually metabolize the medication rather quickly, which is why they get more dose per pound than many other species. The spacing of doses is based on the life cycle of the parasite. The meds kill the worms but they don't kill the eggs. So the first dose gets the worms, the second dose gets any that were still eggs and hatch after the first dose. That breaks the cycle and that's why the second dose is important. The interval needs to be long enough to allow those to hatch, but not mature enough to start laying more eggs.

Ok this makes a lot of sense, essentially if I dose them too soon it would be a waste of time because the eggs haven’t hatched yet, got it! Thank you so very much.

 

[coach723]

You would have to give them a huge amount to overdose them. When the dose comes out to a tiny, hard to measure, fraction, you round up to the next measurable amount. If it came out to .42 ml I would just round to .5 ml. Rounding up, rather than down, ensures that you don't under dose, the small amount is not going to cause an over dose. I've been doing it for a long time, I've never, ever harmed a bird.

 

[AlectryonKotopoula]

You would have to give them a huge amount to overdose them. When the dose comes out to a tiny, hard to measure, fraction, you round up to the next measurable amount. If it came out to .42 ml I would just round to .5 ml. Rounding up, rather than down, ensures that you don't under dose, the small amount is not going to cause an over dose. I've been doing it for a long time, I've never, ever harmed a bird.

Thanks coach that’s a relief! It’s just my first time so I worry a bit too much about getting it wrong and doing more harm than good… I really appreciate you sharing your wisdom

 

[coach723]

No worries, we all have to learn sometime. When I started I knew exactly nothing, just knew I wanted chickens! I still learn things all the time, and read lots of posts here every week for just that reason. There are so many different experiences and levels of knowledge here, it's fabulous. I read the breed and gender thread a lot, there are some incredibly knowledgeable people there. The genetics stuff just blows my mind!!