Hi, All. I first read about worming chickens on this website. I'm a first-time chicken owner of 3 hens, now 9 months old. They've become more like pets than anything else, as they've shown to enjoy our company or at least curiosity in our comings and goings--I like to think they like us.
Anyway, our favorite girl, Dinah, had a leg injury several weeks ago (only symptom was a very bad limp). They free range during the day, and she came home limping one afternoon. Okay, we confined her for a few weeks, seeing gradual improvement over time. She never stopped eating or drinking and had a "luxury" pen away from her flockmates. After about 2 weeks, we started letting her out for periods, to dust bathe and peck around in the barn. After a little more time, we gave her short, supervised outings outside. Reintroduction started slowly after about 3 weeks--hated that part! She was already at the bottom of the pecking order, so the other 2 were a little rough on her for a few days--but, again, I didn't turn her loose or leave them unattended for the first several days.
So here we are 6 weeks later. Her leg is nearly 100% improved. She's been back with the flock for 3 weeks maybe. All of sudden, 2 days ago, she seemed to have difficulty walking around. She'd walk a little, then sit down. She seemed a little wobbly, too, seeming to lose her balance, nearly rolling to one side when lying down. But she was eating and drinking normally. Hmmm. Now what??!! And then I saw her have a projectile-type, clear, liquid poo. Uh oh. And a little while later, I looked at a "normal dropping" (which I've done many times after reading about worming, wondering if I needed to do it) and SAW WORMS WAVING AROUND!!! Gross!!! I made the assumption they were round worms--spaghetti-like.
Ran to Tractor Supply and bought a bottle of Wazine (which is Piperazine). We did the math to convert treatment of 100 chickens to only 3 (1.9ml, same as 1.9cc, in 8oz water). That was their only water source for the day--I actually made up a second batch later in the day, as they had emptied the feeder. In the future, I'll give 32oz of treated water (with 7.4ml Wazine) for the day.
After reading on the label that it wasn't to be given to egg-producing chickens, I contacted the manufacturer and had a very nice conversation with the plant manager, Vic Kelly (704-372-5613) to ask if we could never again eat the eggs. What he told me, straight from the FDA, was: wait 14 days if butchering to eat chicken, and discard eggs for 17 days after treatment. He said semi-annual worming was fine, depending on where you live (heat and humidity promote worm activity) or only treat when you see worms in droppings or chicken seems "off." He also told me that round worms are the most common one picked up by chickens.
That brings us to today. Dinah still "off" this morning, although still eating and drinking. I made a few phone calls and found a vet nearby who treats chickens!!!! Off we went, with her in a dog carrier. I took in a fresh dropping for microscopic exam, as well. He didn't see worms, but he found COCCIDIA!!!!!! He looked her over and didn't see any mites or anything. Gave her a B12 shot--she weighed in at only 3.2lbs--to jump start her recovery, and gave me Albon Oral Suspension by Pfizer (Sulfadimethoxine) to add to their water (must treat entire flock) for a total of 7 days (first day with 20ml added to a gallon, then 10ml to a gallon for the next 6 days). We're hoping Dinah makes a speedy recovery.
I wanted to share our story, as it's been very stressful and somewhat frustrating trying to sift through all of the info online. I want to say to (especially) new chicken owners, please, DON'T have a mindset that you want to "keep it natural" and refuse to give medicine or worm your chickens. I would have done things differently had I accepted the truths that worms and parasites are, indeed, everywhere--even if chickens were never raised on your property. These chemical interventions DO play a role--an important one--in achieving and maintaining optimal health in your chickens!!
The paragraph below is from Wikipedia. I hope my experience helps other chickens and the people who love them...
Coccidiosis is a parasitic disease of the intestinal tract of animals caused by coccidian protozoa. The disease spreads from one animal to another by contact with infected feces or ingestion of infected tissue. Diarrhea, which may become bloody in severe cases, is the primary symptom. Most animals infected with coccidia are asymptomatic, but young or immunocompromised animals may suffer severe symptoms and death.
Anyway, our favorite girl, Dinah, had a leg injury several weeks ago (only symptom was a very bad limp). They free range during the day, and she came home limping one afternoon. Okay, we confined her for a few weeks, seeing gradual improvement over time. She never stopped eating or drinking and had a "luxury" pen away from her flockmates. After about 2 weeks, we started letting her out for periods, to dust bathe and peck around in the barn. After a little more time, we gave her short, supervised outings outside. Reintroduction started slowly after about 3 weeks--hated that part! She was already at the bottom of the pecking order, so the other 2 were a little rough on her for a few days--but, again, I didn't turn her loose or leave them unattended for the first several days.
So here we are 6 weeks later. Her leg is nearly 100% improved. She's been back with the flock for 3 weeks maybe. All of sudden, 2 days ago, she seemed to have difficulty walking around. She'd walk a little, then sit down. She seemed a little wobbly, too, seeming to lose her balance, nearly rolling to one side when lying down. But she was eating and drinking normally. Hmmm. Now what??!! And then I saw her have a projectile-type, clear, liquid poo. Uh oh. And a little while later, I looked at a "normal dropping" (which I've done many times after reading about worming, wondering if I needed to do it) and SAW WORMS WAVING AROUND!!! Gross!!! I made the assumption they were round worms--spaghetti-like.
Ran to Tractor Supply and bought a bottle of Wazine (which is Piperazine). We did the math to convert treatment of 100 chickens to only 3 (1.9ml, same as 1.9cc, in 8oz water). That was their only water source for the day--I actually made up a second batch later in the day, as they had emptied the feeder. In the future, I'll give 32oz of treated water (with 7.4ml Wazine) for the day.
After reading on the label that it wasn't to be given to egg-producing chickens, I contacted the manufacturer and had a very nice conversation with the plant manager, Vic Kelly (704-372-5613) to ask if we could never again eat the eggs. What he told me, straight from the FDA, was: wait 14 days if butchering to eat chicken, and discard eggs for 17 days after treatment. He said semi-annual worming was fine, depending on where you live (heat and humidity promote worm activity) or only treat when you see worms in droppings or chicken seems "off." He also told me that round worms are the most common one picked up by chickens.
That brings us to today. Dinah still "off" this morning, although still eating and drinking. I made a few phone calls and found a vet nearby who treats chickens!!!! Off we went, with her in a dog carrier. I took in a fresh dropping for microscopic exam, as well. He didn't see worms, but he found COCCIDIA!!!!!! He looked her over and didn't see any mites or anything. Gave her a B12 shot--she weighed in at only 3.2lbs--to jump start her recovery, and gave me Albon Oral Suspension by Pfizer (Sulfadimethoxine) to add to their water (must treat entire flock) for a total of 7 days (first day with 20ml added to a gallon, then 10ml to a gallon for the next 6 days). We're hoping Dinah makes a speedy recovery.
I wanted to share our story, as it's been very stressful and somewhat frustrating trying to sift through all of the info online. I want to say to (especially) new chicken owners, please, DON'T have a mindset that you want to "keep it natural" and refuse to give medicine or worm your chickens. I would have done things differently had I accepted the truths that worms and parasites are, indeed, everywhere--even if chickens were never raised on your property. These chemical interventions DO play a role--an important one--in achieving and maintaining optimal health in your chickens!!
The paragraph below is from Wikipedia. I hope my experience helps other chickens and the people who love them...
Coccidiosis is a parasitic disease of the intestinal tract of animals caused by coccidian protozoa. The disease spreads from one animal to another by contact with infected feces or ingestion of infected tissue. Diarrhea, which may become bloody in severe cases, is the primary symptom. Most animals infected with coccidia are asymptomatic, but young or immunocompromised animals may suffer severe symptoms and death.
