What is your opinion on worming?

[dmangum]

My chickens show no sign of worms but I was wondering if you need to worm them on a regular basis like horses? I have a small flock of 9. Also I know I,m opening a whole new can of worms (ha, ha) but is there certain vaccines that absolutely showed be giving? Any advice is welcome.

 

[Lollipop]

Quote:
In my humble opinion, don`t worm, vaccinate, or worry about lice/mites unless you have reason to. But that`s just the way I`ve been doing it for 53 years.......Pop

 

[cafarmgirl]

Well I don't have Pop's 53 years of experience, not quite! But, I do have a lot of years experience with chickens and animals in general and I do have a different opinion.

Internal parasites cause a lot of damage. By the time you see visible signs that a chicken is infested with worms they are often carrying a very big load of worms. Wild birds carry worms and mites so if you have sparrows or whatever around (and who doesn't) your chickens are exposed. Same with mites. If you get a mite infestation that gets out of control they not only cause problems and a lot of discomfort for the chicken they also get into the bedding and all the nooks and crannies of your coop and can be hard to get under control again.

So, personally, I prefer to prevent. I do deworm my flock of 9 twice a year. I like to use Eprinex applied topically to also get mites, or I use Valbazen orally for internal worms. I also dust the coop with poultry dust once or twice a year.

I don't want my goats, dogs, cats or horses getting wormy with all the resultant problems and I don't view my chickens any differently.