What to use for worming??

[ogr8ys1]

I read on one of the boards here the other day that you should worm your chickens. My question is with what? I have them on layer and mix in DE, which I was lead to believe was enough by an article I found online on the uses of DE. I picked up a bottle of Wazine today but while reading the back of it, it says not to use it on chickens laying eggs for human consumption. Ok, so now what?

 

[robin416]

Use it. I use it, don't wait for a withdrawal most of the time and have not suffered any ill affects. Almost every drug manufacturer will state the same thing because no testing has ever been done to establish whether or not the drugs appear in the eggs or are retained in the meat of the birds.

FYI, Wazine is for round worms only. It would be best if your vet will do a fecal float to establish what types of parasites your birds may be carrying so you can develop a program that will help keep them healthy.

 

[Tailfeathers]

If you are going to use the eggs without waiting the required 14 day withdrawal period, I would certainly respect your right to do so. However, if you are collecting eggs to give or sell to others, I would hope that you would not even think about risking the slightest possibility of someone else being hurt by doing so.

God Bless,

 

[Mahonri]

I used albendazole (brand name Valbazen). It's a sheep/cattle wormer, so that's the dept. you will find it in at the farmer's co-op, farm supply store, etc.
You give 1/2 cc orally, undiluted, per standard bird. Bantams get 1/4 cc. My birds had no ill effect and I went a head and ate the eggs after a week.

 

[ogr8ys1]

Thanks for the suggestions - I only have two hens outside (lost my 3rd this week to unknown causes) - so I don't sell eggs they're just for our table, but ethically I wouldn't use the eggs within the required withdrawal period - I'm new to all this, and as I stated, I didn't even know you had to worm chickens until this week. Also, I have, a serama roo and hen in the house - should I worm them even though they're not outside? Thanks again, this board is a real life saver (mine and the kids)!

 

[ThePamperedPullet]

First Off Good Morning and Welcome to BYC. You can get a lot of great information here.
As for worming, the general practice is to worm once a year in the fall. If your chickens have never been wormed before then you would want to start with Wazine 17% which is a light duty wormer designed to kill only round worms and nodular worms. The standard for eggs is to not eat them for two weeks after treatment. Many people do and it just means that they themselves are getting wormed.
Then, after the initial worming, and two to three weeks time has passed, give them a broad spectrum wormer such as Ivermectin. Many people use the pour on variety as it is easy to use with only needing to put a few drops on the skin of your birds at the base of the neck. It is absorbed into the system and kills all types of worms.
If you treat a bird with Ivermectin first that has never been wormed then you risk the threat of death if the bird is heavily infected as all the dead worms are too much for it's system to handle.
After this second treatment, most people will again wait two weeks before consuming the eggs. After this double treatment you can then use DE as a maintenance option throughout the year. Then again next fall just worm your birds with the Ivermectin, you won't have to do the double treatment.
Sorry about your third hen. Never a fun thing to loose one of the birds.

 

[Lollipop]

Cayenne Pepper;

It`s a natural wormer. Mix it heavily with your feed to turn it rusty looking. Pepper in the front, worms run out the back. Chickens don`t have the heat resceptors like most critters, so they eat it up. Worms, on the other hand, heh, heh. You can still eat the eggs. Repeat in 10 days to get the new worms, then about every six months for mainainance. And don`t forget the second dose.......Pop

 

[DawnSuiter]

Quote:
Well Poo!
I just treated all of mine, 6 months to 1.5 years old for the first time with Ivomec.
No worms the next day...
Today is day 2... how long before I can now stop worrying that they could drop dead!???