whats the best...

[hdowden]

treatment for worms and to help reduce them in a flock. also what is good to feed them to keep them at their healthiest? i have read several threads and thought i would just ask myself. thanks

 

[shelleyd2008]

If you know you have worms you can treat each bird with ivermectin pour-on cattle wormer. It is time consuming, but it is also effective.

However, if you have never wormed them it's best to start with something like Wazine, it's a liquid treatment that you put in the water. Follow directions on bottle. 4-6 weeks later you can re-treat with the ivermectin pour-on.

You can also use Safeguard (fenbendazole) paste disolved in the water, it is also effective. However, you will need to use the Wazine first if you have never wormed. I don't remember the dosage for Safeguard but I believe it is a 2" strip in 1 gallon of water. You can search on here for the exact doseage (probably in either the turkey or peafowl forums).

As for what to feed for them to be their healthiest? A good quality egg-layer feed for birds over 16 weeks or a good-quality chick starter/grower for birds under 16 weeks. You can supplement with 'treats' if you want.

 

[hdowden]

they have never been wormed before.

were do you buy this at (the wormer) can you buy at like a feed supply store or some weres else?

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
Valbazen is your best wormer. It's a liquid cattle/sheep wormer. It can be purchsed at Jefferslivestock.com or you can call them. It kills all worms that chickens can get.

 

[hdowden]

Quote:
Valbazen is your best wormer. It's a liquid cattle/sheep wormer. It can be purchsed at Jefferslivestock.com or you can call them. It kills all worms that chickens can get.

do you follow the instructions on the container or is there a spacific dosage for chickens?

 

[dawg53]

Valbazen is administered orally. Dosage is 1/2cc for standard size, 1/4cc for smaller birds. Redose in 10 days. There's a 24 day withdrawal start to finish. You can use a syringe without a needle.

 

[hdowden]

whats the oldest the chicken has to be to get wormed? i have a d'uccle thats 8-10 months and 2 oegb that are 4-5 months

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
You can worm them at those ages if you wish. Starting out, I usually wait til around 8-10 months unless I suspect problems sooner. Telltale signs would be not eating/drinking, lethargic, just not acting like a chicken should, possible worms in poop, unthriftyness etc...

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
You would get any of the ones I listed at the feed store. Ivermectin and fenbendazole get rid of almost all internal parasites. The added benefit of ivermectin pour-on is that it also gets rid of external parasites (mites and lice).

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Chickens should be at least 16 weeks old, so yours should be fine.