When to give first worming?

[allbirds4me]

Quote:
please just worm your birds , you can start with pumpkin seeds if nothing else.
if you cannot afford the vet check or barely afford food for yourselves, should you even be keeping chickens ( other animals if you have them ) at all ?
maybe your eating the eggs and the chickens just to try and keep some food on the table and that's fine but don't you want to be eating " healthy" products ?
curious now what you feed the birds when grass, bugs, etc. is not in great supply ?

it's been said, " you are what you eat"

 

[KsKingBee]

Gitabooks, don't take the 'helpful intents' too hard to heart. We all do the best we can with what we have. If your birds are healthy and putting food on the table for you, then you can count your blessings.

 

[new 2 pfowl]

@GitaBooks , maybe this is a more affordable option you could try as a preventative?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/940346/oregano-oil-works-for-cocci-and-worms-it-works
Don't feel bad if you can't worm them because of your circumstances, just keep doing the best you can!

 

[KsKingBee]

Here is a pic of the round worms that came from that chick just before it died.

 

[GitaBooks]

@GitaBooks , maybe this is a more affordable option you could try as a preventative?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/940346/oregano-oil-works-for-cocci-and-worms-it-works
Don't feel bad if you can't worm them because of your circumstances, just keep doing the best you can!

Thanks so much. It certainly can be hard, but thankfully things seem to be getting back on track with money. I certainly will try out that link.

please just worm your birds , you can start with pumpkin seeds if nothing else.
if you cannot afford the vet check or barely afford food for yourselves, should you even be keeping chickens ( other animals if you have them ) at all ?
maybe your eating the eggs and the chickens just to try and keep some food on the table and that's fine but don't you want to be eating " healthy" products ?
curious now what you feed the birds when grass, bugs, etc. is not in great supply ?

it's been said, " you are what you eat"

Thank you for the advise.

We had to give up our first group of chickens and our goats during the worst of the economy drop. We got new ones as our money stabilized. Its a lot harder to get good money during the summer, and our 60 chickens only eat around $15 USD of food each week, which is actually really good considering. We do keep them for their eggs, but really I keep them because I just love having animals, and they are a great hobby to help me prepare for getting a degree in zoology.

Gitabooks, don't take the 'helpful intents' too hard to heart. We all do the best we can with what we have. If your birds are healthy and putting food on the table for you, then you can count your blessings.

Thanks!

I love my birds, they give me something to do each morning and each evening. I sometimes suffer from a little depression, and it can be hard to get yourself up and going. They force me to go outside at least three times a day, every day, no matter the weather or how I feel. They are very healthy, they have a huge barn that is so large that I think they cover up all their droppings and so can't easily get recontaminated with worms (as their droppings dry out really quickly). It has been really rainy and humid, however, recently.

 

[critters]

I was also wondering this. 4 weeks after hitting dirt sounds good! How long should you wait to have them hit the dirt? Critters, did you start weighing yours?

I don't have scales to weigh my birds... Guess that's on the 'to do-to get list' and I think I read somewhere that around 6 months is when many of the others let their birds hit the dirt? Really unsure ? Anyone?

 

[GitaBooks]

I don't have scales to weigh my birds... Guess that's on the 'to do-to get list' and I think I read somewhere that around 6 months is when many of the others let their birds hit the dirt? Really unsure ? Anyone?

Lots of different people have lots of different methods. Some let chicks free-range with their mother day one, others wait much longer. It depends on a lot of things, like your climate, the mother, ect.

 

[KsKingBee]

I don't have scales to weigh my birds... Guess that's on the 'to do-to get list' and I think I read somewhere that around 6 months is when many of the others let their birds hit the dirt? Really unsure ? Anyone?

Most of the advice you will hear is 12 weeks.

 

[RubyNala97]

Most of the advice you will hear is 12 weeks.

This is good to know! I keep reading stories and posts about people taking their week old peachicks out bug hunting. Mine are such little babies. I'm not rushing to bring them outside. I did buy some small crickets for them at the pet store today. They love the meal worms I buy. Crickets should be safe, right?

 

[casportpony]

Quote: Mealworms and crickets from pet stores should be fine. I would not feed mine any bugs from the yard.

-Kathy