Wormer help please...

[Vikinglike]

Can someone please advise what I should use for a wormer?
I have never wormed them before.... 13 girls that are 15 months old.
I’ve noticed some weight loss in a few, pale combs and today a couple of head shaking. Also egg production down to 7-9 a day. Does the worm treatment also rid any external parasites as well?
Thanks!!!

 

[Morrigan]

Usually it's different treatments for external vs internal parasites. I would start by trying to determine what you are dealing with. Go out tonight, remove a chicken from the roost and examine a few of your chickens carefully using a flashlight. Pay particular attention to the area around the vent. If you sees small red specks moving about, or egg clusters around the feather shafts, you have mites or lice and there are powders and sprays that can help with that.

If all looks good there, I would gather some dropping samples and see if you can have a fecal test run. That will give guidance as to whether you are dealing with worms, or perhaps some other infection or issue.