worming chickens

[hatchcrazzzy]

when old do you worm your chickens.and why and with what thakns

 

[speckledhen]

My chickens have never had worms to my knowledge. I do more of a preventative/natural approach for keeping them worm-free. I regularly feed them chopped unsalted pumpkin seeds and buttermilk. They always have food grade DE in their feed as well. A substance in the pumpkin seeds paralyzes the worm so it can be pooped out. Someone else may have to tell you what to use if you worm. I do know that Wazine, a popular wormer, is only for roundworms and doesn't affect the many other types they can get.

 

[Pine Grove]

did you know back in the old days ppl used to worm chickens with chewing tobacco, crushed glass, kerosene and red devil lye..I have multi species and have for years so worms here are a constant threat even after all the spading, sand and new litter. I worm 4 times a yr every bird that is on the dirt. I personaly use valbazen,safeguard and levamisole in rotation as not to build immunity.
As with any wormer it's a good idea after the first worming to worm again in 10 days to kill the ones that have hatched,

 

[Pine Grove]

SpeckledHen, Do you notice that your chickens have a brighter sheen to their feathers after a couple of days of giving them buttermilk?

 

[speckledhen]

Hmm, I never really noticed that. Usually, my chickens seem to shine anyway, unless they're molting or covered in red dirt from a dustbath, LOL. I'll have to check next time I do that.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

How would a person know if their chickens had worms besides taking a stool sample to the vet? I have to admit we have never wormed our chickens either. It makes sense though, we worm our lambs twice a season,

 

[Pine Grove]

if chickens have been on the same dirt year after year or is free ranging eating earth worms and insects. it is safe to say they have, or will sooner or later have worms. it's natural for healthy chickens to have a few worms, it's when their immune system becomes weak that the worms take over.

 

[Nyna]

speckledhen- how often do you give them pumpkin seeds and buttermilk?

 

[speckledhen]

Well, I usually add pumpkin seeds to their scratch mixture, but they only get that when I call them back from ranging or first thing in the morning. So, they get those all the time. I buy buttermilk about every three weeks or so and when it's here, I use it for baking and they get the treatment at that time. Right now, it's a cool thing to give them in the heat as well as yogurt so it serves two purposes.

 

[Dawn419]

Cyn,

Do you bake the pumpkin seeds or let them dry naturally. I'm about to cut one up so I figured I'd better get that question answered first.

Thanks!

Dawn