Worming chickens

[FourPawz]

Quote:
A thousand dollars?? What equipment are you using?

Microscope (with a few slides and even a couple of bottles of stain) - $64.00 or you can get a more expensive model:
http://www.amazon.com/My-First-Lab-...U54O/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1301245323&sr=8-3

Epsom Salt (dissolve a saturated solution of this in water to make the eggs & oocysts float to the top and stick to the slide) - $5.00 or so at the local drug store OR...
Table sugar (dissolve a saturated solution of this this in water to make the eggs & oocysts float to the top and stick to the slide)

Google (to look up images of worm eggs and coccidia oocysts) free with the cost of your monthly internet access.

 

[kickinchicken]

Eh, I guess I am a bit snooty when it comes to my microscopes!

Only the "finest", most expensive will do. Heck, if there's a cheaper way to do it, the go for it! I think I will try your advice this weekend just for kicks. But really? A $64 microscope? How good is that? Whats the magnification, like, x3....LOL
ETA:
OK, upon further review, that isn't a half bad scope! I might have to get that and see how well it works. To be continued.....

 

[FourPawz]

Quote:
I've got a very old microscope that belonged to my dad, who bought it when he was in med school. In its day it was a really good one. It still is, actually. But, all you need to look at the average parasite egg is low power, so why not get a less expensive one?

 

[mkearsley]

I called the vet today. The assistant that I talked to didn't know if they actually tested fecal samples

So she asked the vet. Since he was busy, it was kind of a round-about conversation, with me asking her questions, her asking the vet, & then telling me.

I did find out that they test fecal matter, both dogs & chickens, but the assistant was going to have to look up the prices. When I first asked, she was thinking that I wanted them to worm my dog & chickens, not just test. I think that the feed store probably has the meds cheaper than the vet would charge for the stuff & application. (Plus that means I'd have to attempt to catch my 4 free-range chickens & haul them in.)

So, next question: should I try to mix samples from each bird, or just send in one pile of poop? If I just send in one pile, and the vet finds worms, should I treat the whole flock? I'm sure I can ask the vet all these questions, but they didn't seem to know what I was talking about. After all, they treat pets & large livestock, not so much on the chickens.

 

[mkearsley]

Found out at least one of my girls has Heterakis Gallinae. The vet said that there were enough eggs in the fecal sample that he felt she needed treatment

He gave me some Panacur to give to them orally. Now the fun of trying to catch the little boogers.

The vet said that this particular worm was usually found in turkeys & was pretty bad for them. He said that Panacur is only available via prescription (fortunately it was really cheap! $5). Do you guys know any other drugs in the US that can treat them? The vet told me to give them a dosage & then another dose in 10 days. My girls free-range in the back yard, so they've got access to bugs & earthworms & all that other good stuff that can spread this worm. Is there anything that I can give them or do in order to keep the worms at a minimum? Reading about H. Gallinae on the internet, it doesn't seem to be super dangerous to my girls, but it can carry a pretty nasty turkey disease called blackhead. Since I don't have turkeys & never will, should I even worry about treating my girls in the future for this worm? (I've already got the meds, so they'll be getting it tonight and in 10 more days.)

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
Cecal worms are the host for the protazoa that causes blackhead, turkey's can be wiped out by blackhead and chickens can be the carriers. It can effect chickens as well, but it's more lethal to turkey's. This why it's recommended to keep turkey's and chickens seperated from each other. You have a good vet! Valbazen (albendazole) cattle/sheep wormer will kill cecal worms and all other worms. Give it to your chickens orally. Dosage is 1/2cc for standard size chickens, 1/4cc for smaller chickens. Safeguard liquid goat wormer (fenbendazole) will kill the cecal worm. Give it to them orally. Dosage is 1cc per 10lbs body weight of the chicken. Safeguard equine paste will kill cecal worms. Dosage is a "pea" size amount given orally to each chicken individually. Withdrawal times are 14 days for all these wormers.
I recommend valbazen because it kills all types of worms. Establish a worming program for your chickens, I worm mine quarterly because of our environment. You might be able to worm them semi annually of maybe once every 8 or 9 months or so...it's up to you how and when you want to worm.

 

[mkearsley]

I live in sourthern Idaho. The ground is usually frozen from Nov-Feb (give or take a month on either end), and the bugs usually don't get too active until April/May, although the worms are moving around earlier. Like I said earlier, my girls free-range in my backyard (around one-tenth of an acre or smaller) year-round. When would be the best time to worm them taking those factors into account? (i.e. in the spring, summer, fall) Should I just automatically worm them once or twice a year, or should I continue having fecal tests taken prior to worming? Should I wait until they have a physical sign that they have worms (poor molt, reduction in eggs, weight loss, etc) before I treat, or should I do it on a calendar-based method, where they get treated every April (for example)?
The Panacur does not have a withdrawl time (according to the vet & a few websites). I sell the eggs to co-workers & eat them, as well, even though there's no withdrawl time, should I still not use the eggs for a while? If I use the wormer that DOES have a withdrawl time (like the ones dawg53 mentioned) can I feed the egg shells back to the chickens? (I'd probably feed the eggs to the dog.)
Thanks for all your information

 

[llaaadyel]

I was wondering at what age you would recommend starting the worming program.

Thanks
E

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
Save yourself some money and buy a couple of wormers for rotation purposes and worm in February. Then worm again in August. No trips to the vet...saving gas money and vet bill. Of course this is up to you. The wormers dont cost much and will last you a long time. Their expiration dates are from 2-3 years. Panacur contains fenbendazole, the same wormers I recommended to you (except albendazole.) It's a recommended 14 day withdrawal period with fenbendazole. I would hold off selling eggs, there is fenbendazole residue in the eggs and if someone has a reaction to it, it could be trouble. Dont feed the eggs back to your chickens, you'd be extending the withdrawal period. I wouldnt give them to your dog neither. If your dog ever gets worms and your vet prescribes panacur, it could be ineffective because the worms couldve built up fenbendazole resistance from the residue in the eggs. Eggshells may contain residue as well. It's like alot of antibiotics not working in humans...bacterial resistance. Same with worms...wormer resistance, rotate wormers.

 

[mkearsley]

OK, thanks Dawg. When you say to change up wormers, do you mean to change chemical make-up (i.e. fenbendazole & albendazole)? Should I use a different chemical each time, or use one chemical for a year & then another chemical the next year? I'm all for saving money, it was $32 for the fecal sample

but I also don't want to treat them if they don't need it. They have been free-ranging for almost a full year, so I'm guessing that I've got lots of little worm eggs everywhere and it's going to take a while to knock down the load of worms. The vet also said that my hen's poop was pretty high, so, it might be affecting them and me, being a newby-chicken farmer, didn't realize it.....

Anyway, thanks again for your help dawg.