Worming day olds?

[kari_dawn]

I picked up five new babies from the feed store, four bantams, one standard. They are from one day to about a week old. They appear to have foamy poo, and the one that appears to be a seabright is acting slightly lethargic. I think I need to worm them, but I am not sure if I can at this age...I have wazine, but no other wormers on hand. Can I worm them?

 

[TedJan92_in_Idaho]

I would get some type of vitamin supplement in them. Even if they were born with worms they wouldn't be bad enough to make them sick. Save a chick is good. If you just purchased them I would take them back to the feed store.

 

[SteveBaz]

Do not feed corn / scratch feeds in the litter if there are droppings in it and rest land periodically to prevent a build up of worms. If grass is kept short, this allows the sunlight to kill worm eggs. I throw it down on a clean area of dirt.

Prevention is always easier than cure so follow good husbandry techniques and worm regularly according to the manufacturer's instructions. Worms can cause all sorts of damage to the digestive track of your birds which can sometimes lead to death. Products that are used to treat worms are not that cheap however it will certainly cost you in the long run with increased feed costs, less eggs and sick or unhealthy birds if you don't worm them regularly or every 6 months. The Most Important Thing to Know. If you treat birds once with a product (most advertise that they kill 100% of worms) this will kill 100% of worms but you do need an ongoing treatment plan.

Some people use DE (Diatomaceous Earth food quality) to worm the birds which needs to be given with their food continuously.

I think medicated chick feed may even have a product in to suppress worms too (not sure of this).

 

[kari_dawn]

...these are day olds and week olds. They haven't been outside yet, and wont be for a while. I just brought them home. They did not get worms while they were here. They had them when they came home if that is actually what is going on. I want to know if I can use wazine on them at such a young age to treat them for what I assume is worms because of foamy poo.

They get water and food in a shallow dish right now cause they are so tiny

 

[Judy]

I'd say it's very unlikely they have worms, and if they were mine, I would not worm them. Young chicks normally produce quite a variety of poops.

 

[kari_dawn]

Thats what I would think too, but my other babies (now about four weeks), and the babies before those never had poo that looked like that

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Agreed

The infamous poop page:

http://chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

 

[kari_dawn]

I suppose it is a game of wait and see...

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Quote:
Make sure they have vitamins and electrolytes in their water. You can also use ACV.

This will help their immune systems, and keep them healthier.

I wouldn't medicate unless you know what you are medicating for at such a young age.

 

[Erica]

If you have other birds, it would be a good idea to keep these ones separate for a few weeks (if you can). Foamy droppings can sometimes be a sign of respiratory disease, though there's lots of other possibilities. It would be good to play safe just in case.

I agree with others, it's not worms, not at that age (or almost certainly not). Hopefully it's just a bit of temperature or transportation stress and they'll all be perfectly fine.