Worming help....

[Wyorp Rock]

We feed our chickens like royalty but they are SKINNY.
They do not LOOK skinny, they have lovely feathers (ok, aside from that 1) and seem super healthy. They eat a fermented mash. They are also fed supplemental black oil sunflower seeds and a scratch.
They are not all skinny, but some have that sharp breastbone feeling.


We lost one of our girls last week. It was rough and I don't want to go through that any time soon.

So, just in case, we are going to try worming them but have NO idea where to start. I looked on here for a bit but it seems like people have questions but there are no Worming 101 posts that I can find.

HELP!

For the record, we have 32 hens.

What breed of hens and how old are they?
Check the body score photo and article linked below, you may find that they are not really that skinny(?).

Getting fecal float is always a good idea, but sometimes it's hard to find a vet willing to test chicken poop.

IF you feel they need deworming, then using an anthelminitic like Fenbendazole (Safeguard) or Albendazole (Valbazen) would be what I'd use.
Both are dosed orally by weight.

Valbazen (Albendazole) dose is 0.08ml per pound of weight given orally once, then repeated in 10 days.

Safeguard (Fenbendazole) dose is 0.23ml per pound of weight given orally once daily for 5 days in a row.

Are they all getting enough - no one is being bullied/kept from feed?


https://blog.meyerhatchery.com/2023/06/chicken-body-condition/

 

[Kalamity]

What is the mash, protein and calcium percentages?
BOSS has a lot of fat and scratch is low in nutrients.

Not knowing what killed your bird(doing a necropsy and checking intestines for worms), or having a fecal done on the others, worming might not be required/needed and could be detrimental on birds that are already on the edge of good health.
I'd look closely at the diet before worming.

Garlic can be toxic to chickens.

ALFACO 10 – WEIGHT GAIN & MAINTENANCE FORMULA​

• Crude Protein, not less than……10.00%
• Crude Fat, not less than……8.00%
• Crude Fiber, not more than……14.00%

The above is really a horse feed that is real popular with the chickens. Almost half the mash is this...

Then we feed a chicken pellet, I don't have the paperwork right now, but it's 19-20% protein.

That is mixed with Flax seed, some veggie oil (maybe a cup or a bit less in a 5 gallon bucket of mash, all their herbs, some Rooster Booster Poultry booster and egg shells.

They are given maybe 2-3 double handed throws of sunflower seeds and that's with some scratch that we just give on days they don't free range so they have something to do


EDIT
I went out and grabbed tags...this is their mix 2:1 ratio

 

[Kalamity]

What breed of hens and how old are they?
Check the body score photo and article linked below, you may find that they are not really that skinny(?).

Getting fecal float is always a good idea, but sometimes it's hard to find a vet willing to test chicken poop.

IF you feel they need deworming, then using an anthelminitic like Fenbendazole (Safeguard) or Albendazole (Valbazen) would be what I'd use.
Both are dosed orally by weight.

Valbazen (Albendazole) dose is 0.08ml per pound of weight given orally once, then repeated in 10 days.

Safeguard (Fenbendazole) dose is 0.23ml per pound of weight given orally once daily for 5 days in a row.

Are they all getting enough - no one is being bullied/kept from feed?


https://blog.meyerhatchery.com/2023/06/chicken-body-condition/

View attachment 3776716

They are:
14 Buff Orpinton's, almost a year old
5 Lavender Orpingtons, almost a year old
11 Black Autstralorps and I think a couple are Jersey Giants, they are at least 3