Worming my flock..

[Chelsa'sChicks]

I have a nice sized flock (23) that I am going to worm. I was going to use Safeguard with yogurt, but am considering the pellets... I am going to use preventative care with sprinkled garlic/pumpkin seeds and food/animal safe DE. I am not going to catch them all and spoon feed them. Does anyone else have a larger flock that they worm? Also my flock is fenced at the moment due to a fox issue :/ so I am mainly looking for tips on cleaning the coop and yard during this worming process. I have found no worms or signs my birds have worms, but one bird does have diarrhea.. which can be from other reasons.

Thanks!

 

[April’s Zoo]

It is always best to get a fecal test done first before worming. If you already have a vet (even one for other pets you may have) call and ask if you can bring in a fecal sample to check for worms. If you are in the US, you can also usually submit a sample to your state’s agriculture lab and pay a small fee for testing. There are also private labs that you can mail a sample to, for a pretty reasonable charge, and get results that way.

The problem with just worming the chickens without knowing what you’re treating, is that it’s not unusual for them to have a small number of worms in their gut.... generally, the birds’ own system can keep them in check. If you assume that diarrhea is from worms and it’s not, you may give a wormer that won’t kill all the worms and they’ll become resistant to the wormer, then if you do have a real outbreak later, you won’t be able to treat them.

And like you said, there *are* other reasons for diarrhea besides worms.

Years ago, it was recommended that farmers give their animals wormers on a set schedule, with the rationale that it was better to prevent them from getting worms than to treat them if they did. Because of this practice, there are now areas of the country where many wormers are basically ineffective, and it is very difficult to treat an outbreak.

If you have absolutely no way to get a fecal test done, then it is important to use a wormer that is still considered to be effective in your area (just because they sell it at Tractor Supply doesn’t mean it’s an effective wormer), and to use it at the proper dose— including follow-up doses at the recommended intervals!! If you don’t give the follow-up doses, then you won’t kill all the worms and you’ll be creating “super worms” that will cause bigger problems later.

Perhaps you could post a “poop pic” for some of the board’s resident poop-ologists to look at. There are forum members who can look at a pic of poop and help narrow down what is going on with your bird.

Good luck!

 

[aart]

The problem with just worming the chickens without knowing what you’re treating, is that it’s not unusual for them to have a small number of worms in their gut.... generally, the birds’ own system can keep them in check

Exactly!
Getting fecal from a lab that will give a full report on species and numbers found and treatment suggestions(tho there aren't many wormers approved for poultry-so no accurate withdrawals)

Not sure if this link is still viable, but have heard good reports on them here in the past.
Mail in fecal testing:
http://www.midamericaagresearch.net/instructions.php

 

[Chelsa'sChicks]

That makes sense. I was going to worm them like I worm my horses .. scheduled yearly. If I should only worm when suspecting they have worms then I'll wait. I will have to upload a picture for all poo-ologists that know more then me. I have definitely not found any worms in their poo nor do they have signs of worms. Just trying to give them the best. Poo picture to come! Thank you so much for the added link (which did work) it was very helpful and I will be using it for the future!

 

[aart]

I have definitely not found any worms in their poo

Only 2 types of worms would be visible to the human eye in poop...round worms and tapeworms, the rest (and all worm eggs) are microscopic, that's why you need to have a fecal done.

Some folks in the warmer climes do regular worming, depending on the area and what might be prolific there. Regular worming should employ a rotation of different wormers so you don't build resistance, you may be familiar with that if you have horses.

Where in this world are you located?
Climate is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, then it's always there!

 

[casportpony]

I am going to use preventative care with sprinkled garlic/pumpkin seeds and food/animal safe DE.

If it makes you feel better doing it, do it, but you should know that there have been many before you that have found out the hard way that it doesn't work.

but one bird does have diarrhea..

If that bird were mine I would catch her, weigh her, check for lice/mites, and I would de-worm her with Valbazen or Safeguard. Of course a fecal is always a good idea, but some vets will still recommend de-worming even with a negative fecal.

 

[casportpony]

Does anyone else have a larger flock that they worm?

There are some wormers that can be mixed in water, but they are pretty expensive and of course, they will only work if the birds drink enough medicated water.

Wormout Gel - Dose is 47 ml per gallon for two days, repeat in 10 days - $100 per liter
Safeguard AquaSol - $270 per liter

Some peafowl breeders worm their flocks by making a mash and adding the wormer to it and that seems to work well for them.

 

[Chelsa'sChicks]

I was going to worm them with a mash type/yogurt mix so I could better monitor who gets how much.
I in North Eastern US so we get all seasons.
I did like the link with the fecal mail in and will use it in the future as I stated, I was only making the comment that I could not see any visible worms. .
I'm not that concerned with the diarrhea as it happens with so many other factors (EX:stress), only 1 hen had diarrhea and that one has not had it since. It is more of something that I see once in a while not daily or even weekly..

Thank you!

 

[April’s Zoo]

I was going to worm them with a mash type/yogurt mix so I could better monitor who gets how much.
I in North Eastern US so we get all seasons.
I did like the link with the fecal mail in and will use it in the future as I stated, I was only making the comment that I could not see any visible worms. .
I'm not that concerned with the diarrhea as it happens with so many other factors (EX:stress), only 1 hen had diarrhea and that one has not had it since. It is more of something that I see once in a while not daily or even weekly..

Thank you!

It’s possible that what you are seeing is just loose cecal poop, not actual diarrhea.....

 

[Chelsa'sChicks]

No its definitely diarrhea.