Worming Q

[beachchickie]

You can't eat the eggs of the hens you are worming? Is there any natural wormer that wont cause problems?

 

[turtlebird]

I tried DE mixed in their food when the eggs began to become fewer and smaller. Things didn't improve until I wormed with wazine followed two weeks later with eprinex ivermectin. Egg size has returned to large/extra large and production increased dramatically. I am not saying that DE isn't effective, I perhaps waited too long to start, or didn't fully understand its usage. My birds are much better looking now, but you are correct, a month of tossing eggs is really a bummer - but the chickens are much better for it. I know of no other 'natural' treatment. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable will chime in.

 

[beachchickie]

I don't know if my girls need worming. They seem to be laying fine and they look healthy. What would I look for or do I just worm them anyway?

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Some folks never worm, others worm only if they find worms in the stools. I choose to worm once a year. A loss of weight, the color of their combs being "off", just a run down look is what you'd see. Most animals, chickens included, can handle a small worm load fine.
I use valbazen (albendazole) which is a cattle/sheep wormer, used "off label". Valbazen is also commonly used to treat worms in humans. Ivermectin is another cattle wormer, used off label.
Valbazen has a two week egg withdrawel time, meaning you toss eggs for two weeks.
IMO, DE is more of a preventive than an actual wormer. It won't take care of a large worm infestation. Another natural wormer some folks swear by is buttermilk and pumpkin seeds. If you do a search, keywords "pumpkin seeds" you'll probably find multiple threads on their use.