Worming question

[coolcanoechic]

I have 5 hens who are 6 months old now. First question. How old should they be before worming?
Second question. What is the best way to worm when you only have 5 birds?

Last year I had two birds and the vet gave me a liquid medacine to give with a dropper into their mouths. She said it was the best way with only two birds to treat. Is it still the best way with 5 birds?

 

[math ace]

I am thrilled to see that you have already had exposure to worming your birds. I like to worm mine for the first time right before they start laying. That way I don't have to worry about tossing any eggs the first time around. So your birds are the perfect age to start worming. If they haven't started laying yet, they will soon!

Next, which wormer and how to administer... There are three main ways of administering wormers...

1.) In their drinking water.
2.) Directly down their throats
3.) On the skin on the back of their necks.

Which method you use really depends on the wormer you choose. What you want is a broad spectrum wormer. You want a wormer that treats a lot of worms, not just one type.

I use to use Safe-gaurd (fenbenzole) 10% suspension goat wormer. This I would mix in the drinking water at a rate of 3 cc per gallon of water for 2 or 3 days. I like this wormer because it is gentle and very hard to over dose the birds on it. Of course, it will separate from the water, so you need to shake the waterer around when ever you go out to check on the birds, so that it gets mixed up again. PLUS, you need to make a new batch each day.

I had some birds get tapeworms. fenbenzole does not treat tapeworms. I had to switch to Valbazen (albendazole) for that round of worming. This medication is administered directly down their throats. You must be more accurate with the dosing because you are giving it to them directly and it is weight based. My birds are LARGE fowl and as a general rule of thumb, I used 1/2 cc for the hens ( 4 to 6 lbs) and 3/4 cc for the roosters ( 7 to 9 lbs).

The most important thing to remember when worming your birds is that they must be re-treated in 7 - 10 days to make the worming effective. The second worming is to kill any larve that hatched after the first treatment.

I use an egg withdrawal period is 14 days after the last dosing of wormer...

 

[math ace]

One more thing....

I wormer my birds twice a year. Others near me have to worm their birds 3 times a year. It just depends on how worm infested your area is... In Florida, we have wet and mild weather that provides an awesome habitat for insects. Hence, the worming...
I would think folks in the north, with harsher winters or folks where it is dryer would not have to worm as much as we do in the south.

Ask your vet... He / She will know how frequently your area requires worming...

 

[RedDrgn]

We've got six chickens and we don't worm them unless they have worms. We collect fecal samples from them every six months (spring/fall) and take them to our vet for analysis. We started doing this about one month before the first of them started laying (around 5 months of age) and have continued ever since. Any vet that can run fecal samples of any other animals for worms can do it for chickens, too. Then we know if we have to treat them and, if so, with what (because they can tell us what kind of worms were found). No guessing games or unnecessary treatments that way.

 

[dawg53]

Trips to the vet with fecal samples can get expensive after awhile especially if your soil is warm and moist most of the year. Your soil conditions dictate how often you worm. Cool mountainous or rocky soil, or hot/dry desertlike soil may require worming maybe only once a year, maybe longer. We've had 2 tropical storms and onshore rains most of the year here.... the soil conditions are worm soup. In conditions like this, worming is more frequent. I worm mine once every 3 months or sooner. No need to worry about targeting a particular worm...a broad spectrum wormer such as safeguard or valbazen will get them, valbazen gets all types...both are very safe wormers. With valbazen there's no worry about toxic dead worm overload because it slowly kills worms over several days. Other wormers such as wazine, ivermectin, eprinex and some equine wormers paralyze or kill worms immediately in the birds digestive tract which can cause toxic worm overload and possibly killing the chicken.

 

[math ace]

We've got six chickens and we don't worm them unless they have worms. We collect fecal samples from them every six months (spring/fall) and take them to our vet for analysis.

I've got about 50 chickens and this would be cost prohibitive for me...

I've seen enough worms with my own eyes that I am getting pretty good at identifing them.
The round worms are really gross and long.
The tape worms look like little pieces of rice - moving rice...
I've seen one bird in a pen of 10 birds pass worms and the rest didn't. I've seen a bird come along and eat a freshly expelled worm out of another birds poop.... Worms just gross me out

 

[coolcanoechic]

I've got about 50 chickens and this would be cost prohibitive for me...

I've seen enough worms with my own eyes that I am getting pretty good at identifing them.
The round worms are really gross and long.
The tape worms look like little pieces of rice - moving rice...
I've seen one bird in a pen of 10 birds pass worms and the rest didn't. I've seen a bird come along and eat a freshly expelled worm out of another birds poop.... Worms just gross me out

Eww! Now that is gross!

Thanks everyone for the advice. My girls show no signs of worms in their poop. I am asking about worming because I thought I had to do it every 6 months. I especially like the idea of having the vet check for worms in fecal samples. I don't have to guess what kind of worm or if there is even a need to. I had never even thought of that. Thanks so much! I don't believe our soil harbors lots of worms. It is rocky and sandy with clay soil down below. It usually gets pretty dry and hard late in the summer.

Thanks again! I love this site!

 

[trv005]

I have 3.5 week old chicks and I just witnesses a long round worm in its poo and it had a hard time getting it all expelled. It just kept pushing until it finally ended. How old do they have to be to worm them? What do I need to use? I have 15 chicks all the same age, no adults. This was disgusting! Help please!!!

 

[dawg53]

I have 3.5 week old chicks and I just witnesses a long round worm in its poo and it had a hard time getting it all expelled. It just kept pushing until it finally ended. How old do they have to be to worm them? What do I need to use? I have 15 chicks all the same age, no adults. This was disgusting! Help please!!!

Sounds like shed intestinal lining which is normal on occasion. Please post a pic.

 

[trv005]

I'm sorry, I don't have a pic. By the time I got my camera the other chicks must have eaten it. It was white and round looking. The poo texture looked normal. After reading about the worm types I don't think my chicks are old enough to have adult worms that large. Is it normal for them to have molasses looking poo with out evidence of the white cap?