Worming questions

[CJClucks]

I have a hen with two 3 week old chicks she hatched. They spend the nights in my garage & the days in an outdoor pen in the 1 acre pasture where my other adults free range.
This morning I saw a live roundworm in the mother hen’s poop. Have been reading & it sounds like safeguard is the way to go. Would you treat only that hen? (Not the chicks bc of age & not the other adults bc they’ve had little to no contact?) She has been in my garage for a month, since I found her hidden nest & has only been spending the last week in the outdoor pen during the day.

 

[Eggcessive]

I don’t think most people recommend worming baby chicks until they are at least 2 months old. I would worm the mother hen and the other grown hens with Valbazen or SafeGuard. @dawg53 and @casportpony are some whose advice I would use.

 

[Fairview01]

Ivermectin

 

[casportpony]

@KsKingBee, what's the youngest you have treated for worms?

I don’t think most people recommend worming baby chicks until they are at least 2 months old. I would worm the mother hen and the other grown hens with Valbazen or SafeGuard. @dawg53 and @casportpony are some whose advice I would use.

If @KsKingBee comes back and says he's de-wormed three week old chicks I think I would treat them too, and I would use Safeguard or Valbazen, and I would weigh them and dose according to weight, especially the chicks.

If you decide to go this route, let me know what they weigh and I will calculate doses for you.

 

[KsKingBee]

@KsKingBee, what's the youngest you have treated for worms?

If @KsKingBee comes back and says he's de-wormed three week old chicks I think I would treat them too, and I would use Safeguard or Valbazen, and I would weigh them and dose according to weight, especially the chicks.

If you decide to go this route, let me know what they weigh and I will calculate doses for you.

Every situation can be different but consider the lifecycle of the parasite. My incubated chicks spend the first four to six weeks in the stack brooder and only get treated for cocci and not for worms until they are on the ground for at least four weeks. Cocci is the major killer of peachicks and can pick it up even in the stack brooders. Once they are on the ground it will take four weeks or more before the worms are old enough to start doing damage to the chicks. I run fecals to determine if I need to treat the chicks if nothing is showing on the slide and the chicks are looking sick then treatment for BH is required.

My free-range broody raised chicks are rarely treated for anything, being in contact with a natural cocci load on the ground from birth they tend to build a resistance quicker from day one. When I treat the penned birds I will pour the old treated water out for the free range birds so they do get a little medication but I don't specifically treat them unless they look like they are coming down with something then I catch and do a fecal so I know what to treat for.

Broody raised chicks in the breeding pen are a little more delicate and I do have to keep a closer eye on them, however this year I did not lose any of them with no treating.

I am not saying to not treat the chicks, preventive treatments are fine especially if you do not have the ability to monitor with fecal exams. Broody raised chicks on the ground are capable of having worms by four to six weeks.

 

[klbaker75]

Every situation can be different but consider the lifecycle of the parasite. My incubated chicks spend the first four to six weeks in the stack brooder and only get treated for cocci and not for worms until they are on the ground for at least four weeks. Cocci is the major killer of peachicks and can pick it up even in the stack brooders. Once they are on the ground it will take four weeks or more before the worms are old enough to start doing damage to the chicks. I run fecals to determine if I need to treat the chicks if nothing is showing on the slide and the chicks are looking sick then treatment for BH is required.

My free-range broody raised chicks are rarely treated for anything, being in contact with a natural cocci load on the ground from birth they tend to build a resistance quicker from day one. When I treat the penned birds I will pour the old treated water out for the free range birds so they do get a little medication but I don't specifically treat them unless they look like they are coming down with something then I catch and do a fecal so I know what to treat for.

Broody raised chicks in the breeding pen are a little more delicate and I do have to keep a closer eye on them, however this year I did not lose any of them with no treating.

I am not saying to not treat the chicks, preventive treatments are fine especially if you do not have the ability to monitor with fecal exams. Broody raised chicks on the ground are capable of having worms by four to six weeks.

I have a history of gapeworm in my flock and found some parasite eggs on sample of my mother hen that could be gapeworm. The mother does not show symptoms which with gapeworm it should definitely cause symptoms. I have one week chicks and if they get this I will have no choice but to work them bc gapeworm kills chicks fast. How would I determine the dosage for this small a chick? I’m taking the slide to the vet for proper diagnosis tmrw. Keeping my fingers crossed it’s not gapeworm.

 

[casportpony]

How would I determine the dosage for this small a chick?

Weigh the chick on a food scale then dose by weight. Are you going to use Valbazen or Safeguard?

 

[The_crazy_chicken_girl]

Something quite natural that you might have in that I use on all my animals that’s worked is cider vinegar

 

[klbaker75]

Weigh the chick on a food scale then dose by weight. Are you going to use Valbazen or Safeguard?

I have both wormers and can use either. I’ll grab a food scale if the vet says it’s gapeworm for sure. If it’s not gapeworm I’ll just monitor their stools and symptoms and try to hold off until a month of age.

 

[klbaker75]

Something quite natural that you might have in that I use on all my animals that’s worked is cider vinegar

I’ve tried this in the past to no avail. I’ve had minimal luck with raw garlic but I can’t get them to eat it. I may stick it in their water to see if I can prevent it. They were just exposed to the ground yesterday for the first time and if they picked it up then I have six more days until the gapeworm invades the trachea. I’ll start them on that in the morning and hope for the best.