Worming the Flock ~ Please help with dosages!

[dawg53]

Okay... so... I've shopped for Valbazen, made a list of bantams and standard birds so I can check of who eats their bread cube! I will probably try to do this tonight... wish me luck!!!

I hope it worked out for you. Putting a liquid wormer in bread is 'iffy' at best. You'll have to give a piece of wet bread, if it doesnt fall apart, to each chicken individually or others will eat it. Even if it's given individually, you'll see that not all birds will eat it.
It's always best to worm birds one at a time with a syringe without a needle. That way you know they got wormed properly.

There's nothing saying that you have to worm all 30 birds in one day. You can worm half one day, then the other half the next day. You can worm them by breed or by color or by each coop.
Start worming them just before sunrise while they are roosting. It's best to worm them on an empty stomach, before allowing them to eat. Snatch a hen off the roost and worm orally, then release her. Then grab another and repeat until they're all wormed. You'll be surprised how easy and quick it is once you get used to it.
Have someone hold the bird for you. Then pull the wattles down and her mouth will open, shoot 1/2cc in her mouth and let go of the wattles right away so she can swallow the liquid on her own. If you dont let go of the wattles right away, she could aspirate.
If they shake their head while pulling down the wattles, hang on and she'll eventually tire and then you can dose her. It helps if your syringe is preloaded and ready to go.

 

[Cotton Hill Chick]

I hope it worked out for you. Putting a liquid wormer in bread is 'iffy' at best. You'll have to give a piece of wet bread, if it doesnt fall apart, to each chicken individually or others will eat it. Even if it's given individually, you'll see that not all birds will eat it.
It's always best to worm birds one at a time with a syringe without a needle. That way you know they got wormed properly.

There's nothing saying that you have to worm all 30 birds in one day. You can worm half one day, then the other half the next day. You can worm them by breed or by color or by each coop.
Start worming them just before sunrise while they are roosting. It's best to worm them on an empty stomach, before allowing them to eat. Snatch a hen off the roost and worm orally, then release her. Then grab another and repeat until they're all wormed. You'll be surprised how easy and quick it is once you get used to it.
Have someone hold the bird for you. Then pull the wattles down and her mouth will open, shoot 1/2cc in her mouth and let go of the wattles right away so she can swallow the liquid on her own. If you dont let go of the wattles right away, she could aspirate.
If they shake their head while pulling down the wattles, hang on and she'll eventually tire and then you can dose her. It helps if your syringe is preloaded and ready to go.

Yep, the bread did not work out very well. Thought I was smart, coating the valbazen soaked side with crushed dried grubs to cover the taste... was able to get a bread cube to about 5 of the birds, watched them eat it... then flock mentality took over and everybody crowded in to start snatching at the bread cubes. Chaos after that! What was I thinking??? LOL.

I appreciate your very detailed description of how to do the worming before sunrise. It really helps. I haven't bean able to wrap my mind around worming them at night... even wearing a headlamp to make it easier, wouldn't the light in the coop wake them? Before sunrise seems much more natural.

Thanks for your thoughts!!!

 

[dawg53]

You can worm them just before sunrise if you wish. As soon as it's light and they're able to see, they'll want out of the coop. It might be a bit more difficult for you to catch them depending how many birds are in one coop. Just dont let them out or you'll never catch them lol.
When I had White Leghorns, they were quick to slip out of the coop and I had to use a net to catch them in the pen. Luckily they never made it out into the yard, I wouldve never caught them.