Worming/Vaccinating chickens

[Abbie79]

Since I purchased my backyard hens as chicks from tractor supply at the beginning of March I have never wormed or vaccinated them. I only have four hens, and three are producing eggs daily now that we collect for food. Should I be worming periodically? Can the eggs affect our (human) health if the chickens aren't wormed? How about vaccinations? I am a total noob, and need advice!

 

[Judy]

There isn't a simple answer to either question. Most people don't do any vaccinations themselves but may have some done at the hatchery. There are some you can give to older chickens, though. I've never had a vaccinated chicken and have not researched it. Some people worm their chickens several times a year, and some never worm them. Worms are more common in moist, warm soils than in hot, dry climates. It's something you just have to read up on and decide for yourself. I'll give you a couple of links to get you started.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ll-seeing-live-worms-in-poo/0_20#post_9315842

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...r-crd-parasites-are-rampant/0_20#post_7474271

http://healthybirds.umd.edu/Disease/Deworming Birds.pdf

 

[Abbie79]

Since I live in Louisiana where the air is high in humidity, and the soil stays fairly moist I think I'd better worm.... at least once. The reason I asked in the first place is because I feel like I'm seeing a slight drop in weight. It has been VERY hot here in the last month, so it could be due to the heat, but I know for a fact that, even though I keep my dogs on flea and tick prevention, they still end up with worms every once in a while, and I have to worm them..... and these are inside dogs for the most part! If tapeworms and roundworms get to them, then I KNOW they will get to my chickens!
I was thinking of worming them the two times as prescribed with valbazen, and from then on simply adding garlic powder and DE to their feed, as well as apple cider vinegar to their water, as a preventative measure. Does anyone else do this?

 

[Judy]

Things like garlic and DE will not help with worms. Garlic and ACV may have other benefits, but DE in feed does nothing but keep the feed dry and kill some feed eating bugs; it can't kill anything once ingested. The second link in my post above discusses this. Valbazen is what I use, at least once a year. My climate is similar to yours, and I know for a fact this soil is wormy.

Valbazen sold in a 500 ml bottle (smallest size) and the dose for large fowl is 0.5 ml by mouth, to be repeated in 10 days, so one bottle will last through several wormings. The first time I wormed, they ate less feed but gained some weight in the following weeks, so I assume the worms were eating that much of what they consumed.

 

[Abbie79]

Thank you for the input. I am going to do just that!

 

[DesigningLife]

Hi Abbie, I am new to the forum and quite inexperienced with having chickens so I found your question (and the responses) very helpful. I know that DE (Diatomaceous Earth) is used for things like dusting around to kill bugs in your house like bedbugs or roaches, etc. It has sort of a crystalline texture that, when the bugs crawl through it, cuts their exoskeletons causing them to slowly dehydrate and die. I can't see how it would be effective in controlling worms in any animal's digestive system.

After talking with my sister (who has raised chickens for decades without using de-wormers) and reading a bit, I am opting not to use any sort of de-wormer. My thought is that since I won't have a large commercial operation and I am doing this (partly) to help "avoid" the chemicals and things in my food to begin with, then if a chicken gets infested or becomes sick - something is "out of balance". There are parasites living in all of us, all the time which our bodies "keep at bay" when we are healthy. I think it would be much cheaper and easier (for me) to just cull a sick chicken and get another one rather than buy de-wormer and pay the vet for testing fecal samples. I guess my mode of thought is that if I'm going to put in all the chemicals, etc, myself, then I might as well just go and buy eggs from the grocery store, lol.

Sounds like you've gotten some great advice in the above responses, and good luck with your flock

...edited for typo...