Worming!

[Catnipmuse]

My vet told me to worm , long story short I can’t afford to have all five chicken seen to establish care ( covid no jobs ) but she did give me some recommendations just that she can’t prescribe something specific. She said I have to worm the chooks once or twice a year because they are freerange and pets and cuddle bugs we are in contact with them a lot! And it’s an urban setting but in an area with lots of wild life and birds. So I need advice, I bought what’s in the picture and I need help with how much and the egg withdrawal, I need to stockpile a bit as it is winter and though four out of five are old enough to lay, they are producing less and we really count on them for our food supply at this point. We would never eat them ( our babies!) but the eggs are our main protein! Thanks!!!!!

 

[Aapomp831]

I don’t worm my chickens unless there’s a need to; you don’t want them building an immunity to the dewormer. And btw, worms will not affect you; you cannot get chicken worms and you can still eat the eggs of a chicken with worms (I wouldn’t, being there is a slight chance a worm could travel up into an egg but that’s in the case of a serious infestation - but you still won’t get worms it will just be gross).
Instead, take some poop to your vet every 6 months (or if they display symptoms) and have them do a fecal float test. If they have worms, treat them. If they don’t, then don’t. There is no need to deworm a chicken every 6 months like you would a dog.

 

[Catnipmuse]

I don’t worm my chickens unless there’s a need to; you don’t want them building an immunity to the dewormer. And btw, worms will not affect you; you cannot get chicken worms and you can still eat the eggs of a chicken with worms (I wouldn’t, being there is a slight chance a worm could travel up into an egg but that’s in the case of a serious infestation - but you still won’t get worms it will just be gross).
Instead, take some poop to your vet every 6 months (or if they display symptoms) and have them do a fecal float test. If they have worms, treat them. If they don’t, then don’t. There is no need to deworm a chicken every 6 months like you would a dog.

thanks! She told me she should save me the expense because not seeing the worms was not a guarantee unless there is a serious overload. Also that she has treated animals that come from my neighbor for them with positive tests so there is an almost 100% chance that my girls need it. She said to find three different types of broad spectrum dewormer sand rotate them over a few years so there is no resistance building. My neighbor just had to treat his babies. We can’t get them but there is always a risk to other animals is what I understand.....

 

[Aapomp831]

thanks! She told me she should save me the expense because not seeing the worms was not a guarantee unless there is a serious overload. Also that she has treated animals that come from my neighbor for them with positive tests so there is an almost 100% chance that my girls need it. She said to find three different types of broad spectrum dewormer sand rotate them over a few years so there is no resistance building. My neighbor just had to treat his babies. We can’t get them but there is always a risk to other animals is what I understand.....

And she’s rights about all that! Maybe deworm then when their egg production slows during the shorter days; that way it won’t be stuck a waste of eggs (safeguard usually has a 2 week withdrawal period with eggs after administering).

 

[Painted Calls]

The problem with rotating de-wormer is that they still have the same active ingredient. It will still serve as building immunity for any parasites.

Unless your birds are sharing space with your neighbor's, or you are seeing signs of worms, I would not de-worm them.

If you do need to worm them, buy paste or liquid. Pellets will be darn near impossible to accurately does them with. You will also need a scale to weigh them to figure out dosage, as it goes by weight.

 

[coach723]

You can get Safeguard (fenbendazole) as liquid goat wormer or horse paste. You can also get fenbendazole as Panacur. You can rotate with Valbazen (albendazole) liquid. Dosing will be by weight, and dosing for each medication is a bit different. It's always best to know what worm you are trying to treat for so that dosing is correct. With Safeguard (fenbendazole) dosing is different for roundworm than it is for capillary or gape worm. And if you ever need to treat for tape worm then a medication with praziquantel is usually best. Treating orally is better than pellets as you have no way to make sure with pellets that each bird took in enough to get a correct dose. A fecal is usually fairly inexpensive, and you can take a mixed sample of droppings to get a look at your flock. Most of the time if one has them then you treat the entire flock. You can also use a mail in option for fecal testing. Amazon carries one, as do some livestock suppliers on line:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000J5SOZ...colid=27RHKHAM35GO&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

[dawg53]

The soil in the neighbors yard and the OP's yard makes no difference. If their feet touch the ground, they'll get worms.
There's plenty of wormers for rotation purposes: Valbazen, Safeguard, Levamisole, Nemex 2.
@Catnipmuse There's no need to rotate wormers as often as you think especially with only 5 birds. If you go buying different wormers for rotation purposes, they'll expire before you get to use them, a waste of money.

 

[Catnipmuse]

You can get Safeguard (fenbendazole) as liquid goat wormer or horse paste. You can also get fenbendazole as Panacur. You can rotate with Valbazen (albendazole) liquid. Dosing will be by weight, and dosing for each medication is a bit different. It's always best to know what worm you are trying to treat for so that dosing is correct. With Safeguard (fenbendazole) dosing is different for roundworm than it is for capillary or gape worm. And if you ever need to treat for tape worm then a medication with praziquantel is usually best. Treating orally is better than pellets as you have no way to make sure with pellets that each bird took in enough to get a correct dose. A fecal is usually fairly inexpensive, and you can take a mixed sample of droppings to get a look at your flock. Most of the time if one has them then you treat the entire flock. You can also use a mail in option for fecal testing. Amazon carries one, as do some livestock suppliers on line:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000J5SOZ...colid=27RHKHAM35GO&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Thanks! That’s super !

 

[Redbud55]

I have had chickens over ten years.I worm twice a year with Valbrazen. You don’t need to withhold your eggs. Dose according to weight. You have to worm any animal that eats off the ground. We worm horses, goats, cows, etc...but not chickens? I always worm, plus it gives me a chance to check them over, inspect them for anything. Don’t wait until you “see” a problem. If chickens have a heavy worm load, then you worm them, they could die.

 

[Catnipmuse]

I have had chickens over ten years.I worm twice a year with Valbrazen. You don’t need to withhold your eggs. Dose according to weight. You have to worm any animal that eats off the ground. We worm horses, goats, cows, etc...but not chickens? I always worm, plus it gives me a chance to check them over, inspect them for anything. Don’t wait until you “see” a problem. If chickens have a heavy worm load, then you worm them, they could die.

Thank you so much! Do you have any advice/ experience with the wormer in the picture? That’s what I have I do t know if it’s ok.... the world of workers is really confusing! I can never find “ chicken “ specifically and I am new to this!