Worming

[raymarkson]

I have suspected for some time now that my chickens may have worms. Yesterday this fear was confirmed for me when I saw actual worms in the feces of one of my hens. Gross! Based on what I’ve read since yesterday, I think that the worms that I saw were capillaria (hairworms) because they were tiny (less than half of an inch) and threadlike in appearance. The only reason I was even able to see the tiny things is because they were moving about in the loose stool. So, I am going to first use Wazine 17 - I know that Wazine 17 is only a treatment for roundworms and it will not be effective for capillaria (hairworms), but my chickens have never been wormed before and they are a year old. My understanding is that one must use Wazine for the first round, then after 10 days use a broad-spectrum wormer. My question, however, is which broad-spectrum wormer I should use in that second round? I assume that I will need one that will be effective for hairworms. I like what I’ve read about Eprinex because it seems easy and there is no withdrawal period, but is it useful for treating hairworms? I am very new to all of this so any advice and suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
I recommend you skip the wazine and use Valbazen (albendazole) right away. It kills all known worms that chickens can get. If it's not at your feed store, you can order it from Jefferslivestock.com It is a liquid cattle/sheep wormer. Dosage is given orally...1/2cc for standard size, 1/4cc for smaller chickens. Withdrawal is 14 days.

 

[Posh Chickens]

I worm mine every 2 months just to be on the safe side... And I spray the pen with mite kill.. just to be on the safe side!

I agree with the above post..

Update me!

Rob.

 

[schellie69]

Quote:
I think 1 to 2 times a year for worming in normal I would worry that every 2 months is a bit much for the chickens.

 

[raymarkson]

Thanks for the recommendation, Dawg53. I will look into Valbazen. However, it seems to be the advice of many on this forum to use Wazine before using a broad-spectrum wormer. The reasoning seems to go like this: if the bird has never been wormed before, and if the infestation is significant, then a broad-spectrum wormer could "shock the birds system" by trying to dispose of too many parasites at once. Am I understanding this wrong? Can I really skip the Wazine cycle and go straight to a broad-spectrum like Valbazen if the bird has never been wormed before?

 

[schellie69]

I would follow Dawg53's advice he helped me through the worming process for my chickens. I think if the wazine is not going to help get rid of these types of worms then it won't help. If you are sure what type of worms your chicken has. You would use the wazine if you can't figure out what type of worms they have or not sure what the worms are. When I wormed my chickens I used the wazine followed by safeguard 10 days later with a 14 withdraw period for the eggs.

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
Yes, I'm the one that normally recommends using wazine first...especially if someone is dealing with tapeworms because depending which type of tapeworm, it could clog the innards causing a toxic overload along with all the other types of worms. However, you arnt dealing with tapeworms here. Valbazen slowly kills worms over a two to three day period, absorbed or excreted accordingly lessening the chances of worm toxicity. It's safe to use the Valbazen first.

 

[Posh Chickens]

The bottle says every 2 months though

 

[raymarkson]

okay. Thanks for the info, dawg53. I really appreciate it.

 

[schellie69]

Quote:
I use the wazine then follow 10 days later with a 2nd wormer I am not sure about the every 2 months. I would do a search on here and see what others say.