Worms!

[Holtstead15]

Help! Over the weekend, I discovered round worms when I was doing the a.m. cleaning of one of the coops. The coops are cleaned regularly but I removed all pine shavings, dusted heavily with food grade DE, and added some Safeguard (fenbendazole) to the feed. I also added ACV to the water. Safeguard was the only item available when I visited the store. I didn't see any more until this morning when I cleaned. What do I need to do?

 

[coach723]

Roundworms are very easy to pick up from the ground when they are scratching around and pecking. The eggs survive a very long time in the environment, and reinfection is common. Sometimes after worming with safeguard you will see dead or dying worms expelled. The only way safeguard is effective in feed is explained here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/safeguard-mash-zero-day-egg-withdrawal.1254653/
This method is usually used if someone wants to avoid egg withdrawl. Personally I think it's best to dose each bird individually, to make sure that they get the correct dose. Oral syringes are available at many feed stores, tractor supply, and most pharmacy's if you ask. If you have never given medication orally, this is a good article:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/Dose for Safeguard liquid goat wormer is .23ml per pound of bird weight (a digital kitchen scale works well). For roundworms you can dose once and then repeat in 10 days, or if you want to cover the bases for most common worms, you can dose 5 days in a row. Not knowing how you dosed, I can't say if they got enough or not, but I would be sceptical. Under dosing can breed parasites that are resistant to the medications.
DE is ineffective for internal parasites, I wouldn't use it. The eggs in the environment are very hard to get rid of. Keep droppings cleaned up as well as possible, keep feeders and waterers clean, and treat as necessary. With roundworms I treat the whole flock, since if one has them then they all have been exposed and it's not really cost effective to get a fecal on each individual bird.

 

[Holtstead15]

Roundworms are very easy to pick up from the ground when they are scratching around and pecking. The eggs survive a very long time in the environment, and reinfection is common. Sometimes after worming with safeguard you will see dead or dying worms expelled. The only way safeguard is effective in feed is explained here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/safeguard-mash-zero-day-egg-withdrawal.1254653/
This method is usually used if someone wants to avoid egg withdrawl. Personally I think it's best to dose each bird individually, to make sure that they get the correct dose. Oral syringes are available at many feed stores, tractor supply, and most pharmacy's if you ask. If you have never given medication orally, this is a good article:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/Dose for Safeguard liquid goat wormer is .23ml per pound of bird weight (a digital kitchen scale works well). For roundworms you can dose once and then repeat in 10 days, or if you want to cover the bases for most common worms, you can dose 5 days in a row. Not knowing how you dosed, I can't say if they got enough or not, but I would be sceptical. Under dosing can breed parasites that are resistant to the medications.
DE is ineffective for internal parasites, I wouldn't use it. The eggs in the environment are very hard to get rid of. Keep droppings cleaned up as well as possible, keep feeders and waterers clean, and treat as necessary. With roundworms I treat the whole flock, since if one has them then they all have been exposed and it's not really cost effective to get a fecal on each individual bird.

Thanks so very much for taking the time to help and provide me such helpful information. Can the liquid safeguard for goats also be added to the water source ? If so, any concerns when it comes to eating the eggs?

 

[coach723]

It will not mix with water it will settle out. It has to be given orally. (There is a safeguard that can be added to water, it's called Safeguard Aquasol and it's VERY expensive. I've never used it due to the cost and the enormous bottle you have to buy, https://www.qcsupply.com/safeguard-aquasol-poultry.html). How many birds do you have? I do this every 3 or 4 months with about 2 dozen birds, so it's doable, not that bad once you get used to it. Most recommendations for egg withdrawl are two weeks. I'm not suggesting you do so, but many ignore that and continue to eat the eggs. Do what you feel is best for your family, if you sell eggs then I wouldn't sell during the withdrawl period. Fenbendazole is used in humans too, the risk would be someone being allergic/having a reaction. Most medications are used off label for chickens since not enough (or in some cases no) studies have been done. Safeguard and Valbazen are very commonly used in chickens off label.
I lock my birds in the coop the night before treatment. I go out before sun up and take them off the roosts one at a time and dose them. Just open the beak, put the dose in .5ml at a time and let them swallow, repeat til the whole dose is given. For any that freak out, you can wrap them in a towel to hold their wings. Once dosed I put them in the run. When the coop is empty I know I've dosed everyone. I use the same time to give them each a quick going over for any health issues and trim any claws or spurs that may need it, since I've already got them in hand.