The Pampered Pullets Farm
2012
Should I Worm My Chickens?
Chickens peck the ground and just about anything else. Parasites live in the dirt and just about everywhere else. Therefore, the chances of you having to worm your chickens at some point are pretty great. How to go about this can stir up some great debate.
You will need to worm your birds if they are over 6 months old and have been on dirt. If your bird has an unknown worming history. If your bird has not been wormed in 9 months. If you see any worms in the fecal matter or if you are experiencing low feed to weight conversion.
What works for us is this; any birds that we raise from chicks, first get wormed at six months of age and then every six months after. Any birds that are brought in are wormed right away and then every six months after. We generally follow a twice a year program as we do not seem to have the problems that others do with worm infestation. Many people will only worm their birds once a year. You have to establish what works best for you and your area.
Our first worming is always done with Wazine at a rate of 2 tablespoons per gallon of water. This is given to the birds as their only source of water for 24 hours. After the 24 hours, they then go back to drinking plain water. This is followed up two weeks later with Ivermectin placed on the skin at the back of their neck at a rate of 6 drops per full size bird and accordingly less per smaller size birds. So you ask why the double worming? Wazine 17% is a milder wormer that will only kill round worms and nodular worms. Ivermectin Pour On is a broad spectrum anti-parasitic that will kill everything. If your bird happens to be heavily infested with worms and you only used the Wazine, you would not kill them all. If you only used the Ivermectin, then when all the worms die, it can flood the birds system with too much foreign protein and you risk killing your bird. But after the initial worming with Wazine, then you can use just the Ivermectin at each worming after that. On rare occasions we will find that we have to worm our birds at closer intervals. With each worming we use a ten day withdrawal time of the eggs. Many people do not do this with the thinking that if they eat the eggs then they too will be rid of any parasites.
There are many different anti-parasitic medications out there and people all have their different preferences. There is Fenbendazole that is sold under the trade name of Safe Guard or Panacur. This is a paste that you give the bird a bb size piece to eat. There is also Levamisole and Tramisol. There is the more natural route of giving your birds apple cider vinegar, red pepper flakes or Diatomacious Earth. It is all in the way that you wish to raise your birds. We have found that the pepper flakes and the Diatomacious Earth are fine for a maintenance program but neither, in our opinion, does enough to clear the system of all parasites. Which ever route you choose to follow is up to you. But birds are very susceptible to worms and parasites so it is in your best interest, as well as your birds, to get them on a worming maintenance program and stick with it. You and your birds will be happier because you did.