# Turns out it's a really good idea to worm chickens



## brettz (Jun 21, 2013)

I grew up on a horse farm so all of our other animals were just sort of "accessory" animals. We wormed our horses on a 3-month rotation but I don't think it ever crossed our minds to worm our chickens. And we had healthy birds. They had a large coop and run and free-ranged much of the time. I don't have any memory of our chickens getting sick or dropped dead unexpectedly and many of our hens lived to the ripe old age of ten years old (we had a turkey who was 8 and finally arthritis claimed her). But, I've had chickens as an adult now for two years and it's been a battle. Granted, I got most of them as adults from two different people and I have since learned what a bad move that was since I have no idea what they were exposed to before coming to our farm. It's been a steep learning curve trying to fix constantly sick chickens. My cabinets are full of every kind of medicine and I know way more about poultry health than I did when I was a kid. But, finally, I think I may have hit the nail on the head with the worming. I crept out to the coop at 5am a few days ago and gave 30 chickens individual doses of Valbazen. I have one broody hen and I pulled her off her eggs today to force her to get out and run around and take one of those big gross broody poops outside of her nest. I poked around her poop with a stick and found almost a dozen round worms. Granted, this is probably her first or second poop since being wormed 48 hours ago so they had piled up but there were loads! I assume most (all) of you are seasoned in poultry husbandry but I can't believe how long it took me to know they need worming, just like horses obviously. I'm excited to see how this affects my flock. I plan on dosing them again ten days after the first dose to knock everything dead. I imagine if their wormload is as high as it appears this could be what's been killing my hens as of late (lost a few last month and did not know why - they seemed healthy until they weren't). 

Anyway, I appreciate the advice I get in this forum. Thanks to everyone who contributes. My knowledge is really limited to horses so I'm trying to learn everything I can about properly caring for all the other feathered and hooved critters around here and not taking childhood "knowledge" for more than it's worth.


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## CAjerseychick (Aug 11, 2013)

Newbie here(havent wormed in 2 years) but how do you know when chickens need to be wormed, if they are healthy lay well and free range, never a sick day in their lives (we got ours as day old chicks)....

There is a debate around whether rotational worming cause increased resistance to the worm medication leaving you with little recourse when you eventually really do need it (does sound like your broody needed it, but how did you know- need info here!)

Also am thinking is that the issue is not that worms get into eggs but it effects production?...


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## shepmom (May 29, 2003)

Interesting. We've had chickens and ducks for about 10 years and never wormed any of them. I'll check my chicken book in a little while and see if I can share anything from that.



brettz said:


> I grew up on a horse farm so all of our other
> animals were just sort of "accessory" animals. We wormed our horses on a 3-month rotation but I don't think it ever crossed our minds to worm our chickens. And we had healthy birds. They had a large coop and run and free-ranged much of the time. I don't have any memory of our chickens getting sick or dropped dead unexpectedly and many of our hens lived to the ripe old age of ten years old (we had a turkey who was 8 and finally arthritis claimed her). But, I've had chickens as an adult now for two years and it's been a battle. Granted, I got most of them as adults from two different people and I have since learned what a bad move that was since I have no idea what they were exposed to before coming to our farm. It's been a steep learning curve trying to fix constantly sick chickens. My cabinets are full of every kind of medicine and I know way more about poultry health than I did when I was a kid. But, finally, I think I may have hit the nail on the head with the worming. I crept out to the coop at 5am a few days ago and gave 30 chickens individual doses of Valbazen. I have one broody hen and I pulled her off her eggs today to force her to get out and run around and take one of those big gross broody poops outside of her nest. I poked around her poop with a stick and found almost a dozen round worms. Granted, this is probably her first or second poop since being wormed 48 hours ago so they had piled up but there were loads! I assume most (all) of you are seasoned in poultry husbandry but I can't believe how long it took me to know they need worming, just like horses obviously. I'm excited to see how this affects my flock. I plan on dosing them again ten days after the first dose to knock everything dead. I imagine if their wormload is as high as it appears this could be what's been killing my hens as of late (lost a few last month and did not know why - they seemed healthy until they weren't).
> 
> Anyway, I appreciate the advice I get in this forum. Thanks to everyone who contributes. My knowledge is really limited to horses so I'm trying to learn everything I can about properly caring for all the other feathered and hooved critters around here and not taking childhood "knowledge" for more than it's worth.


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## shepmom (May 29, 2003)

Mind isn't like it use to be...just checked the sticky on this forum regarding diseases and such. Good article right there. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm015


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## brettz (Jun 21, 2013)

I was actually trying to avoid worming for a long time. I try to keep them on a pretty natural routine and prefer to avoid chemicals when possible. But, when I started losing chickens without any heads up or visible sickness I wanted to try worming and it seems to be effective based on the worms in the stool. I totally agree that there is a problem with us over-medicating (not just our animals but ourselves) and creating parasites and bacteria that are resistant to drugs. However, I know there are plenty of people who swear by worming on a schedule as well. It sounds counterintuitive but, from what I've read, free-ranging chickens are actually more susceptible to worms than penned birds. I hope that's wrong but multiple sources recommended more frequent workings if you pasture your birds. 

I finally decided to do it because I was tired of guessing at solutions. I put apple cider vinegar in their water, I dust their coop with DE, and I am working on expanding their run to include a 3/4 acre pasture. But the last bird I lost just got progressively weak, lost use of her legs and a blood test ruled out Marek's so my only thought was that she had a heavy worm load since I've heard that worms can cause waterfowl to go off their legs so maybe chickens too?

I think it's a personal choice to use chemical wormers. I resisted for a long time but want to see what effect this has on my gals because I just want the dang things to be healthy and happy. If I see a marked improvement in egg production and general health I will definitely report back.

And, worms do cause a decrease in egg production as well and weight loss. I felt like my hens were underweight even though I feed them all they can eat. And I've heard that every once in a while I worm can sneak up the oviduct and an egg can form around it and, since we sell our eggs, I wanted to avoid that


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## CAjerseychick (Aug 11, 2013)

interesting article, and good to know re: the clinical signs- weight loss unthriftyness poor production, death from not obvious causes.....


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## crazyfarm (Oct 29, 2013)

Why thank you for that. I will be worming immediately. So gross.


brettz said:


> I was actually trying to avoid worming for a long time. I try to keep them on a pretty natural routine and prefer to avoid chemicals when possible. But, when I started losing chickens without any heads up or visible sickness I wanted to try worming and it seems to be effective based on the worms in the stool. I totally agree that there is a problem with us over-medicating (not just our animals but ourselves) and creating parasites and bacteria that are resistant to drugs. However, I know there are plenty of people who swear by worming on a schedule as well. It sounds counterintuitive but, from what I've read, free-ranging chickens are actually more susceptible to worms than penned birds. I hope that's wrong but multiple sources recommended more frequent workings if you pasture your birds.
> 
> I finally decided to do it because I was tired of guessing at solutions. I put apple cider vinegar in their water, I dust their coop with DE, and I am working on expanding their run to include a 3/4 acre pasture. But the last bird I lost just got progressively weak, lost use of her legs and a blood test ruled out Marek's so my only thought was that she had a heavy worm load since I've heard that worms can cause waterfowl to go off their legs so maybe chickens too?
> 
> ...


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## brettz (Jun 21, 2013)

If you are worming for the first time (as I was) I read that Valbazen is the best choice because it kills the worms over a 2-5 day period rather than all at once. Therefore if you have a heavy wormload you don't accidentally kill your chickens with toxicity of all those dead worms in their system. Then you can re-dose with the same, or a stronger wormer, in ten days. Valbazen is not technically approved for poultry but I've heard very mixed reviews about Wazine, which is the only poultry-approved wormer in the US. It's a 500ml bottle so it's a lot for chickens but can also be used for goats, sheep, and cows. The dose I gave my chickens was 1/2cc (1/4cc for the littles) and I did it orally rather than putting it in their water. I found the best thing was to creep out there in the early morning with a flashlight so I could get them off the perch or at least blind them on the ground with a flashlight to catch them. I also took that time to dust them for mites so I could get the most bang for my buck at 5am and before coffee.


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## Dazlin (Nov 26, 2007)

I also worm my horses every 8 weeks with rotational doses. I recently wormed my chickens after seeing 2 long white worms in bloody poop. So, they say some bloody poop is normal , as they shed intestinal lining every so many poops. I really don't know about that. Anyway, I wormed with Wazine, and followed with Ivermectin after 2 weeks. All I can say, is these hens were good layers before...but now...there belting them out! I will worm regularly, but most likely during a molt when laying is not at peak. I hated the wasted eggs...although, I fed them back to them, shells and all.


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## aart (Oct 20, 2012)

Dazlin said:


> I also worm my horses every 8 weeks with rotational doses. I recently wormed my chickens after seeing 2 long white worms in bloody poop. So, they say some bloody poop is normal , as they shed intestinal lining every so many poops. I really don't know about that. Anyway, I wormed with Wazine, and followed with Ivermectin after 2 weeks. All I can say, is these hens were good layers before...but now...there belting them out! I will worm regularly, but most likely during a molt when laying is not at peak. I hated the wasted eggs..._*although, I fed them back to them, shells and all*_.


 Doesn't that just reintroduce the chemical into their systems, restarting your withdrawal period?


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## Dazlin (Nov 26, 2007)

Aart...I have heard that, and have considered the possibility, but I would say, as time goes on after the initial dose the amount of any chemical in their system would be greatly diminished. I also, did not sell any eggs for about a month. There is also quite a debate on whether a wormer actually enters an egg. Seems there was some research done by poultry professors, that say it does not enter the eggs. Either way, I'm not convinced what is true, so I don't eat the eggs. If I find the site, I'll post it. I can't remember right now, but maybe I read it on Backyard Chickens.


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