Poo help please!

[GillC]

I have vermex which I give to my chooks periodically (perhaps not as regularly as I should). Having read the forums, Flubenvet seems the medicine of choice so I got some from my vet and have treated my little flock of 6 - 3 oldies and 3 ex-batts.

 

I weighed and mixed the powder in with the pellets very carefully. I have been peering in the poo trays very carefully each day. Today (day 4) I have spotted one dead worm.

 

My question is - should I be seeing more worms? My hens free range every day over grass. Could that be causing them to eat less and maybe not get the correct amount of flubenvet?

 

I would have thought that I'd either see no worms at all, or lots and lots of worms.

 

Am I worrying unnecessarily? Could it be that my Vermex regime was pretty much doing the trick (although I think not as one worm is still one worm).

[mostin]

I treat my flock with flubenvet 3 or 4 times a year. i rarely see any worms in their poo afterwards but egg production always increases after, so I know there has been an effect.

 

Not all worms are big, regular treatment means that some they are carrying are only microscopic, but are still having an effect. These will be being got rid of by the flubenvet, but you won't be able to see them.

 

Only in really badly worm infested chickens will you see loads of worms in the poo after treatment, so see it as a positive sign that you are not seeing more, you have been a good chook mummy and are keeping on top of things .

[Chucky Mama]

You don't always see worms come away when they have worms. They sometimes die and are absorbed so to speak. You were obviously very wise to use Flubenvet and I woud advise using it every 3-4 months as you don't always see worms in poo if your chickens are infected.

[Christian]

I only saw worms the first time I treated my hens. Routinely do it every 4 months or so now and haven't seen any worms since.

[Snowy]

If I understand this correctly - your hens are free ranging as well as receiving flubenvet treated pellets?

If so, they need to be restricted for the whole of the course. I keep mine confined to their run for 7 days so that they can only eat the treated pellets and nothing else. Otherwise, yes they will leave their pellets in favour of grass/bugs so will not be getting the correct dose. Having said that, I have never seen any sign of worms in my hen's poo after worming

[Egluntyne]

Some worms are microscopically small and wouldn't be easily spotted with the naked eye.

 

i haven't been able to eat beansprouts since the first time I wormed my hens with Flubenvet .

[GillC]

Thanks for the advice. That puts my mind at rest. I hadn't thought about microscopic worms. I'd read the Chicken health>Flubenvet topic with interest, but although the text mentioned all the worm types, the autopsy pic showed the large ones and I got a bit fixated on those. Egg production is a bit low at the moment so I'm hoping to see an improvement.

 

Oddly enough, I still enjoy beansprouts