Chicken boarders

[Cinnamon]

I have had my walk in run for around 4 years now & my hens are in it 24/7.

 

It is on soil,with a thick layer of Aubiose,& gets emptied about 4 times a year.

 

Of my 6 hens,I have only 1 in lay at the moment. I have lost 2 quite recently, 3 are off the hook as they are elderly,but I am beginning to suspect that we may have a problem with worms.

Naturally,I have wormed them with Flubenvet & do so every few month,& I have also treated them with Ivomec,for mites & lice,which may also kill internal worms.

 

BUT,if they did have a worm, would the eggs (or whatever) still be in the run soil/Aubiose mix?

And how on earth do I get rid of the problem?

 

Generally,when we clear out the run,I sprinkle garden lime once it is dug out,then water this in,then sprinkle Staloslan down,then top up with Aubiose - are these measures enough???

 

Just to reiterate,I am not even sure if they DO have worms - I am just trying to cover all bases here

[Heidi-Hi]

Hi Cinnamon. I've heard that 'parasites' can live in the soil, to which I've been told to dig over a couple times a year (which is what you are doing already anyway). I'm on soil too, so I will be interested in seeing the advice to follow I am interested to know about the aubiose you change 4 times a year. How thick is your layer, and do you just poo pick and rake, and then top up if necessary? I'm struggling at the moment, because even though my run is covered, with the rain we've had (and you propably too, we are not far from each other!) my run is actually wet from rain blowing in. I just can't see my OH going with the 'shower curtain' idea . At the moment I've got chip down, and think if I go over to Aubiose, it will become a slushy mess

[Redwing]

It may be worth sending a poo sample off to Retfords for a worm count to be done

 

Stalosan will help a great deal on the ground

[Cinnamon]

I think I am going to assume that they have a worm & try the best measures I can to eliminate the parasite from them & the soil.

Assume the worse & act accordingly!

 

If I didn't like them being on soil so much,I would consider paving under the run,but they truly love digging in the soil & I think its good for them to do so. Also,paving a round run would be a nightmare

[Cinnamon]

H I am interested to know about the aubiose you change 4 times a year. How thick is your layer, and do you just poo pick and rake, and then top up if necessary?

 

Its deep - about a foot or so,I guess?

I don't poo pick,as it gets absorbed into the Aubiose anyhow,not do I rake as they just kick it up again.

 

My run is covered & keeps fairly dry,but when its very wet we find that it can get flooded from the ground up,as the water table is high here.

I have a few strategically placed Cube & Eglu run covers about the pen to help stop too much rain blowing in, & at least a third of the pen is shielded by a fence & hedge anyhow (see photo in my signature)

[Heidi-Hi]

Mmm, sounds good to me! Back to the drawing board I think, and major persuasion methods

[Roobaloo]

Different parasites have different life cycles...so it's important to know what you're dealing with in order to break the life cycle.

 

For example, many only life in one host, the eggs are passed in the droppings before being collected into the body of the new host. So with this, your problem is the eggs...these are designed to be tough and have been known to be unaffacted by disinfectants and various other chemicals, they also can survive without a host for over a year. Others live on a temporary host, such as worms, flies, beetles, slugs and snails, until they can reach their true host, a hen.

 

Lime is considered to be fairly effective directly on eggs, however, you will never be able to guarantee every egg comes into contact with it, even then it doesn't kill the egg, it just decreases the survival rate. Parasites that use an intermediate host are difficult to control.

 

The most common and apparently most effective solution is pen rotation. Worming every hen then moving them to a new location, on to clean ground whilst liming the old pen, this effectively breaks the cycle. Obviously this isn't practical (or even possible in most cases!!)

 

What's left...? Regular worming and maintaining high hygiene levels....which you're doing already!!

 

I would still be tempted to do a worm count to see just how bad the problem is.

 

Is Flubenvet a flubendazole based product (I'm guessing from the name)? I know there has been some resistance to flubendazole in equine parasites...I don't know if there is any way to test resistance? Is there any other chicken wormers with a different active ingredient, avoiding any drug in the benzimidazole 'family' (they tend to end in "zole")

 

The bottom line seems to be that paving it may make it harder for parasite eggs to 'hide' but it won't eliminate the problem.

 

Sorry I couldn't give you a solution!!

[Cinnamon]

Thought of something else - how would they have picked up worms in the first place?

 

Any new hens are kept separate from my existing girls for 3 weeks, & dosed, as are the old flock,before they are merged.

They never leave the pen,so never have contact with wild bird droppings.

 

So is it even possible that it is worms,I wonder?

 

Just mulling things over,really.

[Roobaloo]

If it is worms, it would depends on what type...as mentioned, they can be passed on by another host such as flies, worms, snails...

 

Some hens are born with parasites, apparently it has been known for some species get into the ovaries and get collected with the egg formation!!

 

Worming doesn't clear a hen completely, it will normally only kill worms of a certain age...so if a hen has worm eggs, immature worms and adult worms, the wormer may only kill the adults...leaving the eggs and immature ones intact. It's generally considered that your control worms, not eradicate them.

 

They're an absolute nightmare.

 

If you're strict with your worming, the likelihood of the problem being caused by worms is fairly low (again, a worm count would help eliminate it as an option!) - perhaps it's the weather??

I don't know enough about chickens to know what else it could be!!

[Cinnamon]

Very helpful,thanks.

 

I think a worm count is about £50, so I am going to hold off that route if I can,& try some more measures myself.

It may be just age with the other hens too,although I would like to see them back up & running before I add any more girls to the flock,which I plan to do this Autumn or next Spring.

[sandyhas3chucks]

no it must be cheaper than that.

I haven't spent that for worm AND bacteria testing?????

you can send a collective poo sample off to be tested.

best to know than keep pondering.

I expect mice ants etc would all carry eggs on there feet if not in their poos???

[Chucky Mama]

I would go for the worm egg count first as you may not have any issue with worms. You could always have a go at doing it yourself.

[Cinnamon]

Ok, er................how???

[Lewis]

Microscope and slide

 

I bought a USB microscope off ebay, ages ago ... theres a sticky about them somewhere clicky

Don't know what magnification you'd need though, think mines 230X.

 

The chickens will always have low numbers of worms, its just you need to keep control of them and keep numbers down