New hens not going into Eglu Go Up

[debbie9946]

Hi Guys, daft question, I have had my girls since august, not sure when they would have been wormed (ex bats) now they have truly settled in I am thinking about worming, how often do you have to do this??

[Chucky Mama]

If you are using Flubenvet you should worm3-4 times a year (7 day course of the medicated feed). The idea is that you assume that your chickens are going to be picking up worm eggs and doing them 3-4times a year will stop the worms getting to the size that will cause clinical symptoms. You can alternatively do worm egg counts at intervals to see whether your chickens are affected. One draw back to this method is obviously expense and getting the timing of sampling correct. There is something called a 'latent period' which is the time between a worm egg being taken in and the worm eggs being shed if faeces. If you get your timing wrong the sample will come back negative despite an infection.

[chicken bark]

I do my hen twice a year with Flubenvet. They have a large area to free range in and they free range all the time so that should help reduce the risk of them picking up worm eggs as Chucky Mama mentioned above.

 

You can also give them food that helps worm them such as pumpkin seeds and carrots.

 

Personally I wouldn't rely on food or preventative methods unless you are sure your hens do not have worms. That is why I use Flubenvet but not quite as much as Chucky Mama for the reasons already mentioned.