Is my pekin bantam male or female?

[L Marques]

Hi everyone ,i got some Flubenvet yesterday for the first time as i was worried about my two pekins as i have had them since september last year and have never given them anything at all.They are just fine though.but one of the girls now is in the nest hatching eggs,there is gonna be chicks orray,so i don`t know exactly how to go about doing the Flubenvet.Any sugestions?

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Assuming you have the little pot of Flub intended for hobby keepers rather than the industrial type?

 

Measure out a 2kg batch of pellets....add a scoop of flub to a handful or so of the pellets...mix it thoroughly...add more pellets...mix...add again...mix....until all the pellets are evenly covered..then fed ad lib as normal. Mix up a fresh 2kg batch as needed until the 7 day dosing period is over....do not fed treats or the flub will be "diluted"

 

I used to mix up a batch of pellets for ad lib feeding, and a batch of mash which they think is a treat when mixed with water.

 

Now my flock is so much bigger, I tend to buy sacks of Marriages pellets which are already treated...so much easier than measuring the 20-30kg I need!

 

How long has the broody got to go? If she has more than a week, then I'd say treat them now so the bubbas arrive after the treated food is finished....once they arrive, mama hen can eat their chick crumb....

 

Good luck,

 

 

Sha xx

[L Marques]

Thanks for reply ,and sorry about this but i don`t know what "ad lib" means.So sorry i am new at this.

[Goldie]

I usually estimate how many pellets I'd use for the week, put them in a separate bucket to make sure I use them first.

I measure out the right amount of Flubenvet using the scoop, but I find it sticks better to the pellets when I've mixed it up in a dash of oil.

Then I can pour on the mixture of flubenvet and oil, it will coat the pellets rather than fly around or settle at the bottom. The extra oil never hurts either

P.s. Ad lib means as much as they want.

[L Marques]

Thank you. absolutely cluless about these things.

[Princess Leia]

Don't want to hijack the thread, but...

 

We've never had to worm our girls since we had them almost two years ago - there's never been any obvious signs of them. Should it be done whether or not they have worms? If so, how often? Where's the best place to obtain Flubenvet (I've never seen any in local shops that supply poultry feed, etc).

[Egghead68]

Yes it should be done regularly (I do every 4-6 months). You can buy 60g flubenvet on the Internet for about a tenner.

[atsw]

You can get it from a number of on-line suppliers. It comes in 'domestic' and 'industrial' strength. Do a Google Search for comparisons and more information about the product.

 

Amazon has a number of suppliers (see http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flubenvet-1-Medicated-Premixture-60g/dp/B004P9NMKM)

 

I have a flock of 8 hens. I give them a course of medicated pellets once every three months regardless of any outward signs of infection.

 

Regards

 

Andrew

[L Marques]

A tenner? oh boy i payd £26 for a 60g tub from the nursery where i bought the pekins from was i riiped off do you think?He told me i should do it every 6 months.

[atsw]

Prices do vary across the different online suppliers. Do remember to watch out for the P&P charges, some suppliers add as much as £5.00 for postage.

[L Marques]

My mother had chickens all her life still does and i never known her to give her chickens anything either than their feed and they are out free raging everyday.i am only doing it cause everyboby here are doing it and i would feel very guilty if my poor chicks were to fall ill or die.and i woud`nt have known any better about all this had i not come into this forum and read about it.

[merlina]

I'm not an expert, but i would say you only need to worm if your birds have been somewhere they could get worms from.

Most of us have hens that FR, so have a very good chance of picking up worms from eating snails, ground contaminated by wild birds etc etc.

If you have the kind of set-up I saw the other day (hens in permanent run on slabs/covered from wild birds etc), then you probably need to worm less often if at all.

 

I didn't know about worming till I came here either - but the first time I did it, my birds looked a *lot* healthier and happier afterwards (they hadn't looked 'ill' before) so I'm a bit of a convert.

If you're concerned about unecessary medication then you can get their poo tested for worms. But Flubenvet is very very low toxicity, so personally, I'm doing mine semi-regularly (every 4-5 months ish)

[charly1979]

To be honest my mum has never wormed her girls but my dad said the other day he thinks she ought to, I think I will get her a bag of the pre treated pellets as a thankyou for having my girls over easter.

 

When I have used the powder I definitely find mixing some olive oil or cod liver oil (aprarently really good for winterising them ) helps and my girls seem to enjoy it, I do find the first day its given I get the 'what on earth are you feeding us !' noises but when they realise there isn't anything else they give in eat (just as bad as my kids who also get nowhere by protesting you eat whats dished up in our house)

[dutchie]

I feel I should point out there are many chicken keepers who don't regularly worm using Flubenvet, and use only the natural methods.

 

I also read a few research papers which say that an animal without worms is not an ideal to strive for at any cost because they can then not develop resistance and are therefore more vulnerable when exposed to a parasite.

[The Dogmother]

dutchie.... the idea of worming poultry (as with cats and dogs) is not to eradicate worms as this is impossible; rather to reduce the worm load to manageable levels so that the health of your flock isn't compromised.

 

The most usual advice is to worm every quarter using Flubenvet, which is the only licensed and proven poultry wormer in the UK. If you can only manage every 6 months than that's fine. Some ground has a higher worm egg count than other areas, so worming would therefore need to be followed more carefully, the signs (or lack) of worms in their droppings is no good indication of whether they have worms as many asre invisible to the naked eye, although if you see worms in the poo, then it is likely that they have a very heavy infestation. In this case, your vet would recommend worming twice, 3 weeks apart.

 

Mine are treated every quarter using pre-medicated pellets as Sha has mentioned above. The flock at work is kept on agricultural land, and they are very careful to get the soil tested regularly and to worm assiduously.

[dutchie]

Dogmother,

 

I am pointing out that there are many chicken keepers who don't regularly worm using Flubenvet, and use only natural methods to keep worm load to manageable levels, with success.

 

Just because you feel you must use Flubenvet does not mean everyone else who doesn't do so is wrong...

[The Dogmother]

Dogmother,

 

I am pointing out that there are many chicken keepers who don't regularly worm using Flubenvet, and use only natural methods to keep worm load to manageable levels, with success.

 

Just because you feel you must use Flubenvet does not mean everyone else who doesn't do so is wrong...

 

I wasn't suggesting that at all dutchie, although it is usually recommended to double up every now and then with a licensed wormer to be safe.

 

I was answering your point about not worming at all, and the OP's post asking about Flubenvet, I don't believe that I mentioned 'natural methods' at all; I was merely passing on veterinary advice that Flubenvet is the only wormer licensed for use on poultry in the UK.

 

Of course, it's your choice to decide what you use.