Solitary chicken - need advice

[gavclojak]

Hi guys can you help, I have always wormed my girls every 3/4 moths with flubervet and thought that was standard practice, I assumed all hens that free range or have access to dirt would have some worm burden and worming regularly keeps that burden low and hens healthy and I have advised people of that during our rehoming days.

 

I recently replied the above to a question on this forum and a few replies after me contradicted this saying regular worming isn't necessary without a poop test to check for worms???

 

I personally have only every sent one sample away when my new girls came with severe diarrhoea so can you knowledgable guys please clarify, I don't want to give people the wrong advice and I know it's not an exact science and this forum has personal opinions but again I really don't want to give wrong advice.

 

I always mention to new re-homers ivermectin* too...

 

*not licenced for use on poultry

[Blackrocksrock]

Hi, I actually worm every 3 - 4 months too with Flubenvet as my chickens free range all day and also underneath bird feeders and so I am always scared they pick something up from the wild birds - I dont think that is too much if they do free range. When they are moulting I also use Ivermectin (not licenced in poultry) to counteract scaly leg mite and then I dont have an egg withdrawal as they are not laying. I think everyone has their own regime and we stick to it so I doubt there is a hard and fast rule about this.

[Daphne]

It used to be common practice to worm every 6 months, but now many people worm every 3-4 months and this has become a new standard practice. Its certainly what I do, my birds free range, and I know from time to time they do have worms; so for my environment, I wouldn't contemplate leaving it longer. Obviously we all check poo when poo picking, and when you see worms then you know you have a problem! I wouldn't consider sending samples off for checking unless I had some other health problem I wanted to get to the bottom of. As long as the birds are healthy, then no worries. Carry on with your good advice

[Grandmashazzie]

I also worm every 3 months as that was what I was told at chicken school.When I got my 3 posh birds I asked the breeder ad they been wormed and he a breeder of many years said he had never wormed chickens in his life.

[The Dogmother]

It's the same with dogs some people worm regularly, some do faecal worm counts first, same with vaccinations, some do titre tests first.

 

It's down to personal preference, so by all means quote what you find to be effective; it's up to the reader to make up their own mind as to what they feel suits their situation.

 

I worm roughly quarterly, and also use a preventative lice/mite treatment quarterly; I have had problems with both in the past, and like to be sure that they're not plagued by parasites.

[LHawley88]

Maybe i am over worming! We use Verm-X herbal pellets, and usually dose them once a month (as per instructions on the pack)

We do get pink poo, and i thought this might have been due to needing worming, as it somewhat confusingly ties in with the end of the month!

[mullethunter]

The Verm-x pellets don't kill worms so I doubt you can 'over worm' with them. You'd be much better off using Flubanvet less often instead.

[LHawley88]

Thanks mullethunter for your advice

[The Dogmother]

Yes, use a licensed wormer, twice a year is good, but 3-4 times a year if you have a high worm count in your soil, or it used to be agricultural land

[Mar1a]

As someone who is new to chooks, I found a lot of conflicting advice around the net about worming.

 

My girls live in a fixed run, which is covered and on soil. I'd read that I should send samples off, just use verm-x, use verm-x AND flubenvet, don't use anything at all, use flubenvet on its own, and even use just Apple cider vinegar!

 

Because my girls live where they do, I decided to use just flubenvet. They have no access to other birds, other birds can't poo in the run from above. They are currently trying to dig their way to New Zealand and are picking up all sorts of insects from the ground that I don't know about. I plan on doing this every 3-4 months.

 

Far better to err on the side of caution. I also think it is always better to be pro-active instead of reactive.

[The Dogmother]

There's conflicting advice online about almost anything?

 

At the end of the day, it's your decision, and as with all of these things... read the information that's available, and take your pick with what would fit your circumstances.

 

I never waste my money on the herbal stuff, I just worm with Flubenvet quarterly, and treat the soil with Ground Sanitising Powder.

[mullethunter]

Snap

[Lewis]

We regularly use Ground Sanitising Powder and used to worm 3 or 4 times a year with Flubenvet but mine haven't been wormed for over a year now.

 

Personally I think worming every 3 months is overkill and can lead to resistance, admittedly more of a problem in horses and cattle/sheep, so I would choose to send a flock sample for Fecal Worm Egg Count and adjust worming regime accordingly.