Poorly chicken

[Leicester_H]

Hi

I have 2 bully (don't ask!!!) hens in dog crates in the Utility room at present - they run around the garden with the others under supervision each afternoon.

I have just started worming them all with Flubenvet (they've had it before) and these 2 seem quieter than usual and 1 is possibly a *little* hunched - others seem fine.

I seem to recall that worming can 'take it out of them' (but can't find the thread) - is this correct ?

Thanks in advance, H

[Beantree]

If they had an extremely high worm burden the toxins given off when so many worms die can poison them. That's pretty unusual, although I have read of a few cases where the chickens actually died. So it is possible they are a bit under the weather initially, as that's when the worms die. The remainder of the course is to kill any hatching from eggs, so they should be fine tomorrow. We have also had occasions where chickens have reacted to the wormer and therefore increased worming frequency from 6 to 4 months.

[Leicester_H]

Hi

Thanks - No evidence of worms - I usually worm them every 3-4 months as a precaution.

 

Edited September 1, 2018 by Leicester_H

[mullethunter]

How long have they been in the crates? Could they just be fed up?

Or if they’re starting to moult while they’re being wormed then I suspect they might feel a bit rubbish.

[The Dogmother]

Could be anything TBH, and I can't say that I have ever had any chooks look under the weather when worming - they do get a bit hacked off due to restricted free ranging though.

They might benefit from some tonic in the water or, if they are being wormed, then some herbal gut conditioner, which will help to calm their tums and restore normal functions

[Lewis]

You may be better getting a flock Fecal Worm Egg Count done instead of working every 3-4 months.

Will be cheaper and stop any resistance building against the wormer.