What do you use for deworming

[bambi]

Hoping someone can lend me advice on a good dewormer that doesn't cost as much as wazene . I think my ladies may have worms I have noticed they are skinner and also a couple of them have
dirty bottoms. I posted on BYC and not much response so here I am asking everyone here for your advice. The hens are 6 months old and free-range with layer pellets which they really don't eat much if any. Thank you for any input.

 

[Beekissed]

This time of year free ranging birds can get rangy looking, hence the term "rangy", meaning they are ranging so much in search of fall vendor that they lose excess fat at times. Mine are looking extremely rangy right now due to a drought we had at the end of summer and into Sept., which reduced the amount of feed they usually find out there in the fall....often they come into winter fat as ticks on just foraged feeds and only a little grain based daily rations.

I wouldn't increase proteins or any other such things that most people advise, as I've found it actually will have the opposite affect than desired. My birds will look thinner when given more protein, so I actually bring the protein levels down towards winter by mixing some oats and a little BOSS into their 16% layer mash. They need a lot of crude fiber in the winter months and oats are good for that.

I don't deworm....used to give garlic now and again but I don't even do that any longer. I've been butchering birds so long now, checking intestines for signs of parasites each time and never finding any that I see no point in it.

If I had a confined flock I may do it, but with free ranging birds I've found they will often find their own deworming agents....one of the most prevalent I've found in their crops and gizzards is what we've always called "saw grass". It's the same type of grass that carnivores will chew on when they need to rid themselves of parasites...I've seen my dogs and also my cats chewing on it. These are tough grasses that have little nutritional value, very high in cellulose, so no real reason for chickens to consume them other than the deworming factor. If you run your finger down one of these blades of grass, it will cut you...and deeply if you aren't careful. Works much the same as folks claim DE works.

Messy butts are not a sign of worms, no matter what some YT channels will tell you. If your birds are 6 mo. old, it's likely they are at POL, which loosens the ol' pucker string quite a bit and they can't pinch off a loaf as well as they can when not laying actively. My granny always said the hens with the messiest butts were the best layers and I would have to agree with that...those are the daily layers of large eggs. The cloaca(vent) will loosen, swell a little, moisten and gape when a hen is in an active, daily laying cycle...this can all lead to poop on the feathers below the vent.

A hen not in active laying cycle or only laying sporadically will not have as loose a vent and usually won't have a messy butt at all. They have a tighter, dryer cloaca.

Most of my 5 mo. old pullets look rangy right now too....you can actually SEE the breastbones on them, no need to even feel of them. I don't ever worry about that....soon that breast will smooth out, look plump and womanly, and they will be ready for mating and laying.

Just give them time....

 

[bambi]

Bee, it is the ones that lay the largest eggs, so now I know.
I thank you for sharing your knowledge with me and everyone else and I will take your advice. I really don't want
to give them anything that is unnecessary. I have had chickens in the past but they did not free-range so this is a new adventure for me and from past experience, this small flock seems to be a much happier group then my past confined hens and may I add I really did not want to spend $69.00

 

[Lazy Gardener]

i love learning new stuff, even if i may never have chik'ns

File that info away for the future! do you envision getting a flock sometime? The primary reason that I got chickens was to improve my gardening! Eggs, entertainment, and meat are merely a beneficial side product. Once you've had home grown eggs, you'll NEVER go back to store bought. Kind of like comparing a home grown, freshly picked bean to the slimy offerings to be had in the cans that line the shelves at the grocer!!!

 

[baymule]

Dried Habanero hot pepper flakes, cures em right up.

100% right! Chickens don’t taste the heat but their intestinal worms sure do. It doesn’t kill worms, but the shock of the hot pepper makes them turn loose and pass out in droppings. I usually scramble some eggs for them, Shell and all. Like Bee said, I don’t bother with worming but if I just need to feel better about it, I use hot pepper.

 

[milkmansdaughter]

I feed mine pumpkins and pumpkin seeds. Mine also free range.

 

[Beekissed]

will chickens eat raw garlic?

If you mix it in with wet feed, it all disappears. Around here they will eat anything that doesn't eat them first.

Using hay and straw around the coop for better footing.....tricky, as it tends to hold in moisture and create an even slicker, more muddy place in the long run. I've found it best to use bark pieces and even cedar or cypress mulch....something that doesn't decompose quickly, or at all, and will mush into and bind with the mud so as to let it dry out when there is no rain/snow but still give good traction when it's wet.

If you just use it thicker, it will still be mushy to walk upon and, if you are on a slight slope like me, can go out from under your feet at a crucial moment....like when carrying a heavy bucket of water. I've used both in the past but now avoid using hay, straw or leaves in areas that I want traction but no added moisture and mud.

Right now I have huge pieces of bark around the coop in the high traffic areas and also in the sheep pen at the same places. They sink into the mud but allow it to dry out as they don't cover it completely like hay, straw and leaves tend to do. Easier to trip over them, but they do the job better and build a more firm floor on that surface than any of the other materials.

In front of the shed and back porch steps I've taken to using some cypress mulch....best thing I've found to firm up those areas in wet weather.

 

[bambi]

I've never really used a chemical dewormer for chickens, so can't help you much with that. Were you interested in prevention, cures, natural vs. chemical, etc?

I am not sure Bee, they are thin, but they have a good appetite so I am thinking they may have worms, but their droppings do not show signs. Any advice would be much appreciated. Also they are lightweight and you can feel their breast bones. They are energetic but I know animals can hide their sickness well. I would prefer to not use a chemical dewormer. Thank you for any insight you could provide

I feed mine pumpkins and pumpkin seeds. Mine also free-range.

Do you give them pumpkin seeds for prevention or do you use pumpkin seeds for deworming?

 

[Beekissed]

Sounds like you need a good dog at your place, FB!

 

[flowerbug]

Sounds like you need a good dog at your place, FB!

no way. Mom won't ever have a dog again (we had them when i was a kid) nor any other furry animals. i'm glad i get away with keeping worms (some which technically do have little hairs - but i've never told her that lol ). she likes animals to be outside and wild and left alone. i am ok with that.

to counter all the wild stuff that is going on i work on better fencing and to remove hiding places as i can and to encourage other animals which will eat or discourage the others and also learning as much as i can. it's going ok. i like to keep things simple if i can. it's easier on both of us.