# Deworming chickens



## Henry/pecky the chicken (Dec 22, 2021)

So sadly today I saw my chicken pass handful of round worms(my guess from google pictures). Im sad to say deworming never came to mind when rescuing the chickens. Feel awful if its been going on until i saw this. I did run down and got wrm clear drops feed store suggested to put in their water will do that until things clear up. My main question is Should I be deworming the chickens regularly? Like should i do it every 3 months or so


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I think @dawg does his monthly. I didn't worm unless I saw it needed to be done which was rarely over the years. 

His recommendation is usually valbazen but you'll need to talk to him about how much since my brain doesn't remember. 

Don't feel bad. It's why after so many years of keeping them everyone of us continues to learn something new about them.


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

robin416 said:


> I think @dawg does his monthly. I didn't worm unless I saw it needed to be done which was rarely over the years.
> 
> His recommendation is usually valbazen but you'll need to talk to him about how much since my brain doesn't remember.
> 
> Don't feel bad. It's why after so many years of keeping them everyone of us continues to learn something new about them.


This year seems to be a little worse, mites too.


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## Henry/pecky the chicken (Dec 22, 2021)

When reading on valbazen it sounds way better and easier to administer to the chickens. Thankyou so much Im going to try that next time. I dont know if i can switch to it soon after using the water dropps. May I ask when doing de worming do we not eat the eggs until treatment is finished.


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## Lillith (10 mo ago)

I don't de-worm unless I see worm overload. Lots of people do it twice a year, though, or more if they see a problem. It's up to you.

Here is a link to an article detailing a bunch of different de-wormers and their withdrawal times (if any). 









Control & Treatment of Worms in Chickens | The Chicken Chick®


Whether, when and how to deworm backyard chickens are difficult questions for the average chicken keeper to answer. To a large extent, the answers are a matter of personal philosophy, but how does one form a philosophy without a degree in poultry medicine? Most of us really just want the basics: ...




the-chicken-chick.com


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Dont go by the information provided in that link, there's some misinformation in it. 

I recommend Valbazen as Robin stated. Dose each bird 1/2ml orally using a syringe without a needle, then repeat again in 10 days. Mixing wormers in water isnt very effective. You dont know if a bird drank enough of the mixture to be effective, or if a bird drank it at all, and sick birds wont drink at all.

Valbazen (Albendazole) is a Benzimidazole. Benzimidazoles are poorly absorbed and mostly excreted. We eat the eggs after using Valbazen or Safeguard (Fenbendazole). I'm still here typing after all these years.
However, if you suspect that you or a family member might have a reaction to the minute residue in the eggs, by all means toss the eggs in the garbage for 14 days after the last dosing.

Here's how you worm all your birds:
Go out to the coop with your flashlight early in the morning while it's still dark. It'll be easy to snatch a bird off the roost and worm it. Have your syringe preloaded 1/2ml Valbazen. If you have a heavy bird, dose 3/4ml.
Snatch a bird off the roost and cradle her in your forearm. Use your finger and thumb to pull straight down on her wattles and her mouth will open. 
Use your free hand to grab the preloaded syringe and quickly squirt the liquid in the hens mouth. IMMEDIATELY let go of the hens wattles so she can swallow the liquid on her own. If you dont immediately let go of the wattles, she could aspirate and then there would be big problems.
Then release her. Draw up another 1/2ml Valbazen, snatch another bird off the roost and repeat this procedure until they are all wormed.

I recommend that you practice this procedure, a 'dry run' so to speak to make it easier for you. Also, you can have someone hold the hen for you if you wish, but you would still have to pull the wattles straight down in order to dose her.
The key is always letting go of the wattles after dosing orally. Also, sometimes a hen will shake her head while grabbing the wattles, hang on and she will tire out, then you can administer it orally.

Keep in mind the reason why you want to worm birds early in the morning: Not only is it easier, your birds have not eaten since the evening before and will have empty guts. Your birds will be starving, so will the worms and they will be at their weakest. This will make the wormer more effective eliminating the worms.
In addition, Valbazen is a very safe wormer. It slowly kills worms over several days, preventing toxic dead worm overload.

Then wait 2 hours after worming before feeding your birds. After two hours, give your birds a little feed at a time, gradually increasing rations back to normal feeding throughout the day.
Remember, your birds will be starving. They will gorge feed possibly causing impacted crop or gizzard. 

Then repeat worming again in 10-14 days to kill worms hatched from eggs missed during the initial worming. Wormers have no effect on worm eggs.

Your soil will be contaminated with worm eggs. Since birds constantly peck the soil, they pick up the eggs and swallow them, starting the worms lifecycle all over again. This is called the "Direct Lifecycle."
This is why I worm birds monthly, to end the worms lifecycle. Also penned birds are more susceptible for worm infections. This is why I have sand in my pens and coops. Sand keeps everything dry and deters insects.

Anyone who says a chicken can handle a small wormload doesnt know what they are talking about.
What's a small wormload? ONE female large roundworm lays thousands of eggs onto the soil each day to be picked up by the chickens. There is no immunity to worms. That's why we worms dogs and cats monthly, same for chickens.

What damage has been done internally by the time you see a worm when it's excreted? There are only two reasons why a worm is excreted: There isnt anymore room in the guts and was excreted. Or, it died of old age. Worms cannot survive outside the host. Intestinal wall damage has occurred preventing proper absorption of nutrients. They literally suck the life out of a bird.
Worms weaken birds by starvation, which makes birds susceptible to all kinds of diseases.

Capillary worms in particular are killers just by their sheer numbers.
Tapeworms are a different ball game and require praziquantel to kill them.
Valbazen takes care of all worms except tapeworms, same with Safeguard. However, Safeguard requires higher dosage and 5 days straight dosing each bird.


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## Henry/pecky the chicken (Dec 22, 2021)

I will deffinatly switch over to the de wrm u suggested. It feels better doing that method since you know the hens got a correct dosage. Only thing that conserns me is when reading your comment n even online. Stated they loose weight n hardly eat. My chickens have no problem eating and drinking. I know i saw her drink some of the medicated water. But conserns me if differebt worm. Dont know if okay ill upload icky picture of the worms i saw. But i assume 2 hens were overeating to compinsate all nutrients veing eaten from worms why she looks over weight nut could be her breed


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

That's bad. I have never seen that many at one time. I would use the Valbazen now.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Yeah, I'd say she has a bellyful of worms.


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## Henry/pecky the chicken (Dec 22, 2021)

Im so saaad to hear that. Will she be okay? Thats truly terrifying to know the infestation is that bad


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Worm her with Valbazen and the rest of your birds as well. If one has them, chances are that the others have worms as well.
After you worm them, give them plain boiled white rice (cooled down) mixed with buttermilk. The rice will settle their innards and buttermilk will coat their innards and is a much better probiotic than yogurt. Yogurt tends to run out the rear end.


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## Henry/pecky the chicken (Dec 22, 2021)

Do you buy the valbazan online if not at my stores here? They are all closed itd 6:49 here. Will deffinatly go tomorrow and get buttermilk do the rice steps also. I think i found the medication online


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## Henry/pecky the chicken (Dec 22, 2021)

Is their anything i could purchase or also do to treat the backyard for this?


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Here's where you can get Valbazen 500ml bottle:





Valbazen Drench Zoetis Animal Health - Non-Ivermectin | Cattle Dewormers | Farm


Free Shipping. 500 ml $49.99 11.36% Albendazole for removal and control of liver flukes, tapeworms, stomach worms (including 4th stage inhibited larvae of Ostertagia), intestinal worms and lungworms in cattle and sheep. For treatment of adult liver flukes in nonlactating goats. Do not use in the...




www.valleyvet.com












Valbazen Broad Spectrum Dewormer - Jeffers Pet | Pet Supplies, Horse Supplies, Farm Supplies & Pharmacy


Valbazen (11.36% Albendazole) is a broad spectrum drench dewormer for cattle, sheep, and goats for the control of adult liver flukes, tapeworms, stomach worms, intestinal worms, lungworms, and more.




www.jefferspet.com


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Henry/pecky the chicken said:


> Is their anything i could purchase or also do to treat the backyard for this?


Unfortunately, no.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

HP, Valbazen is available at your feed store in the horse medication aisle.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

I've seen Valbazen at our TSC on occasion and a local feed store. It doesnt stay on the shelf long though. Same for the Safeguard liquid goat wormer and Levamisole soluble powder.


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## 4windhounds (8 mo ago)

Deworming:








Organic Chicken De-Worming and Prevention | Purely Poultry Blog


Looking for a natural and organic way to deworm your chickens? Here are the tricks we use to treat worms in our flock of laying hens to keep them healthy and happy.




www.purelypoultry.com




.








9 Natural De-Worming Plants for Backyard Chickens - Hobby Farms


Take preventative measures to keep your chickens free of worms by growing and feeding them these natural deworming plants.




www.hobbyfarms.com












Natural Chicken Wormers | Pumpkin, Garlic + Nasturtium


Pumpkins and other members of the cucurbitaceae family, garlic and other foods are thought to be natural way to worm chickens and other animals.




www.fresheggsdaily.blog












How to worm chickens - Backyard chicken keeping tips & tricks |


Unfortunately worms are part and parcel of chicken ownership. Simply, chickens catch worms from something they have eaten. Whether that be infested droppings from another chook or bird, or an insect carrying eggs. Prevention is definitely easier than cure, worms zap chickens of nutrients as well...




www.thegoodlifebackyard.com.au












4 Ways to Worm Chickens - wikiHow


Chickens are prone to contracting parasitic worms, such as gapeworms, roundworms, and tapeworms. Although not all species of worms are damaging to the chicken's system, others can cause weight loss, poor egg production, and even death....




www.wikihow.com




And many You Tubes!


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

4windhounds said:


> Deworming:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I can assure you that natural products will not prevent nor treat worms, been that route a very very long time ago. New chicken owners always go the natural route and have to learn the hard way, I was no exception. DE is a waste of money. It's best known for draining your wallet or purse. But it's your money to spend.
I agree that feces should be tested at a vets office for worms eggs prior to worming. I dont do that because I know through experience that chickens are going to get worms just like other animals. Besides, a bottle of Valbazen or a bottle of Safeguard liquid goat wormer is cheaper than a visit to a vets office.
Flubenvet/Flubendazole is not available in the United States. It's a good wormer only available in Great Britain and in some other countries. It is a Benzimidazole as are Safeguard (fenbendazole) and Valbazen (albendazole.)


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I agree with dawg 100% with everything he just said. 

Those that say DE worked, didn't have a problem to start with. I have looked and looked over the years for scientific documentation about DE and never found one. It's all company hype.


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## Henry/pecky the chicken (Dec 22, 2021)

Is their stages of things i need to watch now after giving them medicene? Such as do i keep watching their poop to change, or any way i can know things are taking affect?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

The only way to know for certain is to have your vet do a fecal float. They don't have to have the bird. Just collect some from several places as clean as possible. Put in a container and carry it in.


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## Henry/pecky the chicken (Dec 22, 2021)

Oh okay thats smart to do, should i wait a few says to do so?


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Henry/pecky the chicken said:


> Oh okay thats smart to do, should i wait a few says to do so?


I can save you money. Just follow the instructions in post #6 in this thread and you wont have to worry about worm eggs or worms for awhile. THEN, as Robin stated, gather fresh fecal samples from a few of your birds and place them in a ziplock bag. Then take them to a vet to be examined under a microscope by a vet or an assistant. It shouldnt cost too much.
It would be best to do this 5-6 weeks after the last dosing with Valbazen. Good luck!


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## Henry/pecky the chicken (Dec 22, 2021)

I did find a vet with vca by me that sees chickens and will test the poop. They would want to do a check up though on chicken before taking any stool sample. Urgent care appointment is quickest since the vet is booked up until the 28th. Its just 185.40 take her in tomorrow for urgent care app to see her quickest. Imma just do that i feel better having her checked i think as soon as i can


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## Henry/pecky the chicken (Dec 22, 2021)

200 bucks have a chicken seen waaay cheaper than anything else in cali im up for it as peace of mind


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

You don't have to explain your reasons. They're your choices to make, not ours or anyone else's. I used to take mine to the vet when they had me scratching my head on what the issue was. 

Have that pic on your phone? Show that to the vet. I swear I've never seen an overload that large before.


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## 4windhounds (8 mo ago)

*What a bummer!* I was really hoping to go the non-chemical route. Is it possible to remove harmful parasitic worms in your soil (dung beetles, DE, or something?) before you get chickens and throughout their lifetimes?????


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Chickens that are penned are more susceptible getting worms because they are on the same soil all the time. However, keeping everything as dry as possible deters worm infections. 
My birds are penned and I have sand in the pens and inside the coops. Sand doesnt wash away like dirt or mud, sand soaks up water so there arnt any nasty mudpuddles that birds love to drink from. Sand dries quicker than dirt or mud, and it's easier to scoop poop. Think beach. 

Nematodes are everywhere in the soil, you cant eliminate them. How often you worm a bird depends on your environment, especially soil conditions. If you live in an area where the soil is warm, moist or wet most of the time, you will have to worm birds frequently. If your soil is desert like, rocky/mountainous, or cool/cold and dry most of the time, you might only have to worm your birds a couple times a year, just depends.

If you let your birds free range, rotate areas where they forage, much like cattle and goats. If they are kept in the same area, the worm burden becomes a higher risk as time passes with greater chances of infection. Once birds are rotated to another area, the sun's UV rays will kill worm eggs on the surface, but not in the soil.

All animals get worms, birds are no exception.
Worms slowly starve chickens. They weaken the immune system, opening the door for all kinds of diseases.


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

Absolutely everything Dawg said.


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## Henry/pecky the chicken (Dec 22, 2021)

today is first day henry is acting like her normal self. Fingers crossed it stays n continues!! Vet gave her a dewormer and i purchased more to do the other hen at home. Had to cut some of butt feathers off from icky poop. No vent gleet tho.


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## Henry/pecky the chicken (Dec 22, 2021)

You mentioned in a post to rotate the birds to other areas to forage, i deffinatly didnt consider that. My backyard i feel is rather small. Would they be okay if i divided my back yard up to rotate them?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

If you put them on a worming program you really don't have to worry about rotation. 

I highly doubt you'll ever see an infestation like Henry had ever again. Rescues can come with some incredible nasties but once they're in an environment ideal for them the nasties happen much less often.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Henry/pecky the chicken said:


> today is first day henry is acting like her normal self. Fingers crossed it stays n continues!! Vet gave her a dewormer and i purchased more to do the other hen at home. Had to cut some of butt feathers off from icky poop. No vent gleet tho.


What is the name of the wormer that the vet gave you? Panacur (fenbendazole) or Pyrantel Pamoate?


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## Henry/pecky the chicken (Dec 22, 2021)

Im glad i took her in because the worm stuff i got from store, were homeopathic drops didnt quite pay attention what guy was giving me. So they got an actual dose of real dewormer. I will deffinatly mark calender and begin doing a routine. Truly appreciate all the advice and information from everyone.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Most of the time it's best not to trust the people where you buy your feed to know the right things to get. If you don't know, research first. Ask here. Chances are there is someone here that can help you.

dawg did tell which wormers to get so that's your bad for listening to the person at the feed store. Most don't know the first thing about chicken healthcare. 

Just because the wormer is in the horse, goat, cattle aisle does not mean it can't be used on chickens. It's off label use but our birds are not for the table so it doesn't matter that we use it.


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## Henry/pecky the chicken (Dec 22, 2021)

True he did tell me what stuff. i kept seeing ghoats n cattle when researching and then grabbed what other guy offered at feed store. Once seeing no change i just chose to go to the vet. Alot of ignorant errors on my part. I feel i learned my lesson so their wont ever be a next time. Should of just listened to dawg first time. He truly knows valuable information and advice bless u for being awsome person. Again i truly thank you all the advice and help.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Every single one of us started somewhere. There's a learning curve for the backyard flocks when we want them to be with us as long as possible. Even today, after years and years, I'm still learning. 

I had to learn somewhere that a feed store clerk had no clue what they were talking about. Luckily I was already informed enough to know they had no clue when I needed something. 

There actually are things we use off label. They've finally decided to see if what we use ends up in the eggs. The last study I saw involved Ivermectin. They found minute amounts in the eggs so more than likely the others also end up in them. But like dawg said, we're still around after eating the eggs.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

I stopped using Ivermectin years ago. It's primary purpose is a wormer. However, chicken owners were mostly using it to treat external parasites rather than internal parasites. Because of that, Ivermectin has lost its effectiveness treating worms in chickens. Now it's losing its effectiveness in treating external parasites in some parts of the country all due to parasite resistance.
For lice/mites, Permethrin dust or liquid concentrate are the way to go treating external parasites and there isnt a withdrawal period unlike Ivermectin.


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## blulady (8 mo ago)

Premethrin dust like what you use on plants to debug them too, or is it different?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

That's right, you can use the dust for mites.


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## TheChickenGuy (Jan 29, 2014)

Learnt a lot here. Prevent worms from being resistant by not using one worker for very long.


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