Worming
Chickens
Worms are endoparasites, which means they live inside their host,
so they are not possible to spot by eye. The usual external symptoms
of worms are loss of appetite and weight, lower egg production,
faded comb colour and liquid droppings.
Unfortunately many health problems that your birds have can be
related to worms of some sort and it is important to worm your
birds regularly as well as make sure your hen houses and runs
are well maintained.
Products that are used to treat worms are not that cheap, however
it will certainly cost you in the long run with increased feed
costs, less eggs and sick or unhealthy birds if you don't worm
them regularly.
If you suspect your chicken has worms then the product recommended
most by our customers and other chicken keeping folk as a last
resort is Flubenvet. None of us want to use chemical wormers for
worming chickens unless it is really necessary, but Flubenvet
seems to be the best product on the market for serious infestations.
What a lot of people do and it's the approach we recommend you
take with your own birds is to consider using a herbal product
like Verm-X on a monthly basis and only use a chemical wormer
if your hens get a serious case of worms.
- When should I worm my chickens?
It depends on the product you choose, if you choose a chemical
wormer, many poultry keepers worm their birds before their birds
go into moult around September since egg production ceases and
there is less waste of eggs during the egg withdrawal period.
What we like about our recommended worming treatments
is that they are chemical free, so there is no need to stop eating
your hens' eggs when you start the course. They're really easy
to use and the feedback from people is overwhelmingly positive...
and the chickens seem to love them too!
You only need a small amount, usually administered over a 3 day
period and repeated every 4 weeks or so. Doing this will greatly
lessen the chances of worms, keeping your chickens healthy internally
and avoid resorting to using chemicals to rid your hens of worms.
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