Backyard Poultry Forum

Hello there, I relatively new to keeping chickens, I only have two girls and have had them for about 8 months or so, my hubby noticed on the weekend that one of the girls, her poo was a but runny and had worms in it, they were fine like a hair and were wriggly and about 5 -6ml long. I have tried to have another look today but cannot see anything, yesterday my girls ate a lot of spinach from the garden and I have noticed that the poo was a green colour, I guess due to eating the spinach. I have never wormed them and want to start some sort of program so they are in good health. I rang my local fodder store and he suggested a product called Piperazine liquid, does this kill all intestinal worms, is there something that I can use that is better, I went to pick up this product yesterday but it was out of stock apparently and the guy behind the counter seemed a bit disinterested, being new to keeping my two girls I don't know what to do for the best. They free range during the day but get locked up at dusk, they love getting out and about eating worms and bugs etc.

I feed them Red Hen Free Range Layer grain which is in kept in their coop. I have noticed that we have a few birds that hang around and occasionally they have managed to get into the coop when the door has been left open. (we used to sometimes leave the door open for the girls to come and go in the afternoon) but now the door is kept shut. The fodder man said that Wild Birds will cause the girls to get these worms ? Is there a better feed that I can purchase for them, they don't seem to like eating veggie peelings and we do not have many left over food scraps, I am thinking that maybe I should start cooking a few more veggies extra for them. I have tried to give them lettuce & greens but they don't seem interested but love to eat my spinach from the raised garden bed. I have also read that Diatomaceous Earth is good for internal worms and external parasites but how much powder would I use for my two girls.

Sorry for so many questions but I didn't feel like my fodder store guy was much help. Looking forward to hearing your replys. Thanks so much.

First off, Welcome to the forum.
The use of Piperazine is usual for many species including aviary birds and poultry.
It can be put in their water, mixed into a small amount of wet mash they will eat in a few minutes or it can be given directly to each individual as you only have the two to treat.
It has a safe margin of error so you can use it safely.
From memory it does not treat tape worm but what you describe that your husband saw was probably the most common worm, either round or hair worms.
You can by aviary drenches at a pet shop and can get it in smaller quantities which will avoid it going out of date before you use it.
The ideal is to use one type of drench only a couple of times then change to another drench to avoid drench resistance.
An old fashioned and useful treatment was minced or finely chopped onion in a small amount of mince that the fowls would relish when offered.

_________________
Malay Game specialist Std & bantam. Breeding since 1968, interested in breed since 1950's

Piperzine is a fairly old worming product. It only targets roundworm. The Levamisole products (different brand names - same ingredient) will target all the major poultry worms except Tape worm. There is nothing registered for poultry which will kill Tapeworm (the cost of testing and registration for a small market is prohibitive) but the Mectins and Dectins with added Praziquantil will target Tape and will also kill external blood sucking parasites. Because they are not registered for poultry there is no 'recommended' with holding period for poultry meat or eggs (people seem to follow a 2 week rule). I like to use a product with no with holding whilst the hens are laying well and Moxidectin Plus when they are off the lay. Ideally do your birds 4 X year (change of seasons) - each time with a follow up dose in 10 - 14 days to target hatchlings.
You should be able to buy a Levamisole locally - pet shop or produce place or you can buy both here
http://www.geckodan.com/the-chookshop/.
Danny posts promptly. Also order a 1ml and a 2.5 ml syringe and ask for the recommended single dose. Worming chooks with meds in water is not as reliable as direct oral dose.
Products like ACV, garlic, pumpkin seeds etc may help deter or expell some worms but they will not treat a worm burden.

The Red Hen Free Range is a good quality feed although if you have high out put hens such as ISA or other hybrid layers they would benefit from something with a higher protein and nutrient spec. Preferably something where they can't select their favourite bits - kids at a buffet will choose the cup cakes rather than the potato bake. Red Hen 17 might be a good option -bit more expensive but there will be less wastage.
Don't worry about them not eating scraps. Poultry food is designed to best address their nutritional needs, consider any thing else as a treat not part of their main diet.

And bty