Worming with Panacur

[Stephine]

I am getting ready to worm my chickens and want to double check my method here. I got Panacur (for horses) because I want to get this over with in one day. I am thinking of either
1. Filling a couple of raisins per chickens with the dose and feeding them to each chicken - the trouble with this is to ensure that no one grabs treats from anyone else, plus the roo is nearly impossible to give treats to, because he gives everything to his hens...
or 2. adding a dose per chicken to the mash of S&P fines they get every few days anyway (plus a little bit extra for what gets stuck to the feed bowl) and give them nothing but that and trust that they kind of eat according to their body weight.
I don’t know how palatable the paste is, I wonder if it will spoil the whole batch of feed for them if they don’t like the flavor.
What do you think?

 

[pibb]

You can make a low dose mash with panacur but it only treats ascarids (large roundworms).
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/safeguard-mash-zero-day-egg-withdrawal.1254653/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/safeguard-mash-zero-day-egg-withdrawal.1254653/
If you want to treat other types of worms you will have to use the full dose. Putting the medicine inside a snack is a little tricky but can be done if you have the time to separate each chicken and make sure they eat the complete dose of raisins or whatever you put the medicine in.

 

[Stephine]

You can make a low dose mash with panacur but it only treats ascarids (large roundworms).
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/safeguard-mash-zero-day-egg-withdrawal.1254653/
If you want to treat other types of worms you will have to use the full dose. Putting the medicine inside a snack is a little tricky but can be done if you have the time to separate each chicken and make sure they eat the complete dose of raisins or whatever you put the medicine in.

Thanks! Are you saying „a low dose mash“, because the correct dose would be unpalatable? Otherwise, what would keep me from putting in the correct dose?

 

[ellenscoop]

Instead of spending the money to blindly worm your chickens when they might not even need it, why not go to your vet and get a fecal test done? Here is a directory of vets who see chickens - http://www.poultrydvm.com/poultry-vets.php

 

[Stephine]

Instead of spending the money to blindly worm your chickens when they might not even need it, why not go to your vet and get a fecal test done? Here is a directory of vets who see chickens - http://www.poultrydvm.com/poultry-vets.php

Why? Because I have 12 chickens and no idea who poops what. So if I take samples I can easily miss someones. If it comes back positive, I will have to treat everyone anyway. Getting the samples tested is more hassle and money than just buying the wormer and giving it - especially since most likely that’ll have to be done after testing anyway. Finally, they do show some signs that could be caused by worm overload and I have no reason to believe that they have not been exposed. So yeah, I‘m just going to worm them - last time was a long time ago.

 

[pibb]

The low dose mash is for a zero day egg withdrawal.

I have given Safeguard paste (same stuff) on bread and given to each bird but it takes about two big bites to get the correct dose since it's more than what you may think and some bird wrangling. I don't know if they liked the taste but they did eat it. I thought it was kind of a pain to go this route.

I don't think the "regular" dose would work too well given in bulk food since there is no way to know if they got the right dose. Some would eat too much and some not enough. It would only work if given in a small amount of food and feed to each chicken so you know each one got the right dose.

 

[Stephine]

The low dose mash is for a zero day egg withdrawal.

I have given Safeguard paste (same stuff) on bread and given to each bird but it takes about two big bites to get the correct dose since it's more than what you may think and some bird wrangling. I don't know if they liked the taste but they did eat it. I thought it was kind of a pain to go this route.

I don't think the "regular" dose would work too well given in bulk food since there is no way to know if they got the right dose. Some would eat too much and some not enough. It would only work if given in a small amount of food and feed to each chicken so you know each one got the right dose.

I see - I don’t mind the egg withdrawal, I am just looking for the easiest way to dose the birds... I appreciate your point about dosing, I have thought a great deal about that, too.
I actually think it might work out better in a larger amount of feed, because then everyone will eat however much they eat in a day and that will (hopefully) by roughly in proportion to their body size. I am worried that with a treat sized portion, even if I put it out in three bowls, the top hens will get substantially more than the ones at the bottom of the pecking order.
Last time around I just used Safeguard in their drinking water and gave their bucket a good shake every hour or so, but this time I am a 20 min drive away, so I can’t do that...
But dosing through the drinking water is also not very precise, and you just assume that the birds drink the right amount for the right dose... My chickens tend to drink very little in a cool or moderate day, but on hot days they drink 3 times as much or more...
It seems like dosing them in water is an even bigger crapshoot than in their feed, yet that is a common way to go about it.
I will try it in their feed in a few days, with the fines from their regular feed and some milk and oatmeal added to make it irresistible. Then add a pea sized amount per bird, plus a little extra for waste (since it seems hard to overdose them on this) and keep my fingers crossed they don’t object to the taste. Does anyone know if Safeguard tastes better or worse than Panacur? I am so tempted to just have a taste myself to find out! (won’t do it...yuck).

 

[Stephine]

So, I measured the dose for 12 large chickens, added about 4 extra doses for the invariable mess (like the roo taking globs out to offer his hens and them ignoring him and going straight for the bowl, and of course all the beak wiping) and stuck on leftovers, mixed it well with a bit of yoghurt and milk, then mixed that up with instant oatmeal (uncooked), and added maybe 3 cups full of the leftover fines from their regular Scratch and Peck feed. Added some water to make it a nice thick mash. Served it up and I heard no complains. They had it all eaten up by next morning. Lots of chopped up dog hair looking wormy things in their poops overnight. Looks like a success to me. Will repeat in 10 days. I can recommend this method - completely stress free for everyone. Cheers!

 

[Chickie20]

I give a pea size amount.. at evening when coop door is closed and they are on perch.. easier…
I do this about 3-4 days. Then wait 7-10 days. And repeat.. I also withdrawl eggs for 10-14 days while dosing and after last dosage I count the days..

 

[McChooky]

I'm forced to put mine in cages and give them bread one at a time before releasing them.