Should or shouldn't I deworm chickens on a routine + natural ways to prevent worms

[NinjaGamer2022]

Me and my family have only started owning chickens this year. I have not wormed any and so far I don't believe any of my chickens have worms. We got are first chickens around 6 months ago now. Should or shouldn't I deworm them as a routine or only when they have them? Also, what are some good things to give them to help naturally cure/prevent worms in chickens? Lastly, other than obvious behavior change and checking their feces for worms is there anything else I should be checking for? Are the worms in the feces obvious? What about other fowl like quail, guinieas, and geese? Are their treatments and signs the same? Thank you.

 

[Isadora]

As far as whether you should treat them preventatively or treat them when they have worms, I am definitely with the 'treat as needed' way of thinking. Parasites can build up resistance to medications and that is not something you want to encourage.

 

[dawg53]

How often you worm birds depends on your soil conditions. Warm moist or wet soil most of the year will require frequent worming as well as birds that are penned on the same soil all the time.

 

[Folly's place]

Right, your weather and soil conditions matter most. Have fecals run at your veterinarian's any time you wonder, or maybe twice annually, so you know what's there.
We rarely have intestinal parasite issues here, while a friend down the road has had difficulties. We have dry sandy soil, she has a pond where her birds can visit, and clay soil.
Mary