by Melissa Caughey of Tilly’s Nest
At some point, every chicken keeper will experience a sick member of their flock. Many of us are lucky. We live close to veterinarians who treat chickens, can make them feel better, and cure their ailments. However, there are many folks who are on their own; without access to professional help. Often it is through the help of various on-line chat forums that they seek and get advice for their ailing bird. A great deal of this information is incredibly useful, beneficial and helpful. However, sometimes information can be wrong and downright harmful.
A question came up on my Facebook page about dosing Wazine (The generic name is Piperazine.) for worming in backyard chickens. Apparently, many folks are using Wazine to worm their flocks. Did you know that Wazine’s packaging specifically says that it is not for use in chickens that lay eggs for human consumption? This means that if you have ever treated your hens with Wazine, you can no longer eat their eggs! As I clarified this information to my Facebook community, the news was devastating to some. Today, I wanted to share some helpful tips when medicating your flock to make your experience safer for you and your flock.
 |
| When on some medications beautiful eggs like these need to be discarded. |
Know what you are treating. Don’t treat blindly.
It is very important to have a diagnosis and to understand the microbiology behind the symptoms. It is necessary to know what medications will be effective on the bacteria, parasite, worm, virus, fungal infection and so forth that are causing the symptoms.
Always read the package inserts.
This is the most important thing that you can do. Read the entire thing; even if some of it seems to just go over your head. There is a great deal of important information included. One of the most important pieces of information to seek out is if the medication can be used in egg laying hens or meat birds and if there are any restrictions.
Dose Correctly
Read the package insert and verify the dose. Verify the amount of medication for your chicken/flock. Verify how it must be administered. Verify how frequently the chicken is given the medication and the duration of the treatment.
Know the weight of your chicken
In some cases, medication doses are determined by their weight. It is important that you have an accurate weight for the chickens you are treating. You might even have to go as far as weighing them on the household scale. Over dosing and under dosing can lead to serious problems.
Know how to convert pounds to kilograms
All medications are dosed based upon kilograms. There are 2.2 pounds in 1 kilogram. So if your chicken weighs 7 pounds. It is approximately 3.18 kilograms.
Investigate if there is an egg discard period
Once again, take a peek into the package insert. There should be specific information about egg withdrawl/discard period. Be sure to not eat any of the eggs laid during that time and do not feed them back to the chickens. This will only re-medicate your flock. Do not add them to you compost pile. Unfortunately, the only place for these eggs is the trash.
Do not rely on chat forums, become a fact checker yourself.
When in doubt, always check with a reliable source. There are chicken vets available online for consultations. Also, do your own homework and always take it one step further.
Treat for the full course
To help prevent resistance to the medications available to our flocks, treat your chicken/flock for the entire recommended course. Be sure to complete a full course on the medication even if your flock seems to have made a full recovery.
Contact the your State Inspector
If you feel that your flock may be suffering from an illness that can be transmitted to people, such as Avian Flu, it is very important that you reach out to your local state official and seek professional assistance to prevent any serious consequences or threat to public health. This service is usually free.
Here is more information on my website about treating Coccidiosis, Mites, Lice and Worming.
 |
| An egg-bound poofed out hen on the right near a broody Silkie. Visibly sick chickens should immediately be separated out of the flock for the protection of your other birds. |
20 Comments
My rooster has a horse Crow and a little congestion if I separate him and give him an antibiotic will it affect the hens eggs thank you
Help. I have tried and tried to find what is wrong with my chickens. The under neck area are devoid of feathers. The rest of the chicken seems fine. But the under neck is just skin. On a couple of them, the feathers sort of come back in. Some of the chickens are fine. What is wrong? And what should I do? Thanks so much. Please answer via my e-mail.h
I have that problem to?
Has anyone tried raw pumpkin seeds (or guts from the pumpkin) slightly chopped in food processor (so chickens can eat the insides of the seeds) as worm prevention? Just wondering after reading the benefits online.
Ok im just gonna call BS with the wazine issue. I have only used wazine to worm my layers and it has no effect on humans as long as you wait a week or so before eating the eggs. However if u do sell them to other people that may be an issue. I’ve eaten eggs a day after worming to see if i’d get sick…..nope!!! Wazine only prints a label with the statement not to use for layers because that wormer is specifically for slaughter bound chickens and they don’t want any liability for the kinds of animals that they have not paid to research.
We recently had to take a chicken to the vet because she was mauled by a dog. They gave her antibiotics and told us we could never eat her eggs 🙁 I was happy they told me that.
Also just for clarification purposes. There are times when chickens need to be separated from the flock and also times when they are not “contagious”. Some illnesses that do not require separation from the rest of the flock include being egg bound, sour crop, pendulous crop and impacted crop to name a few. Also if there are worms present or parasites then most all members of the flock have them too. They all need to be treated. There are also times when chickens are being medicated/cared for under the supervision of a vet, where they are informed that putting the sick chicken in with the other flock members will not adversely affect the health of the others.
i would add that you don’t need to jump into worming unless you have a confirmed episode of worms. And please don’t assume that any “foreign looking” substance in the chicken poo, is a worm. Medicating and over treating your hens will do more harm than good. If you really want to do something, preventative measures such as adding raw apple cider vinegar to the water keeps the hens digestive tract healthy and will go a long way to preventing a worm infestation. Worms are a opportunistic organism and will be happy to take up residence in a compromised gut lining. As to the commercially available wormers like Wazine, these are intended for a flock that is compromised by worms and not producing eggs or for meat chickens that are not growing. It really isn’t the intended use for one or two birds with a light worm population. Since we are almost all treating backyard flocks on these forums, we need to not confuse the issues we face with commercial producers.
You are right Janet. Feel free to check out the post that I have included on the subject of worming (at the bottom of the article). You can see that I have listed preventative measures, natural techniques and also wormers that are safe for flocks with confirmed cases.
Folks wanting to use DE (Diatomaceous Earth), BEWARE!! Make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN you get the Codex / FOOD GRADE DE, not the cheaper, bulk kind used for swimming pools!!! The non-food grade type is toxic and can kill your entire flock suddenly.
You are right. Food Grade folks 🙂
Thanks, Melissa.
I just checked and wazine is what they gave me at the feed mill. I used it once last fall. Do you think it’s an issue now because we have been eating the eggs. I threw out the eggs for about a month when I added to their water for a day.
Teri, I will try diatomaceous earth.
Hi Debi, unfortunately I can’t guarantee that the eggs being laid are safe. I wish I had better news. You might try calling the manufacturer for more information. There are other wormers available and also more natural methods that are considered safe in egg laying hens.
Rather than chemicals that can be passed on to humans diatomaceous earth ( food quality) can be added to the chicken food, cattle, dog or any other animal for worming. It reduces internal parasites and can be used to treat external ones as well ( fleas, mites or lice) It will also kill creepy crawly things outside and inside with less risk than commercial pesticides.
How do I make the diatomaceous earth? Or is it purchased? Is it earth worms that make this? And, how to I make sure it is food quality?
you can order it online or some feed stores have it. its cheap and really works. you can also use it in you outside dogs water or water troughs to stop algae growth. dust your plants lightly to keep off aphids.
you can order it online or some feed stores have it. its cheap and really works. you can also use it in you outside dogs water or water troughs to stop algae growth. dust your plants lightly to keep off aphids.
I contacted the makers of Wazine directly. The FDA and USDA haven’t gone through the extensive testing required to allow for proper labeling. The company said that the Gov. basically, told them to tell chicken owners to wait 17 days before eating eggs. My biologist friend told me that since the piperizine stays in the digestive tract, not entering the bloodstream, that it won’t get into the eggs. I went with the biologist and ate the eggs. No negative reactions. The labeling is basically CYA (cover your arse) to protect the makers of Wazine. Or you can wait the 17 days.
Yes, diatomaceous earth is wonderful and also an organic method of controlling insects and has been proven beneficial in worming. Please be sure to use only Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth. Add between 2-5% to your flock’s feed.
In regards to using Wazine, there are other wormers available on the market that are safe, effective and have been studied thoroughly according to the FDA’s and USDA’s requirements. Their packaging labels clearly state that they are safe to use in egg laying hens and they also state the withdrawal period if any.
DE is a natural food additive/supplement that is made from microscopic marine animals. The particles are super sharp,so they damage pests’ exoskeleton or skin, causing them to dehydrate and die. great stuff, and only about $12 for a 10-15 pd bag.