What else ?

stamford · « **on:** September 03, 2008, 09:40 »

Had our girls for a couple of weeks now and all is very well. What additives / tonics do I need to introduce ? Someone mentioned cider vinegar to the water but not sure where to get it. Also, worming, what do I need to do ref this ? Is it something I can add to the feed ?

kimT · « **Reply #1 on:** September 03, 2008, 09:49 »

Flubenvet is the wormer you need which you add to their feed for 7 days and there is no egg withdrawal.

As for extra vitamins you can but Poultry spice which you add to their feed or battles poultry drink which you add to their water.

I always put garlic gloves in the water.

Regency Poultry sell all the above plus cider vinegar.

poultrygeist · « **Reply #2 on:** September 03, 2008, 11:22 »

Hi Stamford.

As KimT says, but you can usually get Apple Cider Vinegar from horse supply shops. It is different to the culinary cider vinegar from the grocery shops.

You may find a feed merchant nearby that stocks all or some of the above too.

Rob

stamford · « **Reply #3 on:** September 03, 2008, 15:31 »

Quote from: "kimT"

Flubenvet is the wormer you need which you add to their feed for 7 days and there is no egg withdrawal.

As for extra vitamins you can but Poultry spice which you add to their feed or battles poultry drink which you add to their water.

I always put garlic gloves in the water.

Regency Poultry sell all the above plus cider vinegar.

And how often should you worm them ?

poultrygeist · « **Reply #4 on:** September 03, 2008, 17:05 »

Some people say don't unless you have good reason. Some say every 6 months. Soem more frequent due to history of known problems.

I did ours after a couple of months in case they'd picked up anything from the run. But they've shown no symptoms so I won't bother unless there's any problems.

See what the more experienced members advise and decide for yourself.

Rob

stamford · « **Reply #5 on:** September 05, 2008, 08:05 »

Quote from: "poultrygeist"

Some people say don't unless you have good reason. Some say every 6 months. Soem more frequent due to history of known problems.

I did ours after a couple of months in case they'd picked up anything from the run. But they've shown no symptoms so I won't bother unless there's any problems.

See what the more experienced members advise and decide for yourself.

Rob

Dont all rush !!

Aunt Sally · « **Reply #6 on:** September 05, 2008, 08:25 »

Quote from: "stamford"

Dont all rush !!

We're verylaid back here

This is my advice:

You have to assess the risks.

Many birds, intensivly farmed on the same land for years, particularly free range = high risk of worms.

Few birds, clean land, even free range = low risk of worms.

Having said that they can pick up gut worms from wild birds and gape worm from birds, worms, slugs and snails. For the owner new to hen keeping it is a good idea to worm regularly (I recomend flubenvet every 6 months) but for an experienced keeper who is confident enough to spot the signs when worm burdens get too high, worming as and when symptoms may show is fine.

stamford · « **Reply #7 on:** September 05, 2008, 08:28 »

Quote from: "Aunt Sally"

Quote from: "stamford"
Dont all rush !!

We're verylaid back here

This is my advice:

You have to assess the risks.

Many birds, intensivly farmed on the same land for years, particularly free range = high risk of worms.

Few birds, clean land, even free range = low risk of worms.

Having said that they can pick up gut worms from wild birds and gape worm from birds, worms, slugs and snails. For the owner new to hen keeping it is a good idea to worm regularly (I recomend flubenvet every 6 months) but for an experienced keeper who is confident enough to spot the signs when worm burdens get too high, worming as and when symptoms may show is fine.

Thanks Aunty, I'll go with your advice

kimT · « **Reply #8 on:** September 05, 2008, 09:14 »

I tend to Fulbenvet every 4-6 months and Ivermec approx once a year.

Aunt Sally · « **Reply #9 on:** September 05, 2008, 09:37 »

Ivermec is not licenced for poultry and it's action in chickens may be very different to it's action in cows. It is therefore recommended by the PekinBantams site to discard eggs for 6-8 weeks after use. They recommend using it at low egg laying times.