[woodlandchickie]

Auntie...  i have searched everything i could think of on the web and have not found any answers/advice.

a bear helped itself to my hens the day before i was to leave on vacation for 2 weeks, so my helpful neighbor said she would take the remaining birds and add them to the ones she keeps in her barn (i have a little chicken tractor i push around the woods).
when i returned she brought them back - but 2 were not mine. no worries, i thought. they were pretty birds too. one (Flo) had a bit of a weeze, nothing that fresh air and sunshine didn't cure in a few days, but the other (Swirl) had running stool when she got here and the smell of it is incredible. Her comb was pale and she was very listless. Her health too has improved somewhat - her comb looks good and she has much more pep and curiosity.
yet weeks later i am still not getting any eggs (from ANY of my chickens - perhaps 5 total in the last 3 weeks - i have 5 birds).
i noticed last week that when Swirl shat, out came a mass of writhing worms - white and about 1/4 inch long. she remains much less active than all the other hens and since then i have noticed that her vent is suffering the same fate as her stool.
nothing i have found describes what i have seen. i have not noticed anything similar on the other hens, but am fearful that they are perhaps infected too. They are active and have healthy combs etc, but i am still not getting any eggs. I have checked their stool and it does seem that they might have tapeworm, but i am nervous to feed them dewormer when i am not sure about the pest type.
I have been moving the tractor more frequently thinking that this will help keep their area less infested with Swirl's hitchhikers... but obviously this is not a solution.
to make matters worse, just after i returned i bought 4 new hens to replace the ones the bear killed. they aren't laying just yet, but are of course sharing the tractor with Swirl and the others.
PLEASE GIVE ME SOME HELPFUL ADVICE ...

[Vember]

Hi  Woodlandchicks

Have you had a read through this section?
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=4348.0


Not sure as to what types of wormer you have available but hopefuly the info will give you an idea of what your dealing with


I would suggest you get some wormer for them asap if you can see them in their poops it means there are quite a few in there

Sarah

[joyfull]

I would also inform you neighbour so that she can treat her chooks. 

[Aunt Sally]

Hi woodlandchickie and welcome to the forums.

I've split your topic off and moved it to the Hen House where more people will see it and give you advice.

I'm guessing you're in Canada or the USA.  Do pop it into your profile so we know what advice to give you.

As Vember sugests the treatment we use here for round worms and tape worms is flubenvet (flubendazole)  but I'm not sure what you can get where you live.  Check with your farm supplies or vet.

Treat them all for worms and they should start laying eggs again.

[noshed]

And tell us where the bears are so we can hide!

[too many girls]

must admit i took a double take when it said bear, at least it makes a change from foxes 

[woodlandchickie]

is chuck and cluck the same thing?
thanks for the help, i will see what they have the local feed - will share it with my neighbor...
- i added my location (sorry)...
as for the bear - it was 4 am... he did a double take too when he noticed little naked  screaming crazy!

[Aunt Sally]

A chuck or chook is a chicken.  Cluck is the noise the make 

[Roughlee Handled]

Sorry he did a double take when you where bear?
Or
He did a double take when he relies he had come out chuck hunting in the nude?
Or
You was bear screaming at a bear in the middle of the night?

Oh I cant bear it.

[noshed]

Welcome anyway

[Rubellite]

Sorry he did a double take when you where bear?
Or
He did a double take when he relies he had come out chuck hunting in the nude?
Or
You was bear screaming at a bear in the middle of the night?

Oh I cant bear it.

 

Welcome to the madhouse!!!

[woodlandchickie]

so this is what the hens are rosey about all day!
everything i have read or found on the web said that roundworms are RED, these are a mass of white 1/4 inch long guys... nothing i have found comes close...
the only thing i can get local is piperazine which treats roundworms... all others well...
i did find an avian vet about 40 minutes away who will charge me $150 to look at one bird, by law he cannot do a fecal test or offer any wormer without a hands on consultation...
hmm...sounds like i will have to ask the forest faeries for another option... anyone got connections?

[joyfull]

have a look at this site it explains about 3 different types of worms (round worms are white not red just the same as when puppies have them)
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/1256/worms-in-freerange-hens
Hope this helps, Joy

[nnbreeder]

Not only are they not red but they are not even round, they are flat. At the feed store you should be able to pick up some Wazine-17. The dosage is 1fl. oz. per gallon of water. What I do is to withhold water overnight and then set out the treated water the next morning and everyone will get a good healthy dose. Leave that water out for them for 24 hours and then repeat it in 14 days.

 The Wazine will only kill the adult worms and not the eggs so that is why you have to repeat it. On the bottle it will say not to use on chickens producing eggs for human consumption. What I do is to toss the eggs for 14 days after treatment ends and then resume eating them. I have used this wormer for over 20 years and have never had a moment's problem from it.

[woodlandchickie]

perfect! i also got some advice on another forum that recommended dosing the hens with cayenne pepper - enough to turn their feed red and to do that again in 10 days
said that it does not bother the chickens, but does the worms and they leave right quick. - the 2nd day dose is for the unhatched eggs
has anyone had any experience with that method?