[gibbo]

Has anyone used panacur for worming.  Someone recomednded it to me as you can administer one dose direct into the hens mouth.  It was also mentioned in the pratical poultry `Aviod the vet' book.  I have been useing flubenvet and i know that ther are ones on this forum that swear by it but i have not been convinced over the last year of using it.  Where can i get panacur and what dosage do i use?

[Lindeggs]

I haven't used Panacur (active ingredient Fenbendazole) but a quick google brings up a few concerns.

According to Wikipedia it can have toxic effects, although there is no source provided for that info so I don't know where it came from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenbendazole

This site recommends its use under the supervision of a vet:
http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/fenbendazole-panacur/page1.aspx

This one warns of its use during moulting, and mentions feather malformation:
http://www.kcbbs.gen.nz/lori/ar/worming.html

A lot of sites caution that an accurate dose is very important to avoid side effects.  Also it's not a one-dose medication, you need to redose over several days.

You would need to discard any eggs for at least 14 days after treatment is finished, because the effects of the drug have not been tested on humans so you would need to be very cautious about residue in eggs.

In my personal opinion (just based on the info I've read in the last few minutes) I wouldn't use it.  It seems that the hassle and risk are much higher than other options such as Flubenvet.

Hopefully you can get a professional opinion from a vet and/or someone who has used it themselves.

[Lindeggs]

Gibbo, I just had another thought.  Worms can build up resistance to certain active ingredients over time, so it might be time for you to try something other than Flubenvet if you think it's not working. 

An option often recommended (and the one my vet recommends and uses on his own chickens) is Moxidectin.  You still have an egg with-holding period of 14 days but you can administer it in a single measured dose to each bird.  For a heavy worm burden you should re-dose 10 to 14 days later although my vet suggested not to bother.

Moxidectin is a safe wormer as apparently you can give quite a large overdose with no toxic effects (I think that's why vets here recommend it for home poultry-keepers).  It is often sold under brand names like Cydectin or Vetdectin.

[freebirdy]

Luckily I have a close friend who is a department manager  at MSD Animal Health, formerly known as Heochst  Pharmaceutical the makers of Panacur. Here is their web address: www.interver-cdp.co.uk. They are based at Walton Manor, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. TEL: 01908 685 685. You can contac the customer services department asking for the poultry section and all your questions will be answered. Alternatively you can e-mail on vet-support.uk@merck. Glad to have been of help. 

[Lindeggs]

Oooh that's handy freebirdy!

Gibbo, if you follow up on freebirdy's contact, it would be great if you could come back here and let us know what they say.  It would be very handy to have a definite answer on Panacur, including any egg with-hoding recommendations.

[gibbo]

Thanks for the help.  Back in the summer i had a worm problem that was not helped by flubenvet.  I took a droppings sample to a poultry vet(the dropping deffinatly had worms in it!).  But much to my annoyance the lab said they couldnt find any think (then charged me £25! ).  They recomended a worming product that is now licenced again in the uk but i cant remember the name of it now.  The real issue was this.  I was quoted a price for a one of treatment for my four hens.   I asked the nurse if the price was for a pot of the stuff that i could keep in the shed for latter times.  She said that didnt sound right as the vet had qouted me £10 and the whole pot was only £32!  So i was going to pay £10 for only a very small amount (about 2 grms i think).  When i worked out how much it would cost to buy the whole pot at the vets quoted price it worked out over £1000!!!   Why are these vets so quick to make money and not help poultry keppers like ourselves.  I was so cross i refused to buy it.  Its not like he even knew what the worms where and if this treatment would work.  I waste of money that experience was!

[Sassy]

Gibbo, I just had another thought.  Worms can build up resistance to certain active ingredients over time, so it might be time for you to try something other than Flubenvet if you think it's not working. 

An option often recommended (and the one my vet recommends and uses on his own chickens) is Moxidectin.  You still have an egg with-holding period of 14 days but you can administer it in a single measured dose to each bird.  For a heavy worm burden you should re-dose 10 to 14 days later although my vet suggested not to bother.

Moxidectin is a safe wormer as apparently you can give quite a large overdose with no toxic effects (I think that's why vets here recommend it for home poultry-keepers).  It is often sold under brand names like Cydectin or Vetdectin.

Moxidectin is sold for horses under the name Equest - I have no idea if it is safe for chooks. I did use panacur once on a chicken. It should have been for three chooks but as the dose required is so small it was provided in one tiny syringe for all three. I was not the most confident at the time with my chooks but trying to poke the syringe in through the side of the beak I gave the chook the lot. I was also ignorant and not advised by the vet re egg withdrawal. Anyway chook seemed ok and we are still here. The Panacur given by the vet was a cattle one. For info Fenbendazole is one of the wormers with the worst resistance rates.

[Casey76]

Fenbendazole is not licensed in the UK for poultry, so you would have to get a prescription from a vet, and probably sign a waiver.

I'm not sure if levamisole is licensed in the UK for poultry, but that is a one-only dose (5ml in 1L of water), but there is a 30 day egg withdrawal.  I use it in winter when I'm not getting any eggs, so it's great!

[Aunt Sally]

Flubenvet is the only wormer licenced for poultry in the UK.

[Pol]

Panacur is a wormer for horses and you can only get it from horse suppliers that are licensed to sale it

[danmegal]

As somebody who is licenced to sell animal health products, I find this thread quite disturbing. As Aunt Sally said Flubenvet is the ONLY wormer licenced for poultry in the UK. Any other products such as horse wormers should not be recommended as they can only be prescribed 'off label' by a vet. Please do not pop into your local country store/ horse supplier asking for products such as equest to use on chickens without a written prescription from a vet. The SQP's who work in these shops could have their licence taken away if they sold the wrong product for the wrong animal. Thankyou 

[Pol]

Danmegal, I am not recommending that they use panacur on poultry, as I said it a wormer for horses, I use it on my horses and have done this 4 over 30 years with out a prescription from the vet, I use Flubenvet on my chickens

[Lindeggs]

Thanks for the info, danmegal.  You learn something new every day! 

Here in NZ I tried to get Flubenvet for a long time but haven't been able to source it here.  Moxidectin and its variants seem to be all that's readily available.  So it's helpful to know the legal situation in the UK.

P.S. there's no need to be disturbed by this thread.  If you look back most of the posts suggest asking professional advice.

[Sassy]

In no way was my offering suggesting using these wormers on chooks. I was merely giving more info from a previous entry!

[freebirdy]

Glad people are reading this in context, as I suggested, ring the makers of the product. I gave all the information on contact address, tel num etc in my previous post. I did not condone using Panacur as I have only ever used Flubenvet to worm my chooks. However, Panacure IS available, non prescription, in larger pet stores! Certainly is here in Milton Keynes anyway as I've seen it on the shelves next to the poultry section!! My friend who is a department manager for MSD Animal Health Care was with me at the time buying cat supplies!! (howerever she is not dept' man' for that department - she gave me the relevant conact details hence I did not say use the product as she is not in the position to offer advice on a product that she does not oversee.) It was me who spotted it on the shelves and said to her about it! It was in the cat and dog wormer section. (?) Not an equestrian section in the shop! So please contact the manufacturer asking for the poultry section to clarify any queries any of you have regarding the use of Panacur. Hope this update helps with any concerns raised by this topic.