How often do I worm my girls?

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Hi,
I've read Victoria's Poultry thing on chicken poo - thanks for that - and I'm not sure whether what my girls produce is normal (if there is such a thing).
Sometimes, I can hardly go out into the garden as the smell is so sour and acrid it makes my stomach churn. Is this attached to breeds? The Light Sussex and the Plymouth Rock are usually very smelly, but sometines the Black Rocks are too - the cute little Pekins are practicaly perfect in every way and not smelly or runny at all.

Anyway, I thought I'd get some wormer, just in case. My question is this, how often do you need to worm them? I've heard 'monthly', 'quarterly' and 'only when they need it'.
Which do you suggest I follow?
Also, did I read somewhere that putting a bit of cod liver oil on the pellets first makes the Flubenvet stick better? Do I just mix up a batch and give it to them everyday in their food, or do I just fill the hooper as normal adding the relevant ammount to whatever the weight is and then bin whatever they don't eat? I only got 2 Black Rocks and 4 bantams: 2x Pekins, 1x Light Sussex and 1x Barred Plymouth Rock.
(For anyone following my other posts recently, the Welsummer cross bantam is still on the loose accross the road, but not showing herself at the moment - hope she's managing to keep herself out of harms way - she's been free since last Tuesday and not sighted since Saturday)

Thanks.

Liz
 
Hi Liz,
sorry to hear your runaway is still lose,hope you do get her soon.
As regards worming with flubenvet,recomended to worm every 6 months,the garlic that is added daily,and ACV one week a month will help to deter worms.
Mix the flubenvet with a small amount of their food and the oil,mix it well,then add the small amount of food to a larger amount and mix again.
Put it out and leave it until they've eaten it all,hopefully what they would normally eat in a morning.Then give them access to flubenvet free food.You do this daily.
 
Hi - can I just ask please, how much garlic and in what form? and ACV - do you get it as a specific preparation for poultry/livestock or is it the 'human' form, I know I have read you add it to the water but again, how much/what concentration?
Thank you.
 
Marishal,
I get powdered garlic from the horse feed merchant in the village - in fact I get everything from there. It costs £2.35 for a 500g tub that is going to last for quite a while. I put a scoop in the hopper and a bit a bit round the edge where they take the pellets from - I also add poultry spice at the moment - don't know if this is just while they moult or a daily thing yet - the garden has a lovely curry smell to it.
As for ACV, I think the measure is 20ml to 1 litre of water. Most people seem to use it for 1 week a month. I'm going to start the first week in April.
Check out Snifter's 'Things to keep in stock' at the beginning of the forum - I've found this very useful.
Liz
 
Hi Liz
Thank you for that - it's a trip to the shops tomorrow! It's a bit of learning curve but worth it!
Thank you
 
I use fresh garlic, I crush up a few cloves & add it to the water. I read somewhere (can't remember if it was here :? ) that you can crush up a whole garlic bulb & gradually dilute it with water until its palatible to your chooks. I've looked at dried garlic in the horse feed merchants & my local one only sells it in huge tubs (my little flock would still be eating it past its sell by date :lol: )
The ACV must be unrefined. I've realised that although my feed merchants sell this, I've previously unwittingly bought the wrong one. They sell 2 different types, kept on different shelves to add to the confusion! Although its made by a horse feed company its actually 'human grade'. So read the label carefully.
 
With worming, it all depends on the 'infection pressure' or (in English :roll: ) how heavily stocked your birds are and how long they have been on the same bit of ground. If their run is moved around or they have lots of free range then you can worm less than if your birds are in the same run all of the time and the floor of the run isn't changed frequently...

My birds get moved around quite a bit in the field and I keep the grass short (sunlight kills the worms) and I use garlic from time to time and ACV monthly as suggested. I worm every 4 to 6 months and worm any new birds but if they were kept in more intesive conditions I would have to increase this.

There are lots of articles, on the pk site if you are interested:

Flubenvet 1% 60g packs (this is the best article IMO and gives treatment info as well as information on 'Strategic worming' or how often you should be worming according to your circumstances...)
Worms lay eggs too
The damage done by worms (pretty scary what worms do..)
Flubenvet Wormer Information (this covers the 240g 2.5% packs too that were more common a few years ago or for people with lots of chickens..)

Tim
 
P.S. @Lydia - You say to give Flubenvet free food later - but for them to get the correct dose, they shouldn't have access to any other food (even corn shouldn't be given) during the 7 day treatment period because the dose is based on chickens eating a given quantity of food per day and a corresponding amount of medication in that feed.

Excellent advice of the oil = I always forget to suggest this and it's a bugger to get into the food without first mixing it with Olive Oil or similar. :roll:
 
hi Tim,the reason I've altered it to manufacturer's instruction is because of trying to get all the chooks to eat some.Mine definitely do not eat the same amount of pellets a day.
Most of my hens when let out,do go to the feeder,but one(there is always one isn't there)goes off to free range.She will come for a few pellets at lunch-time ish,depending on what she's found when ranging.So I do put one lot of food down with the flubenevet,if it has all gone by early afternoon,I do then top up so they're getting enough food.
I look at it,that what they eating from free ranging doesn't have flubenevet mixed with it,so a few extra pellets shouldn't do harm.
Obviously,if my birds were very wormy,or ill,I wouldn't be in a position to complain to the manufacturers,as I haven't followed their dosage instructions to the letter.

Sorry Liz,should have explained my method better for you,so you were aware that I don't follow the instruction given by the manufacturers.
 
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