Should I be concerned?
- Thread starter Icemaiden
- Start date
foxy
Active member
I wouldn't worry, unless you have a particularly high population due to a local gamefarm. Just make sure you keep an eye on your worming regime...when the weather warms up in a couple of weeks time will be a good time.
You can get a faecal test on your birds to see actually if they need worming for a a very small cost nowadays, this gives very useful information on the gut health of your flock.
You can get a faecal test on your birds to see actually if they need worming for a a very small cost nowadays, this gives very useful information on the gut health of your flock.
Thanks for that, Foxy.
If my girls do get worms, will I be able to see them in their poo when I poo-pick the coop in the mornings? If I can't see anything untowards, are they OK?
P.S. Where do you get your weather info from? Sounds as though you've got insider information :lol:
If my girls do get worms, will I be able to see them in their poo when I poo-pick the coop in the mornings? If I can't see anything untowards, are they OK?
P.S. Where do you get your weather info from? Sounds as though you've got insider information :lol:
They will be infested long before they get to the stage of having visible worms in their droppings. When you see worms, these are adults which are being shed, and they will have deposited hundreds of eggs in the chickens gut before departing.
If I had as many chickens as Foxy, I would certainly get them poo tested before worming, because Flubenvet is quite expensive stuff for many birds, but with only 4, I just do them very 4-6 months with Flubenvet on a routine basis. It does them no harm, and last year, when Emma Nelder was doing her poo sample dissertation, she actually tested my girls before and after worming. Before, only Marigold had measurable worms, don't know why, but after, they were all clear. So it is possible for a small proportion of the birds to need worming, and I feel that doing everybody routinely helps to keep the problem under control as there will be fewer eggs dropped on the run and the grazing for them to re-ingest. Daily poo picking in the run helps a lot, of course.
I think it's a bit like red mite, no need to get paranoid, just be watchful and have a good preventative programme in place.
If I had as many chickens as Foxy, I would certainly get them poo tested before worming, because Flubenvet is quite expensive stuff for many birds, but with only 4, I just do them very 4-6 months with Flubenvet on a routine basis. It does them no harm, and last year, when Emma Nelder was doing her poo sample dissertation, she actually tested my girls before and after worming. Before, only Marigold had measurable worms, don't know why, but after, they were all clear. So it is possible for a small proportion of the birds to need worming, and I feel that doing everybody routinely helps to keep the problem under control as there will be fewer eggs dropped on the run and the grazing for them to re-ingest. Daily poo picking in the run helps a lot, of course.
I think it's a bit like red mite, no need to get paranoid, just be watchful and have a good preventative programme in place.
chrismahon
Well-known member
There could be an issue with Coryza Icemaiden. I was told by a well experienced gamekeeper that keeping chickens with pheasants was a definite no. He had his kept separate, but he didn't know why exactly? The Coryza bacteria are not so apparent in pheasants so they don't look ill, but there is nothing clear-cut on the web. I have always shot (and eaten) the pheasants that strayed into the Orchard for that reason. It is a problem mainly with small poultry keepers, that's those exposed to stray pheasants anyway, so perhaps that's the link as yet unproven? Makes a real mess of a chicken flocks and one site suggested the only solution was 100% cull and disinfect before restocking. My approach would be 'take no chances' at all.
Pheasants were reared under broody hens in very large numbers for years and still are to some extent. I have wild pheasants in contact with my poultry with no problems. I've never heard of any particular problems with running the two together and certainly people keep ornamentals with poultry. Pheasant seem a little more at risk from gapeworm than poultry but it's no that prevalent.
Margaid
Well-known member
That's reassuring Chuck as we also have wild pheasants roaming around the fields where the hens free range. The thought of having to restrict them and try to keep the pheasants out would almost make me give up when I've only just started!!
If you examine the stats from Forum enquiries, I'd estimate that 95% at least of the gaping/laboured breathing episodes which people have looked up on the net as possible gapeworm turn out to be a respiratory tract infection which has responded to antibiotics.
Our poultry cannot live in grand isolation and need to have contact with pathogens in order to build up a natural resistance instead of relying on antibiotics.
Most pheasant rearing is now at least semi intensive and goes as follows - parent stock are penned in breeding groups and the eggs collected to go into an incubator. Chicks at hatch go into a brooder for a couple of months then into release pens which is the first time there is any hint of the semi 'wild' that is to come. They grow on in freedom (with additional feeding) until the autumn when the shooting season starts and they are adult. Only a few live and breed in a totally wild existence.
Our poultry cannot live in grand isolation and need to have contact with pathogens in order to build up a natural resistance instead of relying on antibiotics.
Most pheasant rearing is now at least semi intensive and goes as follows - parent stock are penned in breeding groups and the eggs collected to go into an incubator. Chicks at hatch go into a brooder for a couple of months then into release pens which is the first time there is any hint of the semi 'wild' that is to come. They grow on in freedom (with additional feeding) until the autumn when the shooting season starts and they are adult. Only a few live and breed in a totally wild existence.
We get wild pheasants in our garden often as we are surrounded by a large shooting estate. I've had chickens for about 4 years with no problem. As for the worming, like Marigold I worm them with flubenvet every 4 - 6 months routinely but then I do only have 4 so it's not expensive.
Sorry I missed that bit!Icemaiden said:
Yes, you can still eat the eggs if worming with Flubenvet. Some people use Ivermectin, which is only available on prescription, and has quite a long withdrawal period, I think its 3 weeks or so after the end of the course, but I've never used it so am not sure.
