worming

[clucking chicks]

Hi All,

My girls are in the middle of "worming week" so poor things cant roam freely in the garden and peck around. I moaned to my neighbour and she said I dont really need to do it. Farmers often don't apparently. It made me wonder what would happen if my girls had worms... is it uncomfortable or even dangerous for them? Chickens that wander around in African fields all day don't have a week of powder consumption to get through before they can get out and about. Why do I worm my chooks?

 

[Wrigley62]

Good Afternoon Clucking Chicks,

Abouth the African Chickens, I would assume that they are a more "Wild" type of chicken and like most other wild animals have a much stronger immune system than do their more "Domesticated" cousins.

About the worming process, I really can't help, you'll need more educated advice than what I can offer.

Good Luck!

Wrigley

 

[Marigold]

Have a look at this, from the Poultrykeeper website, which will explain all you need to know about worms (and a lot you don't really want to know - be sure to click on the link for round worms to see the horror picture of what can develop in a chicken's gut.) http://poultrykeeper.com/general-chickens/worming-chickens
Tell your girls it's very much in their interest to have a week of Flubenvet pellets every 6 months - and explain to your neighbour why she's got the wrong idea.

 

[Wrigley62]

GROSS!!!!!

 

[clucking chicks]

Thank you all. I will continue with the 6 monthly worming program and I will talk to Doris and Elsie tomorrow to make them understand! (Only 2 of their 7 days to go now then it's back to lovely grapes and tasty treats!)

 

[Marigold]

Wild chickens have a much larger area to range in than domestic birds, so less exposure to repeated doses of worm eggs when feeding on the ground, unlike our hens which pick up worm eggs from the comparatively confined space they live in. Also we don't actually know how long wild chickens live, or what parasites they suffer from, and they are not bred so intensively for productivity or looks as domestic chickens also, just evolved for what best serves survival in the wild. We expect our hens to live for several years and to go on producing eggs for most of that time, whereas wild birds probably have just one or two laying seasons per year, thus less demand on their systems, and probably don't live very long anyway.

However, I found this link on another forum, about how Bermuda is being overrun by feral chickens in the wake of a hurricane - I wonder how they are getting on, with no Flubenvet?
http://bermudasun.bm/main.asp?SectionID=24&SubSectionID=270&ArticleID=60052

 

[clucking chicks]

How interesting! I wouldn't ever have thought chickens could be that much of a problem. I guess on that scale they could really destroy the local plants and scenic areas. Why don't the people on Bermuda catch the chickens and eat them?