One of the main questions I get asked by email is have my hens got worms? Another is does my hen’s poop look normal? My world seems full of questions about poop at the moment! We have a great thread over on the forums all about poop, what is normal and what is not, you can see it by following this link.
Flubenvet for Poultry
As for worms, you can usually tell if your hens have worms after doing a quick poop inspection. If you do have worms the best option, in my personal opinion, is to use Flubenvet. You can buy it as either a powder or premixed into layers pellets. I choose the pellets. I find it a right old faff coating my normal pellets in oil then adding the powder, so for the slight price increase I would rather just buy it ready mixed. All I do is give my flock the premixed Flubenvet pellets instead of their normal feed. Give them the feed with the meds and no treats during this week and it will sort out any worm burden in your flock. You can still eat the eggs whilst treating, there is no withdrawal period.
Verm-X for Poultry
I know a lot of Poultry keepers like to keep to organic or more natural standards. Verm-Xis another option for the back garden keeper. It is 100% natural and there is no egg withdrawal period and can be added to the flock’s drinking water. I have used this myself for a number of years, but I do find every now and then I need to use Flubenvet as well. I know others have no trouble and find Verm-X just as effective as Flubenvet so I think is a try it and see thing!
Chicken Supplements and Tonics
Another question I get is about what tonics can be used for hens, especially recuperating hens or those laying unusual eggs and shells. We’ve a few articles that can help on this. As a rule if I have a chicken that is need of some TLC with soft shells or just a bit off colour, I go back to basics. Give the house a thorough clean, add ACV to the water, feed pellets only for a few days to make sure they aren’t over indulging in treats. Often shell issues are due to nutritional deficiencies and the main cause of this can be too many treats and not enough layers pellets! As much as the girls love a treat, the pellets are complete and the best made food source for them (along with greens and free ranging if you can).
I have in the past used liquid poultry tonic, but I personally noticed no difference in my flock so haven’t tried it again since. I have been hearing great things about the new Verm-X Keep Wellthough, especially with birds in moult. I’m thinking when my flock come into to moult to give it a try and will report back on the results!
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