A good chicken wormer will help get rid of your chicken worms. Wormers are either administered in chicken feeds, water or through injections.
Chickens love to forage and will roam far and wide on the backyard. Here, they will collect worm eggs from droppings or tasty slugs and snails they eat.
Worms in chickens can lead to a variety of health effects. They completely depend on your chickens for food, water and shelter.
When not treated, chickens with worms start to lose weight, lay fewer eggs or become weak and emaciated.
In this article, I am going to take you through some of the best products for chicken wormers in the market. Additionally, we will look at the various worms that infest chickens and how to control them.
Let’s roll!
What are the Best Wormers for Chickens?
There are many different products for chicken dewormer out there. However, I have raised chickens for a couple of years and I encountered several of these products.
Of all that I have used, some have proven to be good while others never matched with my expectations. I have compiled a list of only the best products that I can recommend while-heartedly.
Insecto Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth 100% Natural
Food grade diatomaceous earth powder is one of the reliable chicken dewormer that I have been using for a couple of years.
This powder works by dehydrating body moisture from the chicken worms to death. It is very natural with no added additives making it very safe for chickens to consume.
Insecto food grade diatomaceous earth is ground from fresh water rocks. You do not need to worry about the salt content or ph.
This product will not only kill the worms but also other external parasites like chicken lice and those notorious scaly mites.
It is easy to use. Since it is in powder form, mix small amounts of it with chicken feed and your birds are good to go.
The product is well packed for easier storage. Never put it in moist and dump conditions if you want it to last long.
Verm-X Liquid Poultry & Fowl Internal Parasite 250ml
This is one of the best chicken wormer for laying hens I know of. It is made of 100% herbal products and you do not need to stop eating the eggs when using it.
It is a good chicken warmer for water because it comes in liquid form. Additionally, a small amount of this wormer can be put on a piece of bread and fed to chickens.
Verm-X poultry wormer removes all the chicken worms in your chickens without corroding or hurting the gut.
This product comes packed in a 250ml bottle. It is enough to keep your 10 hens’ worm free for 6 months.
Vetrx Poultry Aid, 2fl.oz
This is a natural product and offers relief from worms. It has no side effects and you can continue to consume the eggs when chickens are using it.
Vetrx chicken wormer liquid can either be administered in chicken drinking water or in their feeds. This makes it easy to use.
It removes all the worms that infest chicken eyes and the gut. This will help keep your flock happy, healthy and worm-free.
Backyard Chicken Healthyflock Tabs, 90 Tabs
These chicken wormer pills are what you have been looking for to deal with those harmful internal parasites in chickens.
Each bottle contains 90 tablets that can be mixed with 90 gallons of water. They are effective and will remove and eradicate worms in chickens completely.
This chicken wormer is designed to improve the intestinal health of your chickens where it will help supplement the protein levels.
It is very natural and made of Non-GMO products which will help you raise chickens in an organic way.
What are the categories of chicken worms?
There are two main categories of chicken worms. These are the direct and indirect lifecycles of these internal parasites.
A worm with a direct lifecycles lives all its entire life inside the chicken intestines. Here, they feed, shelter and lay their eggs.
Chicken worm eggs have a special coating which prevents them from being destroyed by digestive enzymes.
They are passed out with chicken poop and remain on the ground until they are collected by other birds when free ranging.
On the other hand, any worm with an indirect lifecycle relies on another organism like snails and slugs to be passed in the chicken’s body.
This happens when chickens eat these organisms or other type of material they collect as food when free ranging.
What are the common types of chicken worms?
There are several common types of chicken worms. All these are harmful and can lead to ill health, low production or even death when not treated on time.
These include:
Tape worms
These are flat, long and segmented worms which can infest your chickens. Their body segments will break off and passed out together with poop.
The broken parts are collected and ingested together with the tasty treats chickens collect when free ranging.
Tapeworms can be collected from the poop of other farm animals like dogs, sheep and horses. They live along the intestinal walls and can grow to more than 30cm in length.
These worms will suck blood and other nutrients from the host’s body. This makes the infested birds weak, unkempt and emaciated.
Round worms
Round worms are the common type of worms in chickens. They like to cling on the small intestines where they will suck nutrients.
These worms have a direct lifecycle and they will live inside the chicken’s body. They will lay eggs and they will be eaten by another chicken and the cycle goes on.
Round worms are big and can grow to the length of 12cm. The worms can grow big and even lead to intestinal blockage.
Infected chickens will have pale combs, unkempt feathers, diarrhea and stunted growth.
Gape worms
Gape worms are a special type of chicken worms that infest the wind pipe. They are Y-shaped and can block the air way making the chicken gasp for air.
These worms will lay their eggs which are coughed in the mouth, swallowed and passed out with poop. A second bird will collect these eggs when pecking at the chicken coop and get infested too.
They will inhabit the windpipe and suck blood from the surrounding blood vessels. Infested birds will cough and gasp for air when breathing.
Sometimes, these chickens will produce a wheezing sound when the air way is blocked. Additionally, they will have rough coats and decreased appetite.
Eye Worms
Eye worms will infest chickens eyes where they prefer to live. They are small and hard to see with your naked eyes.
Infested birds will scratch the eyes and a whitish thick substance may come out. Birds will have a low appetite for food and droop their heads,
If not treated, eye worms can lead to blindness and eventually death. Seek advice from a qualified bird vet on the right medication to use.
How to control worms in chickens
Get a natural dewormer for chickens
There are a number of chicken treats that are known to remove worms in chickens. They include pumpkin seeds and cilantro.
These treats are chemical free, cheap and easily available.
Use dry bedding material
Dampness is a favorable environment for chicken worms to thrive. Use dry bedding material like pine shavings, chopped straw or hay.
Hang the chicken waterers to prevent chickens from kicking them and creating a dump environment. Have enough ventilation to allow free air circulation that will drive any moisture out.
Clean the coop
Clean your chicken coop regularly to remove any chicken poop. This will help you get rid of any worm eggs that may have been passed out when chickens defecate.
Clear the bush and trim the grass
The area in and around your compound where chickens roam and range should always be clean. This will deny slugs and snails a conducive environment to thrive in.
Additionally, any droppings dropped will dry easily and kill the eggs.
Apple cider vinegar is a remedy
Adding a few drops of apple cider vinegar is good for your chickens. It should be added in their water to discourage algae growth.
Do not throw food on the ground
Throwing chicken feeds in the ground should be avoided by all means. When eating, they can easily collect worm eggs and get infested.
Instead, use clean chicken feeders or open trays to feed your chicken breeds.
Sprinkle small amounts of diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth is a good way to control parasites in chickens. Sprinkling small amounts of it in the chicken coop will kill the eggs as well as other parasites.
Deworm your chickens regularly
Chickens should be dewormed after every three months to keep them safe. You can also do it if you do a slide test on their poop and see any signs of worms.
Summary
Worms in chickens can cause great losses to poultry farmers. Birds will lose weight, lay fewer eggs and even lead to other health issues.
Always ensure that your birds live in a clean and tidy environment. This will deny any worm eggs or other organisms like snails to thrive.
If possible, confine your birds in a chicken run to stop them from free ranging. I know this is not easy because it helps bring down the cost of feeding them but it can help.
However, chickens are hardy birds and are not easily infested by worms. It is always advisable to seek advice from a qualified bird vet if worm infestation persists.
I am not a vet and this information is drawn from various online sources!
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