before you give wormer, please read

[McChooky]

I would bet that if you had worms that you'd go running to your doctor to get meds to eradicate them in a heartbeat! Especially if it was a child.
Tell me, what would they be doing in your guts, having a party? No, they would be sucking the life out of you.
Same for chickens. Common sense has gone done the tubes.
I'm done here. It's your choice whether to worm YOUR birds or not.

Yes. An animal struggling with a parasite infestation succumbs to disease not the other way around.

 

[LaFleche]

Ever since I started to worm my broody hatched and raised chicks early at about 6-7 weeks of age they don't grow apart anymore and seem to be less prone to coccidiosis.


Many years ago before I started to practice early deworming, I used to deworm the youngsters first time at about 19 weeks of age and I often had them grow apart and a runt or two among them.

It turned out to be capillary and tape worms which cause havoc on their intestines preparing the lining for easy coccidia infestation and are rather deadly for chicks.

Our grounds are often wet and snails and slugs thrive leaving their eggs and parasites to be found and ingested by our chickens. So in our case the early deworming saves lifes and secures the productivity of the birds as a damaged and thus defective digestive system will leave the birds in a somewhat starving condition despite them eating well.

But I only use Flubendazole 5% and deworm my adult birds just once or twice a year. In case I am suspicious of a certain bird and all others are well, I just deworm the one who needs it selectively.
Other than that I use natural herbs like oregano as tea and mixed in their egg-mash and Moro's carrot soup to promote their resistance and overall health.

And I select for robustness and natural resistance when choosing whose eggs to hatch from.
A bird that I notice to be prone to parasites will be butchered early.

 

[Perris]

Yes. An animal struggling with a parasite infestation succumbs to disease not the other way around.

if you read the paper I linked you will see that sometimes it goes the other way round; a healthy bird fights off an infestation, a sick or malnourished bird succumbs

 

[McChooky]

if you read the paper I linked you will see that sometimes it goes the other way round; a healthy bird fights off an infestation, a sick or malnourished bird succumbs

A healthy immune system doesn't attack worms. THey'll still waste away as the parasite gets all the nourishment from the food they eat.
Its a slow death

 

[Perris]

A healthy immune system doesn't attack worms. THey'll still waste away as the parasite gets all the nourishment from the food they eat.
Its a slow death

would you care to cite some evidence that supports your opinion?

 

[McChooky]

would you care to cite some evidence that supports your opinion?

Maybe you'd like to cite some evidence that proves prolonging treatment for worms won't cause them to become malnourished?

 

[McChooky]

https://backyardchickenscoop.com/chicken-parasites/

 

[Perris]

https://backyardchickenscoop.com/chicken-parasites/

so, under worms, it says

"Capillaria​

Signs and illness development

Signs of Capillaria are difficult to detect since this is a chronic type of infection. Some birds may, therefore, fail to show the obvious signs. However, you can analyze non-specific signs such as:

• Weight loss
• Intermittent diarrhea
• Reduced appetite
• Pale combs as a result of anaemia ...

Treatment, prevention, and control

Capillaria is a disease with multiple drug resistance and there treating it can be quite challenging. A veterinarian can however recommend the use of Ivermectin, Mebendazole, and Fenbendazole for therapy purposes.

To control the development and spread of Capillaria, it’s important to keep your chicken’s bedding dry. Don’t forget to change them frequently since these worms need a humid environment to lay eggs.

Heterakis​

Signs and illness development

The eggs of Heterakis worms can remain viable for several months in the right environment. This means that it may take time for symptoms to fully develop. Clinical symptoms of Heterakis include:

• Wasting
• Depression
• Diarrhoea

Diagnosis

If you have egg-laying eggs, you will notice a significant drop in the production of eggs. ...To prevent and control the spread of Heterakis worms, your birds’ beddings should always remain dry. Additionally, make it a habit to change them frequently. "

and so on. So they do not say will kill the bird. Indeed, they say that you might not notice anything's wrong with the bird. Non-specific signs are those that might be caused by a variety of different conditions, not specifically worms. They talk about drug resistance as a problem. They talk about bedding as a source of infection.

So this source doesn't actually support your contention that "THey'll still waste away as the parasite gets all the nourishment from the food they eat.
Its a slow death"

 

[Perris]

Maybe you'd like to cite some evidence that proves prolonging treatment for worms won't cause them to become malnourished?

I do not understand your point; can you rephrase please?
I certainly haven't claimed that "prolonging treatment for worms won't cause them to become malnourished".

 

[Perris]

Let's be clear. This is the first line of the entry on helminthiasis in poultry in the MSD vet manual:
"Helminthiasis is infestation by parasitic worms. In rare cases, affected birds develop clinical signs such as apathy or diarrhea. "
In rare cases birds develop clinical signs. Signs such as apathy or diarrhea. Not that worms kill chickens.
https://www.msdvetmanual.com/poultry/helminthiasis/helminthiasis-in-poultry

I think some people have confused marketing blurb from firms that sell wormers with fact.