Equimax Questions???

[Chick3nLover]

Hi everyone, I recently did a post asking what kind of worm my chicken had and someone said tapeworm and then suggested Equimax.

I know it’s not poultry approved, so is it safe? I’ve tried the natural treatments haven’t seen much improvement in the worms in her poop, so I think a dewormer would be good.

I’ve read threads talking about how it’s a paste so how do I give it to her?

Also are there any risks to using this specific dewormer?

I just want all the info before I give something to my hen. Thank you!


@casportpony

 

[sourland]

@dawg53 can you help here?

 

[Chick3nLover]

@dawg53 can you help here?

Yeah, dawg53 was helping me on the other post, I just wanted to see if any one else had tried Equimax and had success or side affects with it. And if there were any other tips or tricks to it.

Thank you sourland!

 

[Painted Calls]

It's safe. The type of active ingredient in it is pretty universal.

Buy it, weigh your birds with a kitchen scale, dose them accordingly.

 

[dawg53]

Hi everyone, I recently did a post asking what kind of worm my chicken had and someone said tapeworm and then suggested Equimax.

I know it’s not poultry approved, so is it safe? I’ve tried the natural treatments haven’t seen much improvement in the worms in her poop, so I think a dewormer would be good.

I’ve read threads talking about how it’s a paste so how do I give it to her?

Also are there any risks to using this specific dewormer?

I just want all the info before I give something to my hen. Thank you!


@casportpony

Yes, Equimax is soft paste. I've used it and it's safe for your chickens, but not safe for the tapeworms, it kills them. As a matter of fact, you might even see whole parts or sections of the actual tapeworm excreted in feces after using the Equimax. I've seen it happen.

Because the paste is soft, you can even draw it up using a syringe without a needle in order to dose the infected chicken(s). There are no risks using Equimax. Just use common sense and follow the dosing amounts I provided in your other thread and everything will be fine.

An easy way to give it orally is to cradle the hen in your forearm. Preload the syringe with the paste. With your arm cradling the hen, use your thumb and fingers on the same hand (same arm) and pull straight down on the hens wattles and her mouth will open.
With your free hand, grab the pre-loaded syringe and shoot the paste in the hens mouth and quickly let go of her wattles so the hen can swallow the wormer. Done.
Release the hen.

Practice that procedure, a dry run so to speak. You'll be an expert in no time when it comes to worming chickens and/or even giving them liquid medications and/or liquid wormers when the need arises.
One last thing: It's best to worm early in the morning before sunrise. Go out to the coop when it's still dark. Bring a flashlight, get your syringe loaded up, then snatch a bird off the roost and worm her, then release her. Snatch another bird off the roost and repeat again. Chickens cant see in the dark, take advantage of it while they are roosting.

 

[Chick3nLover]

Yes, Equimax is soft paste. I've used it and it's safe for your chickens, but not safe for the tapeworms, it kills them. As a matter of fact, you might even see whole parts or sections of the actual tapeworm excreted in feces after using the Equimax. I've seen it happen.

Because the paste is soft, you can even draw it up using a syringe without a needle in order to dose the infected chicken(s). There are no risks using Equimax. Just use common sense and follow the dosing amounts I provided in your other thread and everything will be fine.

An easy way to give it orally is to cradle the hen in your forearm. Preload the syringe with the paste. With your arm cradling the hen, use your thumb and fingers on the same hand (same arm) and pull straight down on the hens wattles and her mouth will open.
With your free hand, grab the pre-loaded syringe and shoot the paste in the hens mouth and quickly let go of her wattles so the hen can swallow the wormer. Done.
Release the hen.

Practice that procedure, a dry run so to speak. You'll be an expert in no time when it comes to worming chickens and/or even giving them liquid medications and/or liquid wormers when the need arises.
One last thing: It's best to worm early in the morning before sunrise. Go out to the coop when it's still dark. Bring a flashlight, get your syringe loaded up, then snatch a bird off the roost and worm her, then release her. Snatch another bird off the roost and repeat again. Chickens cant see in the dark, take advantage of it while they are roosting.

thank you so much @dawg53 this really helped me understand better on dosing and such. Since it’s tapeworms I’ll only dose the infected hen, right?

 

[dawg53]

thank you so much @dawg53 this really helped me understand better on dosing and such. Since it’s tapeworms I’ll only dose the infected hen, right?

Correct. Hopefully no other hens have tapeworms. If you see segments in their feces, dose them with the Equimax as well. Good luck.

 

[Chick3nLover]

Correct. Hopefully no other hens have tapeworms. If you see segments in their feces, dose them with the Equimax as well. Good luck.

Thank you!

 

[Chick3nLover]

Correct. Hopefully no other hens have tapeworms. If you see segments in their feces, dose them with the Equimax as well. Good luck.

One more question, do I need to make them fast 24 hours? I was going to only do about 4 hours of just the medication and fresh clean water. Is that good enough? I hate fasting them and locking them up from their flock mates.

 

[dawg53]

Once they go to the coop at night to sleep, simply worm them the next morning before sunrise in the dark. They will be easier to worm. More importantly, they will have empty stomachs from not having been fed since the day before and the wormer will be more effective eliminating the worms. Then wait a couple of hours after worming them, then go ahead and feed them a little at a time, then back to normal feeding routine.