How do you deworm your ducks?

[Jlw0903]

My ducks are 4.5 years old. I have never used dewormer for them in the past and none have ever had issues with worms or parasites that I am aware of. However. They ARE getting older and I'm sure as they age will become more susceptible to such things.
What do you use and at what dosage? I have 2 Roen hens a swedish hen and a Cayuga drake. The girls all sit around the 5lbs mark (outside of summer when they eat less due to the heat) and my drake is about 7lbs.

If suggestin homeopathic/all natural, any information about issues before you started giving it and it's effectiveness would be helpful. I have no problems using traditional medicine if it ensures health but am not opposed to natural remedies if there is proven effectiveness.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Since I worn my chicken monthly my waterfowl get wormed too since they eat together. I use an herbal formula from Mollys herbals. I’ve used it probably 5 yrs and rarely do I see a round worn in my chickens poop.

 

[Kaiju]

I get worm counts done twice per year, rather than worming my ducks. Although I think every 3 months is the recommended amount. I use Westgate Labs which is in the UK. It's fairly inexpensive and easy to do - you just take samples and send them off. I do it once in autumn and once in spring, but might add a summer one too.

I have not yet had to worm my ducks, touch wood.

I use garlic, which is a natural anti-parasitic. There's lots of research on this front. I use it with my mice & rats also.

Some people believe garlic is unsafe for XYZ animal because it gets stuck on the lists of "unsafe foods" due to being believed to be unsafe for dogs. In reality, it's not actually all that unsafe for dogs either, in small quantities, and many foods, treats & supplements for dogs contain small amounts of garlic.

This is about dogs, but there's a good page that goes into this here. Which isn't strictly relevant to ducks, of course, but I thought it may be good information to share either way. Garlic often gets slapped onto unsafe lists due to being related to onion, which likely is unsafe.

Anyway, whether the garlic really works or not, I couldn't tell you. But I've not had worms in my poultry yet. Of course, if worms did show up, I would use proper worming medication, myself. I use garlic as a preventative, not a cure.

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

I just bring fecal samples to their vet every now and then. So far, no parasites have been found, and I’ve had ducks for 5 and 1/2 years. I have never dewormed them as they’ve never needed it!