Deworming the chicken is a part of chicken maintenance on a farm. It may sound gross, but you must deworm the chicken as soon as possible to keep them safe from any sickness like diarrhea, anemia, and more. Typically, chicken catch worms from their food, especially in free range.
Sometimes deep litter system can also cause this. You can deworm your bird naturally, so you need to know the symptoms, worm type, how to prevent it, and more.
How Can You Tell If a Chicken Has Worms?
The healthy chicken will behave and usually eat even when they have worms. Getting worms is kind of normal because of the environment and how much they are poking around in the dirt. The symptoms of internal parasites include,
- Visible worms in their dropping, the dropping will be watery
- Weight loss
- Dirty feathers
- Worms in the egg and pale egg yolk
- Lower egg production
- Lack of energy
- Increased or decreased feed consumption
- Reduce growth
- Diarrhea
- Lethargic
- Pale comb and wattle
- Head shaking etc.
How Often Should Chickens be Dewormed?
You should deworm your chicken twice a year, even when there is no symptom.
Worms are a sensitive issue and can make the entire chicken sick. Do not wait; treat your chicken naturally when you see the signs.
How to Deworm Chicken Naturally
Deworming a chicken is a straightforward process. You can add the organic dewormer to their food in liquid or solid form. Organic chicken dewormer is cheaper and available.
· Worming Chickens with Garlic
Garlic is a potent spice that benefits the gastrointestinal tract and immunity. Just add the garlic powder or grind some cloves and add it to their feed every day. You can mix it with their drinking water regularly.
Adding mints also boosts worm prevention. The parasite does not like the taste of garlic and mint. Please do not feed them too much garlic, or the smell of the eggs will change.
Garlic is nontoxic and also rich in minerals and vitamins. It is an antibiotic for the chicken, killing the worm larva and eggs.
Sometimes chickens may face issues in their stomach, but it’s okay. Mix the garlic for ten days with their food, and the worm will stop reproduction.
· Worming Chickens with Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is another natural product with many beneficial properties for thickening.
Add one tablespoon of vinegar, and 1 gallon of water, then pour it into the chicken drinker daily. The vinegar will lower the water level and improve the chicken’s digestive system.
It also reproduces the poking behavior of the chicken in dirty places. Remember to keep enough ventilation with a solar chicken coop fan for summer to keep them hydrated and in the best shape.
ACV kill the bacteria from the chicken gut, so pour the ACV water for only one week and repeat this every three months.
· Pumpkin Seed
Pumpkin seed has a natural chemical that paralyzes the chicken worm from their gut and digestive. The Paralyzed worms are expelled with chicken poop.
Add one tablespoon of pumpkin seed with flesh for each chicken. Pumpkin flesh is a natural laxative that won’t harm the chicken.
You can easily use the seed in the fall. You can serve fresh pumpkin in half a water. Some people grind the seed and flesh, add garlic, and serve it to the chicken.
· Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous is a natural supplement for chicken worms. It is a plant mineral and works as a natural dewormer for chickens. It dehydrates the worms in the digestive and guts. Feed the chicken at least 5o grams of diatomaceous daily. Diatomaceous Earth does not harm the environment or chickens; it only kills internal and external parasites.
· Pepper, Mint, and Cucumber
Pepper, mint, and cucumber are also effective for deworming. Use separately or together but be sure about the amount.
Mint and cucumber have excellent properties to kill the parasite. They both can kill larvae and eggs, so use them in season.
Chicken loves mint salad in hot weather. Cucumbers are also a refreshing food for them that keeps the chicken hydrated.
· Lactose-Free Instant Pot Yogurt with Live Cultures
Worms and parasites kill the good bacteria from the chicken gut and stomach. After deworming the chicken, feed them one tablespoon of pot yogurt daily to improve digestion.
How to Prevent Intestinal Worms
Intestinal worms mean it spread through the environment. If one chicken gets it, the others can be affected, too, because of the affected chicken’s poop and food. If you notice the affected chicken, keep them separate room and clean the cage.
Do not overflow the chicken cage; keep enough room for the chicken to move to the pole. The foods and water should be fresh, keeping the healthy chickens away from the affected ones.
Scientific Proof of Natural Chicken Wormer
Natural chicken wormers do not deworm the chicken thoroughly; there is no scientific proof.
Source: heritageacresmarket
They only can weaken the work and kill the larva or eggs. These natural wormers are healthy and nutritious for the chicken and keep them strong during the worming.
Also, after deworming, the chicks may feel weak for a couple of days, and these natural dewormers help them regain their life. Only synthetic dewormers can kill the worm.
Can You Eat Eggs If Chickens Have Worms?
Worms affect egg-laying capabilities and egg qualities. It damages the gut and changes the yolk color.
Still, you can eat the chicken egg because the deworming medications are safe for the egg’s quality. If you give them synthetic dewormer, check the package about the egg withdrawal duration.