medicated worming pellets

[ClareM]

Hi, I have bought some worming pellets with 5% flubenvet, but then started worrying that it would be too much for my girls as they're only bantams not full-size hens...will it be ok? & should I feed for the full 7days? & if so, is it right that they can't have any treats or FR during the 7days on pellets?
Sorry, lots of questions!
Clare

[manda]

Yes they will be fine....they will eat enough to give them the correct dose.

No they shouldn't free range or have treats because you want them to get the full dose.

Questions are fine...it's what the forum's about

[Mo]

Edit. I've just reread your post. you say pellets. You can buy:-
a) medicated pellets, which saves all the faff described below, just give them enough that they will eat in a week.
b)5% strength powder (enough for a bag of feed) See below*
c)2.5% strength powder - same price, half strength and smaller tub. The instructions are phrased with small flocks in mind.

*With the 5% you have a huge amount (enough for a commercial flock who would eat a half hundredweight sack in a week). You will have to work out how much pellets your birds eat in a week, divide that weight by 56lb (or whatever it says on the tub), stand on your head, turn round three times, and add that fraction of a tub to the pellets, mixing well.

You will then have enough flub powder left to last till it's well out of date.

I found that a teaspoon of 5% flub in a washing up bowl of pellets was about right for 5 normal sized hybrids. To make it easier to mix you can start with a small amount of pellets, maybe with a little cooking oil to make it stick, mix in the powder, then gradually mix in the rest of the pellets.

Have fun.

[ClareM]

Thank you, both, i'm glad i went for pellets as the alternative sounds very complicated! I now have some very cross girls wondering where their regular greens are & what these strange new pellets in their feeder are.....i hope they have short memories & don't shout at me all week....!
Clare

[HazellB]

i hope they have short memories & don't shout at me all week....!
Clare

Shout, scream, cry, throw paddies, they'll do the lot.

[ClareM]

Oh great!! , thank goodness i can escape here to work all day!! Mind you, the two that were already in lay are still laying, & one of the others who hadn't started laying before has just started......so they're clearly not hugely distressed!

[lancashire lass]

Strange as it may seem, all my girls seem to prefer the medicated pellets to the normal stuff I get and after talking to the communal chicken people at the allotment (7 people got together and got 14 chickens and each person has the responsibility of feeding & cleaning for the day but also all the eggs collected that day) and they said the same.

i hope they have short memories & don't shout at me all week....!
Clare

Shout, scream, cry, throw paddies, they'll do the lot.

LOL - yes, very stressful especially the first couple of days. When the clocks changed, I now come home from work in the dark and within a short space of time, they soon got back into eating their pellets before bedtime to the point that at weekends they have "forgotten" about their evening treat.

the two that were already in lay are still laying, & one of the others who hadn't started laying before has just started

You might find that is because the medication is working Last year I was quite happy to get about 20 eggs a week from 4 girls but after the worming treatment, this shot up to 26-28! It makes sense that once cleared of any worms, all the food they eat will be available for egg laying. My girls have just been wormed but I'm keeping the treatment going until the weekend (10 days) and I've definitely seen an improvement in the number of eggs being laid but sadly not as dramatic as last year mainly because my older girls are probably slowing down this winter anyway, sigh. Fingers crossed the new girls keep on going ....

[ClareM]

Are the eggs still ok to eat?

[Mo]

Yes they're fine if you are using medicated pellets. And if you mix your own as long as you use the recommended dose. I think it will say on the packet, 'no egg withdrawal' or something