Worming a Broody?

[di]

OK,so this might be one of my stoopid worries
It just so happens that the chooks due date for worming has coincided with us letting a broody sit on eggs.She doesn't have access to their food.
Question...should I worm her now or wait until the chicks hatch.(I know it sounds silly but I know they don't like to get off their nest too often and I'm not sure if the Flubenvet will make her 'go' more?...I don't want her to be caught short while she's on the nest)

There's no sign of them having a problem with worms at present...just the precautionary,Springs here routine dose.

[Nicos]

I've just completed a weeks dosing.
Bayonce's eggs hatched the day before I started worming them all and I had to keep her isolated with her chicks in a bunny hutch because of the little one's hernia .
She's not been pooing any more than usual- and they've been normal consistancy.
It'd be easier to worm her now whilst she's on the eggs cos I've had a right job getting my two moms to eat their powdered raisins as they just kept trying to feed them to the chicks!!!

[di]

Cheers Nicos,I shall do her now then.
I know it seems a silly question,I just had visions of me worming her...her getting a bad case of the runs and the nest becoming a soiled mess....and then reading on here that I should've waited........this is going to be a perfect three weeks

[di]

I've never done it individually...is it a 'pinch' on a treat?considering how little they eat I don't think it's worth mixing it in her food.

[Nicos]

I get a raisin, split it and put the tip of a pointy knife's worth of Flubenvet inside.

I often find it difficult to give treats to a broody- they sort of go off their food a bit.
However- I have left treats ( corn /raisin) from time to time next to them and when I've returned they've been eaten.
Does she have a favourite treat ???

[RichmondHens]

You can damp a handful of corn and mix the powder into that. She'll get her dose when she gets off to feed. I have also dosed broodies using a wet piece of bread with the powder smeared on and they were happy to eat that.

As Nicos says, it's easier to dose them while they are sitting rather than when they have chicks because they will try and feed everything to the chicks.

[di]

By chance I bought some corn for her today,I've just mixed a smidgin' of Flubenvet with it.I shall go take it to her now.
Thanks both of you.....I got raisins to bake some biccies with the kiddies after school as well,so if she doesn't eat the corn she can try a raisin tomorrow

[elizajay]

I have just wormed my chooks and put a dab on quatered grapes. I fed the broody (not sitting on eggs as there is no room for more in the coop) where she sat as she can't resist grapes. It was easier than doing the others as they kept stealing from each other, so some have been well dosed!

[di]

Well what a palava that turned out to be
I'm pleased to report she happily munched on the corn...in fact I'm also pleased I put it on the floor of the coop and didn't offer it on my hand...the way she went for it I think she'd have pecked a hole in my handStrangely she has pellets right by her but you'd think it was the first food she'd been offered since going broody.
Anyway,thatwas all good until she decided to get off the eggs...fine thought I but she was manically pacing up and down her little run desperate to get with the others,I left her for quarter of an hour...keeping a close eye on the time(I have to leave the lottie at 3:00 at the latest to pick the kiddies up on time)
Well at about five to I popped in with her and tried to resettle her but she'd have none of it,knowing I really had to go I decided it was maybe for the best and perhaps she'd settle better without me anyway...squeeze out of her little run only to discover I hadn't properly latched the main gate and the wind had blown it open....ALL eight of the others were having a field day amongst the raspberries...and two had spotted my Nine star
So sadly I was nearly ten minutes late picking the kiddies up from school on their first day back after the hols

Pleased to let you know though that Andi just called and she's back on the eggs.
We're ordering an inci tonight though...I was going to wait and get one for my Birthday,but think it would be reassuring to have one on standby.

Phhhew!

[RichmondHens]

Di, don't panic, I'm sure she will be fine. Just give her corn (+ grit) to eat now through to hatching, she won't want/need the pellets. It will heat her up and keep her on the nest. Being broody is the one time you can feed the hens ad lib corn which takes longer to digest and so keeps them on the nest for longer.

[RichmondHens]

We're ordering an inci tonight though...I was going to wait and get one for my Birthday,but think it would be reassuring to have one on standby.

Phhhew!

You need a Richmond Grey on standby .............

[di]

I'm sure she'll be fine,I think I just need to get the last few hatches out of my head...or at least try to forget the problems but see that actually they were all pretty successful in the end