flubenvet ok at 12 weeks?

[kathyd]

Hi - can I give flubenvet to birds of 12 weeks? I can't see anything on or in the box to tell me... Thx

[Nicos]

I have no idea - sorry!

It's given by weight though isn't it?...so maybe 1/3 to 1/2 dose???

I can't seem to see any mention of minimum age anywhere during a quick search.
Not sure to be honest, I worm March and September but don't worm the chicks....maybe I should- but if they have no signs of worms then maybe they don't need worming?

I guess you are preventative worming ???

[kathyd]

Hi Nicos - sadly no - I've just had one of the adult birds on my knee to rub some sudocreme into her legs, and she poo'd on me - and the poo wriggled! Yuk! First time I've seen this to be honest, but now I obviously need to dose them all, including the 'chicks' and presumably the ducks... They've not been done since May, I just checked - but normally I get away with twice a year.

They all free range together all day and the chicks steal everyone's food, so there's no point trying to separate them all out and dose them individually. I normally bung it into some porridge with mealworms because they'll all eat that, whereas I can't guarantee they'll eat their pellets, so I'll just make sure the chicks get smaller portions than the adults (well, the adults will make sure of that for me!). No idea what to do about the ducks thought - I've read there's nothing licenced for them so they'll probably just get the same as the chickens - although they're much bigger birds and should probably get more... *sigh*. Anyway, I've obviously got to do something, and I guess I need to re-dose in 3 weeks since I'm 100% sure they're infested this time. **&^"!

[Nicos]

I spotted a worming dosage for different types of birds...I'll see if I can find it again......

[Scarlet]

Personally I would cut out all food except the pellets and medicate enough for the 7 days. Some chickens will get more of the porridge/mealworm dish than others.

Work out how much food is eaten in a day. 120g medicated 100kg of food. Do the maths for how much feed is used in a day and medicate a weeks worth. Don't feed anything else all week.
Give a 3 weeks rest and then another week on the medication.

[kathyd]

I agree that would be the ideal Scarlet, but I'd have to shut them all in the shed all day for a week to make sure they didn't get access to anything else.. Not sure how any of us would cope with a sudden change from free range round 3/4 acre to shut in a shed 24/7 for so long, especially as the young ones don't really get on all that well with the older ones in close quarters for extended periods of time yet... Is this wise? I normally drop blobs of porridge for individual birds, and can go back to feeding the young ones when the adults aren't around, so they're not all fighting over the same bowl and at least I'll know who's had some... I know it's not recommended and I should follow your advice, but I'm concerned about their welfare (survival?!) if I have to shut them in for so long, plus some of the birds simply refuse to eat pellets most of the time, getting by on what they forage for themselves, and I can't help feeling it'd take them days to adjust to the new regime, during which time they wouldn't be getting medicated anyway...

NB: just to be clear and avoid any misunderstandings - they only get a very small quantity of COOKED porridge each day, not enough to fill them up and stop them eating more healthily the rest of the time! They live mostly on grass, weed seeds and grubs, topped up with their wheat in the late afternoon, and pellets when forage is thin in the garden. The porridge is used mostly as a carrier for the mealworms which are dried and which blow away in the slightest breeze!

[Nicos]

I spotted a worming dosage for different types of birds...I'll see if I can find it again......

Nah- I can't find it now
...have a bit of a google yourself.

[Scarlet]

some of the birds simply refuse to eat pellets most of the time, getting by on what they forage for themselves!

Most birds would turn their noses up at pellets if you offer porridge in the morning and wheat in the afternoon. They probably don't need any more.

Although I assumed you put a couple of bowls of porridge out and it was a free for all..... as the problem with giving the dosage in a treat dish is that it is consumed quickly - the more aggressive birds will get more than they need, etc. Larger birds will require more medication than the smaller birds. If fed in a dish of porridge you cannot guarantee that the large bird has eaten enough.
They don't need to be shut in, they can still free range (as mine do, behind an electric fence) but all other foods are generally stopped. The dosage is worked out on how much feed a chicken would consume throughout the day, so the bigger birds would eat more and receive more medication.

How many birds have you got? Perhaps it would be easier to dose a sultana each? I can't tell some of mine apart so that wouldn't work for me....

[kathyd]

Ah! Individual dosing! Now why didn't I think of that... I've only got 7 adults at the moment, all easily identifiable, and the 4 chicks whom I can still just about tell apart. So that might be an option, thanks .

And no, they don't get lots of porridge in a bowl - I make a small amount, and I feed them with a spoon direct from the pan - they normally get about a teaspoon or two each - I count the blobs I put down, and sometimes individually feed some of the less pushy birds, and scrape the blobs up again if some birds are getting greedy . Hey, I'm retired, I've got time to play all day with my birds! Lol .

Hah! A plan! I feel better now

[kathyd]

Thx Nicos, I'll have a proper look around and see what I can find

[Scarlet]

It's a 5g (teaspoon) per 4kg of feed. If you are doing per sultana. Slit it open and put a small amount on the point of a knife.

# I use the 2.5 stuff! So check yours first, it may be different.

[kathyd]

Thx Scarlet - I've got the 1% stuff, so I'll read the packet again before I use it.