Enjoy Eggs from the Garden but Don’t Make False Economies
Press Release
February 2012
At the end of 2011 commercial egg producers observed a worrying trend: growth in the sales of eggs from caged hens and a decline in sales from free range hens.1 This might have been due to customers ‘trading down’ in an attempt to save money.
In this tough economic climate, welfare shouldn’t slip off the agenda. Eggs from your own chickens are a big benefit and backyard keepers are being encouraged to avoid skimping on their poultry healthcare in an attempt to reduce costs. Most chickens will reach their peak egg production in the spring months but unfortunately, some birds won’t live up to expectations due to parasitic worms. So any savings made by avoiding the use of wormers could be a false economy.
Worm development speeds up as environmental temperatures hit around 10 degrees centigrade and in some parts of the country that can mean that the parasite lifecycles can be completed early in the year. Parasitic worm eggs are also susceptible to drying out but wet muddy conditions commonly seen in spring help them survive for longer, presenting an increased risk.
Unless birds are being treated regularly, they can pick up these worm eggs directly from the ground or via infected insects and earthworms. As parasitic worms can have adverse effects on egg production and quality, as well as making birds ill, it is much better to treat around four times a year, with spring being one of the most important treatment periods.
Without regular treatments, birds can host a higher burden of worms, contaminating the chicken run with even more worm eggs and making it much harder to control the infection. Flubenvet® 1 % Medicated Premixture is available in a 60 gram pot – enough to treat around 20 chickens (or five birds, four times a year). Throughout the seven day in-feed treatment, the eggs produced can continue to be consumed.
For those flocks where a worm infection is suspected the advice of a vet or animal health adviser should be sought as more frequent treatment of the flock may be needed to control the parasite burden – giving poultry keepers yet another reason to stick with a programme of regular routine treatment.
Reference
1.http://www.theranger.co.uk/news/Retail-growth-of-free-range-eggs-stalls_21697.html
Flubenvet® 1 % Medicated Premixture contains flubendazole 10 mg/g. This product is produced from Flubenvet 5 % w/w Premix for Medicated Feeding Stuff Vm 00242/4056.
For further information contact Elanco Animal Health, Lilly House, Priestley Road, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG24 9NL, Tel 01256 353131, Fax 01256 779510 Email elancouk@lilly.com
Advice on the use of this or alternative medicines should be sought from the medicine prescriber
Use Animal Medicines Responsibly www.noah.co.uk/responsible
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