Kilverm Poultry Wormer 125ml

The right size for a backyard flock

Kilverm comes in two sizes, and for most people reading this the 125ml is the one. It holds enough to worm roughly 71kg of live weight — which for a flock of six average hens works out at about three complete wormings, or a year and a half of routine six-monthly treatment.

Buying the bigger bottle for a small flock is not the saving it looks like. A 500ml would take that same six hens the better part of six years to get through, and it carries an expiry date like anything else. Worm more than about eight birds, or keep more than one flock, and the 500ml starts to make sense.

Keep eating the eggs

This is the reason most backyard keepers choose Kilverm. There is no egg withholding period — you treat the flock and carry on collecting and eating the eggs the whole way through. Nothing gets thrown out.

That matters more than it sounds. The usual reason a flock goes too long between wormings is not forgetfulness, it is not wanting to bin a fortnight of eggs. Take that away and routine worming becomes something you actually do.

Does my flock have worms?

Almost every chicken carries a few. A healthy bird handles a small burden without ever showing it, and the goal is keeping the load down rather than sterilising the bird. It is when the load climbs — or the bird is stressed, unwell or poorly fed — that it starts to cost you. Signs worth acting on:

• Losing weight, or pullets and meat birds not putting it on
• Eating noticeably more, or noticeably less, than usual
• A pale comb and wattles
• Dropping off in lay, or pale yolks
• Thin white “threads” in the egg white — these are hairworms
• Loose, pale or foamy droppings, and dirty vent feathers. In a heavy burden you may see roundworms in the droppings

You do not have to wait for any of it. Worming on a routine is the cheaper and easier way round, particularly for birds that free range.

How much do they need?

Kilverm is dosed on body weight, not per bird, so add up roughly what your flock weighs and work from that. The rate is 1.75ml per kilogram of live weight, or 10ml per 6kg.

Dilute it at one part Kilverm to twenty parts water — so 10ml of Kilverm goes into 200ml of water. Mix only what the flock will actually drink in a morning; a few hens will not get through two litres.

Getting them to drink it

Here is where people come unstuck. The active ingredient, levamisole, is bitter. The birds taste it, they sip at it instead of drinking it, and you are left wondering whether they got the dose at all. The whole dose needs to go in, and reasonably quickly.

There are two halves to solving that, and we use both.

A tablespoon of honey in the mix

This is what we do, and what we have told customers for years: stir a good tablespoon of honey through the mix. It sweetens the water enough that they drink it properly, and honey is a prebiotic, so it is doing the birds a favour on the way through.

And take the water away the night before

Replace it with fresh clean water once they have finished it, or after eight hours, whichever comes first.

Clean the coop and run out thoroughly about 24 hours after treating, or the birds pick the parasite straight back up off the ground.

What it controls

Those are the three intestinal worms on the label. Kilverm does not treat tapeworm, and it does not treat gapeworm — which lives in the windpipe rather than the gut, and looks completely different. Coughing, neck-stretching, head-shaking, gasping or wheezing is not an intestinal worm; see what gapeworm actually looks like, and speak to a vet, because it is easily confused with respiratory disease. Our full comparison of Fluverm and Kilverm covers which one suits which job.

Worth being clear on one thing: this is an internal wormer. It does nothing for mites, lice or any other external parasite — those are a separate job.

Ducks, turkeys and other birds

The label covers domestic fowl, turkeys and other birds, so the same water dosing and the same 1.75ml per kilogram applies across the poultry yard — you are simply working to a different body weight. A Pekin duck at around 2.5kg needs about 4.4ml; a mature turkey at 8kg needs 14ml.

The bottle is labelled Kilverm Pig and Poultry Wormer, and it is registered for pigs as well, at a different rate and a different withholding period. The pig rates are on the label.

When to worm

• Routinely, every six months, whether or not anything looks wrong. Spring and autumn is an easy pair to remember. Free-range birds pick up more off the ground and may need it more often.
• Before new birds join the flock, rather than after.
• If you see the signs above — weight loss, a pale comb, dropping off in lay, or threads in the egg white.

Before you use it

• Eggs: no withholding period. Keep collecting and eating them right through.
• Meat birds: do not use within 7 days of slaughter for human consumption.
• Mix fresh, and make up only what the flock will drink that morning.
• It is a veterinary medicine — avoid contact with skin and eyes, and keep it away from children. If swallowed, ring the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26.
• Always read the label and follow the directions for use.

Which size do I need?

The 125ml on this page covers about 71kg of live weight — roughly three complete wormings for a flock of six average hens, or about eighteen months of six-monthly worming. It suits the usual backyard flock, and you will use it before it expires.

Past about eight birds, or if you keep more than one flock, the 500ml bottle is the better buy.

Specifications

Always read the label and follow the directions for use. If you are worried about a bird, speak to a vet. For more on keeping a flock healthy, visit our Chook School.