Kakes
So there are no specific instructions for chickens but it says for growing turkeys “1 lb of Safe-Guard .5% should be mixed into 313 pounds of feed, to be fed as the sole ration to growing turkeys for 6 consecutive days.” And for turkey hens you just treat once and then for toms they instruct to do a second treatment after 4 weeks. Safe-Guard says you can feed turkeys at 9 weeks, and per the USDA you can treat laying hens at 17 weeks of age.
So basically this bag can treat a lot of chickens. I buy 40 lb bags of chicken feed so this little 1 lb bag can treat almost 8 bags of food. It really doesn’t take much. A full handful of these pellets to 10 chickens would be more than they need. So I took a pellet per chicken (per day) and crushed them up into small bits and just mixed them into their standard pelleted feed. I did it that way so it was more evenly dispersed and more likely that all the girls would get a small, but sufficient dose.
Regarding egg withdrawal - at recommended treatment levels the USDA found residual Fenbendazole of 2.4ppm in eggs of after no withdrawal period and determined this was below the acceptable daily intake level for adult humans. Personally I will be throwing eggs out for a week, just for my own peace of mind. And also cause we aren’t able to tightly regulate dosages of the medicine in backyard chickens so they might be getting a higher dosage than the USDA tested so I wouldn’t assume your eggs are “safe” just cause the tested eggs were.
Overall I think these are a really good option for backyard chickens and this small bag can treat hundreds of pounds of feed. Common practice is to treat as often as every six months but it’s also suggested to alternate between different anti-parasitic medicines so that you don’t have problems with resistance. Some people only treat when the hens look unwell. It’s up to you but please research on reputable sites to make sure you get the best info!
| Manufacturer | Merck Animal Health Mfg |
|---|---|
| Part Number | 055186 |
| Item Weight | 15.2 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 8 x 2.7 x 1.4 inches |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Item Package Quantity | 1 |
| Batteries Included? | No |
| Batteries Required? | No |
Jennifer
TBone The Tech-Monster
Crystal