Baby Chicks with Worms

[chicksgalore]

We just purchased 10 chicks from local feed stores (2 different stores) a couple days ago so the chicks aren't even a week old and today I'm noticing someone dropping worms, greyish-white. They've been in a clean plastic tote with fresh wood shavings. The worms are 2-3" long. Ever hear of baby chicks this young carrying these? I am totally disgusted as my kids have been carrying them around the house the past few days!

 

[Bradfordj]

Get dewormer! Being in Canada I have no clue on where you would get it! I don't even know where I can get it myself. I always use anti biotics with electrolytes that mixes in the water for all my new chicks for a couple days. Specially feed stores or big hatcheries. You need to find medication though if its worms! The worms will rob the nutrients your chicks need for growth and survival!

 

[dawg53]

We just purchased 10 chicks from local feed stores (2 different stores) a couple days ago so the chicks aren't even a week old and today I'm noticing someone dropping worms, greyish-white. They've been in a clean plastic tote with fresh wood shavings. The worms are 2-3" long. Ever hear of baby chicks this young carrying these? I am totally disgusted as my kids have been carrying them around the house the past few days!

Could you post a pic or two? Thanks.

 

[Eggcessive]

Could you post a picture of these worms? It is uncommon to have to treat such young chicks for worms.

 

[dawg53]

Most likely it's shed intestinal lining. Chicks can have a large roundworm infection under 12 weeks old but normally no sooner than 6 weeks old due to the worms lifecycle, then they would have to be on soil as well.
http://parasitipedia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2647&Itemid=2923

 

[saulsberry]

I have never heard of chickens having to deal with worms, but from what I read its possible but not common.
About 2 weeks ago, I bought 4 buff orpington chicks from a organic free-range farm down the street, and one of them excreted a round worm. I called the farm and let her know so she could watch for worms in the other chicks and immediately put a large amount of diatomateceous earth in their food for 24 hrs.

The next day purchased wayzine de-wormer for poultry and did the annoying math to divide the dose to be accurate for my tiny flock. I de-wormed my 5month old ducks as well, and already keep the dog, our kitten and the barn cats de-wormed routinely since they are the main carriers of several types of worms.

They are due for a follow up dose this coming Wed. and hopefully they will be worm free, the only thing I could think of is they picked up the eggs from the mulch the farmer had them on or the hens that laid their eggs had worms so bad it the eggs got through to the eggs.

Just for good measure, the eggs I had purchased from this same farm went in the compost pile since she doesn't de-worm her chickens at all and I read humans and in rare cases can get the roundworms.(since we like our eggs on the undercooked side)

Hope this helps. I am in to raising my babies all-natural/free-range/organic but sometimes you just have to use conventional methods for the health of the flock, better to have a hen that cant be considered totally organic than sick and or dying I guess.

.From left to right: Henny Penny,Chicken Little, Henrietta and Chica
The picture is after giving them a dip in their warm water bowl and a gentle blow dry under the brooder lamp due to them having diarrhea and hopping all over each other with their gooey feet. They are clean fuzzy and 4 weeks old today and almost feathered out.

 

[dawg53]

Welcome to BYC.
You're on the right track about chickens getting worms and it's very common depending on soil conditions. Chickens are more likely to get infected with worms than dogs or cats. Chickens are constantly pecking the ground and eating grass where worm eggs are located. Dogs and cats dont do that, yet dogs and cats are wormed on a monthly basis. The only way to stop the worms lifecycle in your dogs and cats is by monthly worming, to kill the worms from producing eggs....same thing with chickens.
Wazine dosage is the same no matter what size the bird, or how many birds are going to be wormed: one ounce per gallon of water for 24 hours only. Remove all other sources of water for them to drink and give them the treated water first thing in the morning. Remove the treated water after they go to roost for the night, then provide regular fresh water.
DE wont prevent not treat worms. It is ineffective when wet, just like inside the chickens innards.

 

[chicksgalore]

Thanks, I'll have to try to get a picture. I first found one in the water which was fairly fresh and didn't have a lot of shavings/dirt in it. A while later, I found another one, same size, in the water. I did find a couple in the shavings as well then. I put some wazine in their water last night; I know you're supposed to wait till morning but I couldn't wait. They haven't drunk it all yet. At least one more in the water this morning (how are they hitting the water??) I can't imagine this many being in a couple day-old chicks that have never been on free range! And I don't know a lot about worms but with the chicks being this young, how could the parasites be this mature/big already? I'm assuming they're roundworms but I'm not sure what cecal worms look like.

 

[dawg53]

Thanks, I'll have to try to get a picture. I first found one in the water which was fairly fresh and didn't have a lot of shavings/dirt in it. A while later, I found another one, same size, in the water. I did find a couple in the shavings as well then. I put some wazine in their water last night; I know you're supposed to wait till morning but I couldn't wait. They haven't drunk it all yet. At least one more in the water this morning (how are they hitting the water??) I can't imagine this many being in a couple day-old chicks that have never been on free range! And I don't know a lot about worms but with the chicks being this young, how could the parasites be this mature/big already? I'm assuming they're roundworms but I'm not sure what cecal worms look like.

A pic would really help. Are you sure they arnt maggots or shed intestinal lining?

 

[chicksgalore]

All yesterday, nothing. I was convinced it was something else. Maybe stringy poop? Intestinal lining? I'm not sure what that looks like but it would actually be a relief if that's what it was! Then today, I saw them in the water again! Why are they hitting the water! So, here are the pictures, in all their disgusting glory...