Chickens wasting away and I'm stumped. Cocci?

[Lillith37]

I have been digging through poo for a month and a half, and this is the first time I have seen the tapes.

The proglottids are the segments of tapeworm that break off from the worm itself and pass through the droppings. They contain squillions of eggs. They can be like a blob of white rice, there are also kinds that are smaller and yellow in colour. I would bet money on those white things in your poop pictures being tapeworm, based on the visual and how you described them.

The tapeworm will only shed its proglottids once or a couple of times a day. Usually in the afternoon/evening. The proglottids wiggle down to the underside of the poop and into the ground to escape the air and UV which will kill them. So if you haven’t seen them, it doesn’t mean they aren’t there.

 

[Lillith37]

Thanks. How did you treat with praziquantel? Did you use it as a paste on food? I had a very hard time syringe dosing 18 hens with pyrantel today.

I have access to a wormer tablet that contains praziquantel and levimasole that I use to worm my flock. As guided by Eggcessive and others on here, I dose at 10mg praziquantel per kg of bird.

If you are using paste, you can use a syringe to draw up the required amount and treat each bird individually. Get up early, about two hours before you let them out for the day, and dose them whilst they are roosting. You can round up for dose/weight because there are quite wide safety margins for praziquantel. But do check what other active ingredients there are. Either pull down on their wattles to get them to open their mouth and syringe directly in, or wedge your index finger in their beak to keep it open whilst you squirt it in.

 

[Eggcessive]

It is unfortunate if you don’t know which one’s dropping had the tapeworm segments, since you could treat just that hen. But I would treat for that. The Equimax would treat quite a few birds at 0.16 ml using a 1 ml syringe from a local pharmacy. They are usually given free for medicating babies or small animals. How many do you have?

 

[Keylime]

It is unfortunate if you don’t know which one’s dropping had the tapeworm segments, since you could treat just that hen. But I would treat for that. The Equimax would treat quite a few birds at 0.16 ml using a 1 ml syringe from a local pharmacy. They are usually given free for medicating babies or small animals. How many do you have?

Yes, I definitely think the issue is tapes now. I actually found a tapeworm today.

The only medicine I can get my hands on (without a prescription) is the Equimax horse paste. Would this work? How much paste would I need to put on bread to be effective? A pea size would be about 10 mg? Sorry guys, this photo is so gross! I really look forward to the day I don't have to be digging through !

 

[coach723]

Definitely tape worm.
Don't use "pea sized", that is very subjective and results in incorrect dosing. Article on why linked below.
Use an oral syringe and measure out your dose.
Dose for Equimax is 0.03 ml per pound orally and repeat in 10 days (6 pound bird would get ~0.2 ml, which is 1/5 ml). A 1 ml oral syringe is easiest to measure this amount. Then just administer to her beak, she'll swallow it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

Thread on "pea sized":
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-sized-blob-of-horse-paste-de-wormer.1141545/

 

[Lillith37]

If you dose them on the roost it will be easier. For tapeworm you’re supposed to fast the birds the day before and then a couple of hours afterwards. This weakens the worms and makes the medication more effective. I don’t fast my birds, I just worm them a few hours before I let them out in the morning.

 

[coach723]

I agree, I worm mine before light, early in the morning. Easy, peasy.

 

[Keylime]

Definitely tape worm.
Don't use "pea sized", that is very subjective and results in incorrect dosing. Article on why linked below.
Use an oral syringe and measure out your dose.
Dose for Equimax is 0.03 ml per pound orally and repeat in 10 days (6 pound bird would get ~0.2 ml, which is 1/5 ml). A 1 ml oral syringe is easiest to measure this amount. Then just administer to her beak, she'll swallow it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

Thread on "pea sized":
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-sized-blob-of-horse-paste-de-wormer.1141545/

That makes sense about the subjectivity of the "pea size." Do you guys weigh your birds or are you guessing? I have 18 hens of all sizes, from a tiny silkie to a giant Wyandotte. I don't have a scale.

 

[Eggcessive]

Ask your pharmacist for a few of the needle-less 1 ml syringes. My silkies weighed around 2 pounds. Most of my hens were 4-6 pounds, and the larger breeds were about 7 pounds. Roosters weigh more of course. An inexpensive kitchen scale found at Walmart or similar stores works well, or you can estimate. Going in to the coop just before dawn is good when you can take them off the roost with an empty crop, and then treat them. I use a headlamp with the red light which is less disturbing to them.

 

[Keylime]

Ask your pharmacist for a few of the needle-less 1 ml syringes. My silkies weighed around 2 pounds. Most of my hens were 4-6 pounds, and the larger breeds were about 7 pounds. Roosters weigh more of course. An inexpensive kitchen scale found at Walmart or similar stores works well, or you can estimate. Going in to the coop just before dawn is good when you can take them off the roost with an empty crop, and then treat them. I use a headlamp with the red light which is less disturbing to them.

Thank you so much, everyone, for your expertise, time, and patience.

I dosed them all early this morning with the Equimax and really want to see a load of worms come out. I so desperately want to fix this problem. Lots in my life (and the world) out of control right now, but maybe at least this one could be scratched off the shit list.

How long before I should expect to see results?