2 day old Chicks with worms? Pictures..

[Nicki750zi]

This morning picked up 10 baby chicks I ordered from Ideal Poultry. I put them in a clean Rubbermaid tote with puppy pads as bedding for first few days. All are eating and drinking well, they've seemed to perk up and are looking good. I just checked on them and found in a wet dropping, a gray/tan colored 1-2" looking worm???? (Mixed breeds, Easter eggers, Marans, and bantams). They are on medicated feed as I plan on introducing soil here in a few days. (Although that's just amprollium). This is my second set of baby chicks and so I don't know what to do- I did a quick search but I've got to get ready for work tonight. I have some things already on hand (Wazine and Rooster Booster granules "multi wormer triple action" feed concentrate) I've anticipated everything else but WORMS with these chicks :/ I appreciate any advice!!

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[Eggcessive]

I would doubt that a 2 year old chick would have worms. That looks like a very long poop. I would not recommend worming chickens until they are a few months old, or you have confirmed worms from a vet.

 

[Nicki750zi]

I wouldn't think so either.... But I forgot to post this other photo after I picked it up with an object- it was stringy and didn't break up

 

[DwayneNLiz]

If they have not been on soil, i would think it is not possible to have worms

 

[Nicki750zi]

Any ideas as to what that thing is??

 

[peterschick]

That looks like an incredibly large roundworm for a chick. I'm pretty sure that roundworms can transfer into the eggs, and therefore the chicks may have them. But I'm no expert. We just lost 4 chicks to roundworms, our first infestation and we are trying to figure these nasty things out. According to another thread on here, we used Wazine on the flock. We didn't give the little ones Wazine because of their age (about 4 weeks), but in retrospect it would have been better to try than to lose them. I will say that the chicks that died from the roundworms (they were autopsied by a regional clinic, so this is a 100% confirmation) - were much smaller than the ones who are still alive. They did not thrive, grew very slowly. We thought maybe they were half breeds with the bantams in our flock, because otherwise they acted fairly normal.

"threehorses" in this thread knows a lot about roundworms: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/216407/de-worming-and-wazine-concern

It's worth looking into - because like I said, that would be very large worm to be inside a chick!

Good luck!

<edit> After looking at the images closer (sorry, should have tried that first with my eyes) - that doesn't really look like roundworm... roundworm are much more light and pink, and consistent in size - that color is closer to poop color and kind of lumpy.

 

[Nicki750zi]

Thanks @peterschick. I've never had to deal with worms (as of yet) so I'm not sure what that thing is. I think I'll just keep an eye on them, since they are on puppy pads, it'll be easier to detect. I also had time last night to email the company with photos to see if they might have a suggestion or possibly an infestation that crossed over via the eggs. I'll keep you all posted if I find out anything, or hopefully someone might know what's up. Thanks everyone for your input!

 

[DwayneNLiz]

@casportpony can you look at the poop pics? i think it just looks like baby chick poop, maybe slightly gelatinous because of the grow gel???

 

[Nicki750zi]

Here's the email reply I just received from Ideal Poultry

"That does not appear to be a worm, and the chicks aren't old enough to have developed any disease or type of worms. It may be a form of feces or something to do with it internally, I am really not sure. Let us know if something happens to the chick in the next two days and we will credit you back for it.
Thank You,

Ideal Poultry Breeding Farms, Inc."


Soooo, still not sure. I didn't see anything odd this morning in their poops. Hopefully it's nothing, as they haven't been on soil yet.

 

[DwayneNLiz]

i'd just keep an eye on them , i still dont see how it is possible to contract worms unless they were on soil and then i would think more on the lines of cocci

but just watch them and good luck!!