Chicken Has Worms... Help!! *UPDATED AGAIN*

[jayde88]

Hello,
My mixed breed bantam rooster has worms.
He acts lethargic, never crows, has trouble balancing, etc. We assumed it was mites, so we put him in a seperate area to recover and put Sevin Dust on him. It got rid of the mites but he kept acting strange.
Just a few minutes ago, he pooed and in his poo was a worm: It was about 1" - 1.5" long, white, rounded, and about a mm in diamater.
What type of worm is this? How do you treat it, and, is there anyway to treat it at home, because we don't have a vet near that does chickens? Is it causing his strange, lethargic behaviour and trouble balancing?

UPDATE: We got some Piperazine dewormer. It said it was for cats, they didn't have any specificly for chickens. Should it work? How much should I give him and how should I give it to him?
A few days ago he was looking a lot better, he was able to walk around pretty good and was eating and drinking a lot, but since the weekend, after I gave him the bath, he's been worse than usually: he can barely walk anywhere without flipping over, and, when he does, he just lays there, he hasn't been making much noise, and he needs help remembering where the food and water is.
I'm trying to figure out what made him worsen suddenly: I gave him some of that human dewormer a few days ago in his water, it is out now, though. Could that have poisoned him somehow? Also, he was eating a healthful combination of layer feed, cat food, flax and soybean meal, alfafa pellets, bird's seed, and cayenne pepper, but it ran out about last weekend and he has been on normal layer feed with some cayenne pepper and garlic until I could get around to making him some more. Also, when he had the bath, I ran out of the animal shampoo so used some gently human shampoo. And, he has started loosing LOTS of feathers.

ANOTHER UPDATE: The rooster is looking a little better today. He's having a slightly easier time balancing. He's eating and drinking (I gave him his special food mix). I haven't put the Piperazine in the water yet, because I am waiting a little while after giving him the other wormer.
But he seems to have something funny with one of his legs: whenever he sits or lays, it sticks out in front. No noticable blood or wound. I couldn't say if he was limping, since he is not walking very much at all. Are the worms causing the walking/balancing problem? Is his leg injured?
Also, after we administer the piperazine, how can we tell if his worms have gone?
Thanks!

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[rancher hicks]

Hey the new Backyard Poultry mag has a letter about using Garlic to fight off worms. Course I don't know if the amount would taint the taste of your eggs. ya only use it once in awhile so I don't expect it would. Anybody else want to weigh in on garlic?

 

[Chicks R Friends NOT Food]

You could buy food grade diatomaceous earth. I believe some added to the feed kills internal parasites without harming the birds.

 

[Renee]

Yes, that is what the problem is. You should worm all of your chickens immediately.

There are many over-the-counter dewormers used for chickens, depending upon the type of worm. Some kill all worms.

Wazine (Piperazine) kills only roundworms:

"The way I give Wazine is the 1 day treatment..then retreat in 10-14 days.others might do it different. Keep check on droppings. if you see worms, retreat. sometimes you can't see the worms, and a fecal sample can be taken to a vet for testing..sometimes called a fecal float.tests for worms, and what kinds, also shows if they have cocci present.the warning about laying hens is on all meds.not to worry.people use a withdrawal period after using any med.(withdrawal means not use the eggs for human consumption for a certain time period..with Wazine, which is pretty safe..I'd do maybe 2 weeks, but eggs can be fed back to the chickens)do you understand the dose amount?1 ounce to 1 gallon of water.check label."
by sammi

I'll do a search for the other wormers people recommend.

Ivermectin is a more broad-spectrum wormer. You can do a search for wormers here and get the pros and cons.

There is no scientific evidence that diatomaceous earth can cure a worm infestation once it has begun. Many people use it as a preventative measure, but if your bird is valuable, I would not experiment with it. Once symptoms of worms are apparent in a bird the bird is close to death in most cases.

 

[Buugette]

I give my chicks FOOD GRADE Diatomaceous Earth. I was told that it would help prevent and eliminate worms. I use it as a dusting powder too.

There are lost of threads here on the subject...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=46240

Good luck.

D

 

[jayde88]

Thanks everyone!
Rancher hicks, thanks!

Chicks R Friends NOT Food and Buugette, okay, thanks! I found a place that sells food grade DE mail order so I might get some

Renee, okay, thanks! He doesn't seem close to death, I hope he isn't. Can you purchase Piperazine in feed stores and mail order? I'm not sure what type of worms he has, does it sound like round worm?

 

[Renee]

Jayde, I have never seen one in person. Here's a link with a photo:

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...&prev=/images?q=chicken+roundworm&gbv=2&hl=en

Roundworms are the most common worm in chickens, so you may want to start with Wazine/Piperazine. It is available at most feed stores. I would administer it today. Once a chicken starts acting funny, they are very ill.

Be advised that it is not safe to eat eggs from chickens that have been given chemical wormers. Most people do not eat the eggs for two weeks after treatment. In the case of your rooster, of course, it will not be a problem, but you may want to treat all of your chickens, because the roundworm eggs are now in the soil.

 

[jayde88]

Quote:
Thanks! I saw the photo and it looks like he has roundworms... I will definitely get some Piperazine ASAP! Thanks again!

 

[CallyB57]

Guess I'm gross, but I am constantly checking poo for a sign of 'anything'. So far, after 5 months, the cheekens seem healthy and active - I have read or heard that you can't always see parasites in the cheeken poo, but I check anyway. I started putting PermaGuard food grade DE in their feed at about 6 weeks or so, and sprinkling it in their pine shavings. It could be working..I won't know unless they get sick, I guess. I do know one thing that it does - it keeps the flies away from their poo. I rarely see a fly in their coop, and they have been in the coop for over 3 months now..I do scrape the coop floor and add fresh dirt, about once every 2-3 weeks. I never see flies anywhere around or inside the coop area. I only put about 1-2 teaspoons per 10 pounds feed. They poo the most lovely poo I have ever seen - looks like a little icecream cone with white frosting on top. I could continue on with grossness, but I'm sure nobody wants to hear it...anyway, I need to mind my manners in mixed company.

 

[jayde88]

CallyB57, thanks! That is a good idea!

We have some Pyrantel Pamoate, it works to get rid of roundworms in humans. Would it work on chickens? Or would it be poisonous? Any help would be appreciated!