Do my chickens have worms?

[Chicken lover 123]

Hi everyone I was away for a while and my chicken sitter didn’t clean the chickens cage. When I went to clean it I found tiny little worms in their feces. I’m wondering if they have Parisites and how to treat parasites and also if I can eat their eggs if they have parasites.

 

[jennwhiddon]

Depending on where you live, the worms may have gotten in their waste after it was on the ground. I would maybe take a sample to your vet if you don't recognize the worm type. Most parasites that live inside your chickens do not exit with their feces, usually they are attached to the insides of the chicken and only their eggs are shed in feces....

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Only tape worms and round worms (with heavy load) can be seen in droppings. Tape worms will look like rice pieces, but slightly different then maggots which may have been laid and hatched on the poo after dropping.

I suggest if you DO wish to worm... taking a sample to be tested at the vet ($13-18 here) so they can identify species and load count to make sure you treat the correct parasite instead of treating for what you don't have and accidentally not treating what you do.

The previous poster is correct that only microscopic eggs of most worm species will pass in the droppings of our shooks, with the exceptions I noted.

FOR NOW, before treatment with any medications... the eggs are perfectly safe to eat. Any worm would be inside the intestines and not the eggs. Once you treat if you need to... there should be withdrawal time for eggs indicated on the label. That is for the medication residual that enters eggs, not worms and I would follow the instructions accordingly.

Also want to note that while pasture/poo management does help keep parasite loads down... getting worms, lice or mites doesn't make someone a bad keeper. They are part of the environment. Allowing them to continually infest would indicate bad keeper. But some of the eggs of parasite worm species are actually laid or present on the exterior of our standard earth worms (which get digested and don't just live in the gut). It's those eggs that hatch in the gut and take foot hold.

To me, testing is cheaper than treating what you don't have.

Good job being vigilant.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I was away for a while and my chicken sitter didn’t clean the chickens cage....I found tiny little worms in their feces

How long were you away?
Where are you located/what is your weather like?
Do you still have the worms - any photos

I agree with the others - it could be larvae from flies or other insects if the poop had not been cleaned up.

Some people do routinely de-worm their chickens once or twice a year, but having a fecal float for confirmation is always a good idea, since you would have an egg throw away period when you treat your flock.