Earthworms GALORE!

[SLH]

So my 5 yo son has discovered the joy of feeding all the earthworms he can find to our ducks. Needless to say, he’s now the ducks’ FAVORITE person, and it’s hilarious to watch the chasing him around for more earthworms! My question is, should I worry about the ducks eating TOO MANY earthworms?

 

[Yardfulla poopers]

I would only worry about it if you actually plan to have any earthworms let to enrich your garden☺

 

[SLH]

I would only worry about it if you actually plan to have any earthworms let to enrich your garden☺

Ha! Ha! Exactly!

 

[KaleIAm]

Your son sounds adorable. <3. I love him.

Earthworms do have parasites. So do slugs. The ducks eat them and then they live in the duck. A low amount of parasites is normal in ducks and doesn't usually hurt them, but if the numbers get too high the ducks can get sick. My vet told me all the above paragraph. Knowing this doesn't stop me from playing with my ducks in the garden and allowing them to eat earthworms. It gives them great joy. It gives me great joy. I don't want to keep my ducks in a bubble of safety void of joy.

I get my ducks tested for parasites at least twice yearly. My ducks are pets, not livestock. They often have excessive parasites. Sometimes they don't. One in particular almost always has excessive parasites. We have a lot of slugs.

Even though I adore my ducks, I would let your son go crazy feeding them earthworms. Even if I couldn't afford to take my ducks to the vet for exams and parasite testing I would. I would just deworm them if they got diarrhea or other clinical symptoms.

 

[SLH]

Your son sounds adorable. <3. I love him.

Earthworms do have parasites. So do slugs. The ducks eat them and then they live in the duck. A low amount of parasites is normal in ducks and doesn't usually hurt them, but if the numbers get too high the ducks can get sick. My vet told me all the above paragraph. Knowing this doesn't stop me from playing with my ducks in the garden and allowing them to eat earthworms. It gives them great joy. It gives me great joy. I don't want to keep my ducks in a bubble of safety void of joy.

I get my ducks tested for parasites at least twice yearly. My ducks are pets, not livestock. They often have excessive parasites. Sometimes they don't. One in particular almost always has excessive parasites. We have a lot of slugs.

Even though I adore my ducks, I would let your son go crazy feeding them earthworms. Even if I couldn't afford to take my ducks to the vet for exams and parasite testing I would. I would just deworm them if they got diarrhea or other clinical symptoms.

Thank you! The parasites are part of what I am worried about - our ducks are our pets too . I really appreciate your perspective about the joy it brings the ducks (not to mention my son) to be fed earthworms! I’ll build in routine visits to our vet to check for parasites, and keep an eye on any symptoms.