EEEK!!!! WORMS! Help!

[MIgardengal]

I just saw one of my 5 hens make a watery poop. There were small white worms swimming in it . I’m totally grossed out!!!

What should I do? I know nothing about worms!!! Please help!

 

[nchls school]

Head for the nearest farm store and get some poultry wormer; be precise in following the product's directions.

 

[MIgardengal]

I’m curious do I need to move them out of the coop/run and do a scrub down/bleach on it?

This is the first time in 3 years I have seen any worm in their poop.

 

[nchls school]

Intestinal worm eggs are picked up from the soil/ground the birds are eating on. A good cleaning might help. Many of my birds free range so cleaning is just the coop/roost area for me. Chickens getting worms is not unusual; just something to treat periodically. If possible, post a picture of these worms and poop to insure that what you're seeing is parasitic worms.

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you post a picture of the droppings? Were these worms in fresh droppings? Could they have been maggots? Can you check vents for any possible maggot larvae stuck to vents? Most chicken worms are not seen without a microscope, except for large roundworms or tapeworm segments.

 

[MIgardengal]

I’ll try to watch her poop and get a photo. It was definitely parasites in the poop though. I remember when our cat had worms it was similar.

I live in city limits so I can’t free range they are in a fenced run.

I was going to clean the coop anyway, it’s been deep litter since November. So I guess it’s a good excuse for a cleaning.

Will the birds get reinfected after I treat them? Like idk where they even got them from??? Haven’t brought in any new chickens to their pen.

 

[MIgardengal]

Can you post a picture of the droppings? Were these worms in fresh droppings? Could they have been maggots? Can you check vents for any possible maggot larvae stuck to vents? Most chicken worms are not seen without a microscope, except for large roundworms or tapeworm segments.

I doubt it’s maggots, I’m in northern MI with snow still on the ground no flies around.

Yes I was in the run watering them, saw my barred rock poop. It was a yellow runny poop, and there were 4-5 thin white things wiggling in it. Hair strand thin and about pinky nail long.

 

[Eggcessive]

It might have been either tapeworm segments or cecal worms. It would depend which of those as to what wormer might be the best. Praziquantel is best for tapeworms, and it comes in Equimax or Zimectrin Gold horse wormers. Valabazen or SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer are better for most other worms. Here is a picture of tapeworms, and they have a wider head on one end, and move:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/content/type/61/id/5572283/

 

[MIgardengal]

Ok so then a few questions:

-I have 2 dozen eggs in the fridge currently…is it safe for me to eat those? Or will I get worms from them?

-I usually compost their run/coop substrate. Will the worms die in the compost process? Do they only survive live host to live host?

-Will it hurt my hens to worm them with two different kinds of wormers?

 

[Eggcessive]

Your eggs are safe to eat. I would try to get pictures of the worms. Even better would be to take in some fresh droppings to your vet, to get a fecal float. That will tell you what kind of worms if any are seen. I would only use one type of wormer, depending on which type you have. The wormers with praziquantel are best for tapeworms. Valbazen or SafeGuard are best for roundworms, cecal worms, capillary worms, or gapeworms. Valbazen dosage is 0.5 ml for an average 4-6 pound chicken given orally once, and repeated in 10 days. SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer dosage is 0.25 ml per pound given for 5 consecutive days. If you have tapes, Equimax dosage is 0.03 ml per pound of weight given once orally and again in 10-14 days. If composting is done correctly, it is supposed to be hot enough to kill weed seeds, but I’m not sure about worm eggs. Not all chickens with tapeworms will need treatment, just ones that have the tapeworm segments in their poop. Tapeworm eggs a
can be contained in earthworms, beetles, snails, slugs, or other insects, as an intermediate host.