Fecal Float Questions

[h2oratt]

I’ve started learning to do my own fecal floats. I’ve got a couple of questions and I’m hoping someone may have advice or help or additional links and info... (ie @casportpony ) or even help IDing (ie @Sue Gremlin) @KsKingBee thoughts?

I have five or six symptomatic birds. Potential reduction in egg laying, potential lethargic behavior (but it is summer for both of those), and messy bottoms. I’ve reduced protein and bathed them and they’re still messy. My flock free ranges.

I’ve done five floats so far. One was clean. two had a small load of eggs (80-100/gram), and two had high counts (1800 & 1950/gram).

the eggs are either round worm or cecal worms, and I’m having a hard time differentiating. I ordered a lens with a scale to measure. the eggs are measuring 85x50 um. Which seems closer to Ascarid egg size? But to me they do look fairly parrallel and maybe closer to heteraksis. I also included one photo with a rounder egg, the only egg this shape on all the slides but also made me think it could be roundworms

in addition while doing The fecals I found worms. Not large like typical roundworm photos in manure that I’ve seen. Small, like the description of tapeworm segments. I believe I isolated a segment and got it on a slide. Here are my photos. Is this a tapeworm segment?

worm(??) is at 40x mag. It’s about 2/3 cm long and it measures 2 or 3 mm on the scope at various points. (I don’t know my math right away for what that measurement is at 40x magnification.)

Egg is 100x magnification.

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I am in a Facebook group that helps people also.

 

[Folly's place]

Just PLEASE don't mess with this in the kitchen!!! Running fecals, any fecals, is disgusting stuff, and needs basic care being taken. It's potty time, and kitchens ain't the place!
Separate area, disposable gloves, face shields help too.
Remember that all dogs love poo, so having any available won't be good either.
Mary

 

[h2oratt]

In the USA there's a very short list of wormers approved for chickens; fenbendazole is it! Fortunately it kills most, but not all, of the intestinal worms likely to be found in the birds, including a few tapeworm species, depending on the dosage and days used.
Using a product as a 'preventative', with no evidence of exposure, or whatever, is nice in the 'wishful thinking' department.
Dogs and cats get a monthly drug, or drug combination, that kills intestinal parasites, new heartworm infections, and fleas and ticks, as they arrive. It's called heartworm preventative because the drug kills the larva injected by the mosquito before it can develop into heartworm in the heart. Likewise the products kill some intestinal worms early, monthly, so the dog or cat doesn't develop a bad worm load.
Mary

Hi folly! We are coming back to frankenmuth in 2022 for the dog show.

 

[h2oratt]

My old microscope is gathering dust in the basement. Guilty! Am I running fecals at home? Should be! Used to take them in, a better choice, but not going there this year so must get it out and start using it!
Mary

Fecals are over 50 dollars here in calif.

 

[Folly's place]

Dog show? When? We all hope to be in a more 'normal' state by then!
What dog breeds?
Mary

 

[h2oratt]

Dog show? When? We all hope to be in a more 'normal' state by then!
What dog breeds?
Mary

Port water dog. remember when I came to visit?

 

[LDev]

Well done on doing your own faecal egg counts before deciding to worm @jolenesdad ! Ascarid eggs have a thick outer wall and are oval and slightly uneven on the outside in some species (Suum) , almost like a sticklebrick but smoother in Ascaridia galli (in poultry).....do take care when handling the faeces though as they are a zoonotic species and you certainly don‘t want a dose of them! Tapeworm eggs almost look like a salt crystal under the microscope and can be in large quantities because basically every segment of the worm contains thousands of eggs that shed in the intestines. heterakis also have a thick outer wall but are smooth and slightly more square and smaller than galli, which is what yours look like but without measuring its not certainty. Heterakis worms though are tiny compared to Ascaridia galli. Ascarid and Heterakis both can cause illness and death though and should be treated with a registered anthelmintic. Ascarids in hens are easily seen when they come out in the faeces as they are a long, thick roundworm. In the UK we have only one legally allowed for chickens which is administered in feed and with your egg counts I would definitely say to treat the birds and also the area they are in. keep bedding clean, ground clear of faeces and test again in 14 days after the end of treatment to check efficacy. It is an increasing problem with anthelmintics where people are treating either unnecessarily or under dosing leading to increasingly resistant parasites (its the worms not the animals that develop resistance) I would recommend that anyone treating animals gets a faecal egg count done first to determine if worming is necessary and consult your vet if unsure