Fecal Float Questions

[jolenesdad]

Your pics are of cecal worms, treatment is the same for roundworms. One day dose followed in ten days with another one day dose. I prefer Valbazen (albendazole) or Safeguard (fenbendazole).
View attachment 2280588View attachment 2280591

Thank you! Do you know when I measure if I measure from the inner or outer ring?

 

[Chicalina]

I did some preventatives on the dogs.
What chicken wormer do you use?

I use Verm-X regularly as a preventative. It is all natural and there is no egg withdrawal. I only have a small space and don't rotate my flock around, so they are on the same ground, hence me needing to keep on top of worms.

The only time I ever had a worm problem was when I introduced a new hen to the flock from a dodgy breeder. She brought worms and mites with her, and i was such a newbie at the time, that although i quarantined and mite treated her, I didn't routinely deworm her before adding her to the flock. Turned out that she had a massive wormload. I treated the flock then with flubendazole, which i also use once a year on my tortoises before they go into hibernation. The worms that came out were thread-like (like rice vermicelli), they weren't tapeworms.

 

[KsKingBee]

Thank you! Do you know when I measure if I measure from the inner or outer ring?

I don't measure so I can't help with that. I use one power, 100X, so they are always the same size when I see them.

 

[aart]

I use Verm-X regularly as a preventative. It is all natural and there is no egg withdrawal. I only have a small space and don't rotate my flock around, so they are on the same ground, hence me needing to keep on top of worms.

Verm-x isn't really a wormer, just herbs and spices, might help prevent,
but without fecals before and after it's just wishing in one hand.

@Chicalina ....
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[Trisseh]

just going to throw out there that the reason that there is sooooo much ivermectin resistance out there in pretty much every species is due to the indiscriminate, unnecessary, and poorly timed dozing over many years. Why treat when you don’t have to? Makes sense to me, but I also work at a clinic and do floats on the daily, and see what happens when there’s resistance in a flock or herd. Who wants to have to lose birds and then have to buy the expensive “big gun” dewormers if they don’t have to?

@jolenesdad great views on your scope, by the way. and kudos to you for learning to do it yourself! We generally don’t differentiate species unless they’re a specific reason to - those are an ascarid species so we would treat them as any other ascarid. The thick, brown shell gives them away right away. but beware, sometimes you’ll get eggs that have lost that outer shell!
The other item you have, I’m not 100% sure on. Usually tapeworm segments are seen with the naked eye, so I never really go looking for magnified views of them lol.

 

[Folly's place]

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

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I've used valbazen and safeguard but not very often.
@Folly's place @aart and @Trisseh make great points. I'm farther south than any of them so maybe I should pay closer attention to worm loads.
I've had a microscope for a while but it needs repairing so I have to ship it to the mfg. co.
When I get it back, I plan on analyzing the efficacy of herbal wormers.

 

[jolenesdad]

just going to throw out there that the reason that there is sooooo much ivermectin resistance out there in pretty much every species is due to the indiscriminate, unnecessary, and poorly timed dozing over many years. Why treat when you don’t have to? Makes sense to me, but I also work at a clinic and do floats on the daily, and see what happens when there’s resistance in a flock or herd. Who wants to have to lose birds and then have to buy the expensive “big gun” dewormers if they don’t have to?

@jolenesdad great views on your scope, by the way. and kudos to you for learning to do it yourself! We generally don’t differentiate species unless they’re a specific reason to - those are an ascarid species so we would treat them as any other ascarid. The thick, brown shell gives them away right away. but beware, sometimes you’ll get eggs that have lost that outer shell!
The other item you have, I’m not 100% sure on. Usually tapeworm segments are seen with the naked eye, so I never really go looking for magnified views of them lol.

Thanks!!! That’s all super helpful.

it appears that tapeworm segments have more visible eggs in them on a scope than this worm does. After deeper diving following @KsKingBee’s comments I found multiple scope photos of cecal worms that look like this one. The measurements also fit.

Most commentary about cecal worms never mentions you can see them, and also says they’re not a worry or rarely cause issues, so I was sort of expecting them to be tapeworms.

this is all very fascinating.

 

[Folly's place]

Many backyard chickens can manage a low worm burden without having health issues, and many can't. In warm climates where there's no freeze cycle, parasites are often a bigger problem, for everyone. Barefoot in the yard? Never!
Turkeys and peafowl, at least, will die due to the Heterachis and issues caused by that parasite, while chickens tend to do okay.
My flock has had few if any problems with intestinal parasites, which has been wonderful. Dry sandy soil does help!
My neighbor one mile up the road, on clay, with a near pond, has lost both peafowl and chickens to Heterachis. She needs to worm her poultry often to stay ahead of it all.
Mary

 

[jolenesdad]

Many backyard chickens can manage a low worm burden without having health issues, and many can't. In warm climates where there's no freeze cycle, parasites are often a bigger problem, for everyone. Barefoot in the yard? Never!
Turkeys and peafowl, at least, will die due to the Heterachis and issues caused by that parasite, while chickens tend to do okay.
My flock has had few if any problems with intestinal parasites, which has been wonderful. Dry sandy soil does help!
My neighbor one mile up the road, on clay, with a near pond, has lost both peafowl and chickens to Heterachis. She needs to worm her poultry often to stay ahead of it all.
Mary

Interesting. And, I’m also on clay soil near a pond and at the lower portion of the property.....