Feeding chicks earth worms.

[DianeB]

Keeko, earthworms are predators and do eat protazoa, including gapeworm. This is true. Slugs, snails and direct consumption are other sources of the parasite. However, it is rare and only a problem if gapeworm is in your soil. Also, gapeworms take more than a few days to suffocate a chicken. Are you sure that it was gapeworm that killed your friend's chicken? Did she have a necropsy done to determine it?

My chickens have been eating earthworms on a daily basis for a while with no problems. The two vets they go to have expressed no concerns about this. Neither of them have seen gapeworm in the numerous backyard chickens in their practice.

 

[mskluck]

I just wouldn't give them the worms yet. If you want to give them a treat, give them a mashed up boiled egg or a bit of yogurt. Earthworms can cause gapeworm(even for adult birds) so to me, it's just not worth it.
Enjoy the new chicks!

I've been feeding worms to my sick girl. I thought the protein would give her a boost to her impacted digestive tract. She's the runt that I found one day all crunched up like she was very cols. She barely opened her eyes. I have her in the house. She's still passing stool with seeds still in her tract coming out. I have a heat lamp over her pen. She's still improving slowly. I had no idea about the earth worms and grubs that I've been supplementing besides her pellets and some medicated chick crumbles as well as water with electrolytes. She is 16 weeks old. What else instead of the worms to boost her protein intake? Please share my situation for any help I can get.

 

[Folly's place]

My birds get some worms when they are outside, but I'm not bringing in bunches of them to eat! The chicks with their broody moms are outside after a week or two, and get what she finds for them; probably a worm sometimes, but not a lot, and lots of other stuff. I'm not on a lake, pond, or creek, so the snails and crayfish aren't out there either. It depends on environment, and being a careful feeder.'
Antibiotics are for specific illnesses, given as directed only. One of the reasons many of us are raising our own birds, is so that our flocks are not eating antibiotics! There's no benefit in occasional tetracycline use, and a good chance to promote drug resistant bacteria for the birds and humans who interact with them. Mary