Help!! What am I dealing with??? (Worm & dropping pics attached)

[mintymintymid]

those seem pretty small for tapeworm segments, plus the color is wrong...... tapeworm segments look like a piece of rice........... have you tried ivermectin pour on for cattle..... this will kill mites/lice/worms/parasites......... put 4 or 5 drops on the skin, between the shoulders/back........... i got mine from from amazon.com for 12 bucks and its enough for hundreds of doses....... you've got to have cattle ranchers that use it..... make sure its the pour on....... throw away eggs for 2 weeks..........

I've tried Moxidectin (the vet says it's the Australian equivalent of Ivermectin) via a single oral dose, and 5 days later, the worms are still alive and kicking in the droppings.

I'll definitely have to give the ACV a shot. Only problem is that I keep my girls in my backyard and it's near impossible to give the garden the 8mth rest the eggs need to die in the soil so I suspect this may be a recurring problem. All I'm hoping is that it doesn't kill my girls, although one seems not to have the worms coming out in her droppings (even though she is much smaller than the other) so she's obviously not so bad off as my Choccie.

Thanks everyone for all your help!!!

 

[dawg53]

Try and get Moxidectin Plus which contains praziquantel and dose them, then repeat dosing again in 10 days. Moxidectin (ivermectin) wont kill tapes. Moxidectin Plus (w/ praziquantel will kill tapes.)
http://www.auspigeonco.com.au/Articles/parasite_poultry.html

 

[mintymintymid]

Thank you!! I'll have a look online to see if I can get some!

 

[LoriL]

I have to disagree with the comment "We all have worms." I'm a microbiologist who earns a living doing fecal exams for ova and parasites, among other things. We are lucky if we find 1 or 2 persons with parasites per month, out of hundreds of specimens. Unless someone has traveled outside the US in the last 6 months, they are very unlikely to have "worms" or other microscopic parasites.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

It appears to be tape worm segments from this information >>PECK HERE<< for Additional Information on the Treatment of Intestinal Worms, taken from another post.. I hope they don't mind, I could not attach the pdf..

Not one bit ... was just tryin' to find the link (way to be on the ball ~'-)

 

[cowcreekgeek]

Hi everyone!

I'm posting here because I'm worried about my 2 year old hen Choccie. Last week I noticed some worm larvae in her droppings, as well as some red mites on her behind. I contacted the vet who advised me to treat both of my chickies with Moxidectin (1/2ml orally per kg). It's been 3 days and the mites are gone, but the worms are still alive and kicking in each dropping Choccie leaves behind.

I've searched the internet in vain to find out what type of worms I'm dealing with but can't seem to find out what they are. I have some pics of the droppings which I have attached. If anyone can help me identify the worms I'd be very grateful!!!

1. This is an infestation which continues even after worming ... assuming the medication was right? Then these worms are:
a. a variety that has developed a resistance to the medication, or
b. not a worm that the medication is normally effective against, or
c. a reinfestation, due to allowing your birds to come in contact w/ the droppings.
2. To be effective, any medication chosen should consider the first point, and the fact that you're in Australia, where there are eight different worms to deal with, and Australia may prohibit the active ingredient(s) that are in our personally preferred Brand of treatment (which may be completely ineffective against the specific worm(s) your birds are infected with).

The 8 Worms in Australia:

Large Roundworm (Ascaridia galli)
The Caecal Worm (Heterakis gallinarum)
Hair Worms (Capillaria spp.)
Tetrameres (Tetrameres spp.)
Tapeworms (Raillietina sp., Choanotaenia sp. and Hymenolepis sp.)

Dawg56 suggested the webpage that actually has the exact answers on the bottom of the page:

Moxidectin 2 mg/ml, 5 ml per litre of water for 24 hours every 3 months
Monitor the droppings for tapeworm segments and if observed give Prazivet 5 ml per litre of water for 24 hours.
If Coccidia is a problem, give Baycox 3 ml to 1 litre of water for 48 hours every 4 weeks as required
Dip all birds in Permethrin and any new introduced bird. Ensure that the pen is sprayed simultaneously.

IMPORTANT!
The worms you're dealing with will reinfest your birds unless you either put them up on wire, and destroy the droppings afterwards, or put them in different housing for up to five days during treatment, and then move them back.

 

[hokankai]

I have to disagree with the comment "We all have worms." I'm a microbiologist who earns a living doing fecal exams for ova and parasites, among other things. We are lucky if we find 1 or 2 persons with parasites per month, out of hundreds of specimens. Unless someone has traveled outside the US in the last 6 months, they are very unlikely to have "worms" or other microscopic parasites.

SO true. We see them so rarely that we go out and buy a lottery ticket every time we get a positive O&P, haha!

Are those larva on FRESH poop? They almost look like maggots to me, but that's not what they are if that poop is fresh out of her bum.

 

[mintymintymid]

1. This is an infestation which continues even after worming ... assuming the medication was right? Then these worms are:
a. a variety that has developed a resistance to the medication, or
b. not a worm that the medication is normally effective against, or
c. a reinfestation, due to allowing your birds to come in contact w/ the droppings.
2. To be effective, any medication chosen should consider the first point, and the fact that you're in Australia, where there are eight different worms to deal with, and Australia may prohibit the active ingredient(s) that are in our personally preferred Brand of treatment (which may be completely ineffective against the specific worm(s) your birds are infected with).

The 8 Worms in Australia:

Large Roundworm (Ascaridia galli)
The Caecal Worm (Heterakis gallinarum)
Hair Worms (Capillaria spp.)
Tetrameres (Tetrameres spp.)
Tapeworms (Raillietina sp., Choanotaenia sp. and Hymenolepis sp.)

Dawg56 suggested the webpage that actually has the exact answers on the bottom of the page:

Moxidectin 2 mg/ml, 5 ml per litre of water for 24 hours every 3 months
Monitor the droppings for tapeworm segments and if observed give Prazivet 5 ml per litre of water for 24 hours.
If Coccidia is a problem, give Baycox 3 ml to 1 litre of water for 48 hours every 4 weeks as required
Dip all birds in Permethrin and any new introduced bird. Ensure that the pen is sprayed simultaneously.

IMPORTANT!
The worms you're dealing with will reinfest your birds unless you either put them up on wire, and destroy the droppings afterwards, or put them in different housing for up to five days during treatment, and then move them back.

Thanks for the great info! The website that suggests the above is actually run by my vet. He advised me to give the chickens their dose of Moxidectin orally as the worms are already present.

He also said to bring them in for some tests if the Moxi doesn't work but it will cost around $100 per bird and I don't work right now so that is not really an option unless I can't find anything else.

And there's literally no way I can fence them off or move them elsewhere as I only have a small garden Before this outbreak we wormed them every 6 months just in case and I'd never seen any sign of worms until just this week so I'm not sure what happened there.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

Thanks for the great info! The website that suggests the above is actually run by my vet. He advised me to give the chickens their dose of Moxidectin orally as the worms are already present.

He also said to bring them in for some tests if the Moxi doesn't work but it will cost around $100 per bird and I don't work right now so that is not really an option unless I can't find anything else.

And there's literally no way I can fence them off or move them elsewhere as I only have a small garden Before this outbreak we wormed them every 6 months just in case and I'd never seen any sign of worms until just this week so I'm not sure what happened there.

No problem ... the page was originally found by Dawg56, and it'd be worth lookin' into the meds he suggested in his post.

As for payin' to determine which? No way ... there's only eight that it could be; process of elimination, instead.

I'm blind as a bat, so the pictures don't alway clue me in so well, but I suspect you're dealing w/ Tetrameres (Tetrameres spp.) based upon what little I know. But, you're gonna wanna treat regularly for all of 'em -- the only way to avoid dealin' w/ parasites in to not have chickens ...

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... so I'll explain what I was gonna show ya. The bird poops eggs of roundworms and eggs and segments of tapeworms. Bugs eat them, where they develop into larvae. And the chickens eat these intermediate hosts, continuing the process. Your goal should be to decrease the amount of parasites.

I realize there are limits you're dealin' w/ in your situation. The cheapest (and arguably best) way I can think of is to pick a spot you can later burn, and put the chickens above it on wire for a while (esp. during treatment). Slash/burn, if/where you can ... the goal, again, is reduction after primarily treating for the excessive internal parasites ... that money you're givin' a vet, no matter how good they are, buys a lot of wire 'n meds.

One of my brothers just brought me what he had at his home ... more of the same I'm usin' in one place, and several rolls of another, and sheets of stainless steel panels, so I'm happier than most might imagine, unless they went 'n priced this stuff. You've gotta be creative, and resourceful, when money's an issue (and, it's more fun, even when it ain't ~'-)

 

[ChickenMom2Asa]

Did we ever determine what type of worms these are? I've been dealing with these worms for the past 4 months and the vet doesn't even know what they are and tests keep coming back negative :-\