Hen's eating slow worms

[Hubert Cumberdale]

We seem to get an abundance of slow worms in our garden, which I'm continuously attempting to wrestle off the chickens. They are a protected species here in the UK, so I'm not sure what to do about it. Also, as slow worms eat a lot of worms and slugs, does this make them potential parasite carrier's?

 

[coach723]

I'm certainly not an expert on slow worms.....had to look it up! I would say that anything that eats is POTENTIALLY possible to carry an internal parasite. Since it's a reptile, rather than a worm, I think the likely hood of it being a large problem is probably small. While I don't have slow worms, my chickens do eat small snakes, lizards and frogs, and it's never been an issue. I would just treat it the same as everything else. Monitor your birds, if you develop a parasite problem then treat them. Any parasite the chickens could pick up could come from any number of things. Many parasites they can just pick up from the ground, tapeworms would be one that they could potentially pick up from eating something infected with them. Some kinds parasites are species specific, and some are not. Do you have a source like our local agriculture extension offices here in the US over there? They might be able to give you better information on the parasites common to your specific area and the sources they commonly come from. Everything I can find on reptiles and amphibians talks about the parasites they can be potentially infected with, but none discuss them as a vector for infecting another animal after being eaten. Like anything else I suppose, the higher you go on the food chain the more risk you are exposed because you are eating to some extent everything that that thing ate before it was caught and eaten. I honestly don't think it's something that's a bigger worry than any other possible source.

 

[Hubert Cumberdale]

I'm certainly not an expert on slow worms.....had to look it up! I would say that anything that eats is POTENTIALLY possible to carry an internal parasite. Since it's a reptile, rather than a worm, I think the likely hood of it being a large problem is probably small. While I don't have slow worms, my chickens do eat small snakes, lizards and frogs, and it's never been an issue. I would just treat it the same as everything else. Monitor your birds, if you develop a parasite problem then treat them. Any parasite the chickens could pick up could come from any number of things. Many parasites they can just pick up from the ground, tapeworms would be one that they could potentially pick up from eating something infected with them. Some kinds parasites are species specific, and some are not. Do you have a source like our local agriculture extension offices here in the US over there? They might be able to give you better information on the parasites common to your specific area and the sources they commonly come from. Everything I can find on reptiles and amphibians talks about the parasites they can be potentially infected with, but none discuss them as a vector for infecting another animal after being eaten. Like anything else I suppose, the higher you go on the food chain the more risk you are exposed because you are eating to some extent everything that that thing ate before it was caught and eaten. I honestly don't think it's something that's a bigger worry than any other possible source.

Was just wondering, as ours seem to get worms quite a bit. We're having to worm them 3-4 times a year.

 

[coach723]

I worm at least that often and I don't have slow worms. What worms in general are you finding in your flock?

 

[Perris]

Do you have pheasants wandering the same land as your birds? They can carry worms, and apparently are a common source of them in the UK - it impacts free range flocks especially.

 

[Hubert Cumberdale]

I worm at least that often and I don't have slow worms. What worms in general are you finding in your flock?

Only ever noticed roundworms. Do you use a chemical wormer?

 

[Hubert Cumberdale]

Do you have pheasants wandering the same land as your birds? They can carry worms, and apparently are a common source of them in the UK - it impacts free range flocks especially.

Nah. They are common around here but dont tend to venture that far into towns etc

 

[coach723]

I do use chemical wormers. Roundworms are generally picked up from eggs in the soil that are ingested while they scratch and peck. The eggs can survive a long time in the soil. I generally alternate between Safeguard liquid goat wormer (fenbendazole) and Valbazen (albendazole). When you have a heavy load in the environment they can get reinfected easily, plus any infected birds are shedding more eggs into the environment in their droppings.

 

[Hubert Cumberdale]

I do use chemical wormers. Roundworms are generally picked up from eggs in the soil that are ingested while they scratch and peck. The eggs can survive a long time in the soil. I generally alternate between Safeguard liquid goat wormer (fenbendazole) and Valbazen (albendazole). When you have a heavy load in the environment they can get reinfected easily, plus any infected birds are shedding more eggs into the environment in their droppings.

Can you see their eggs? I sometimes find lots of eggs on their droppings but another user insisted that these weren't worm eggs, as worm eggs microscopic. Never got a definitive answer to where these eggs come from.

 

[coach723]

You cannot see roundworm eggs. Usually the only time you get a visual of a worm, it's a whole roundworm that is passed, or tapeworm. Tapeworm segments (these are segments of the worm that contain the eggs) usually appear as grains of rice, and may be moving when they are fresh. Occasionally a whole tapeworm will be expelled, but usually you see the egg segments. If it's neither of those things, then a picture of what you are seeing would help in identifying it. Sometimes people mistake feather sheath dust for worm eggs. A chicken can be carrying internal parasites with no outward evidence at all. When a vet does a fecal float test they look with a microscope at droppings to identify the worm eggs, which are microscopic.