Is This a Case of the Worms?

[Stephoney]

One of my hens left a deposit on my deck this morning while they were roaming around. It looked mostly white with a red tissue-like spot on it. I used my shoe to drag it out a bit and make sure it wasn’t something to be concerned about. I snapped this photo afterwards. I haven’t wormed my flock since spring so I thought possibly it was round worm or something similar, but it doesn’t really look like from the photos I’ve found online. I’ve been luck to not have any issues with worms since starting with hens, so I’m not sure what to make of it. My flock is finally done molting so I can worm them regardless, but I was interested in what you guys thought. Worms? Something else? I’m not sure who dropped the deposit and have a variety of breeds and ages so whatever I do, I‘ll apply it to all of them. If it is worms, which wormer do you recommend?

 

[rosemarythyme]

The red looks like intestinal lining, which is normal. I don't see roundworms.

 

[Stephoney]

That’s a relief. It’s my first experience with anything like this. Everyone seems healthy, but I’ve been worried about not worming them sooner. They all decided to take turns molting. My last two are pretty well feathers. Planning to use Safeguard next week.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Personally I would not worm unless you can confirm that they need it, and exactly what the worms you're treating for are, as different worms may require different wormers/dosages and you don't want to build up resistance in worms.

 

[Stephoney]

Last year i had a few hens with scaly leg mites. I gave the entire flock a dose of pour on Ivermectin. Worked like a charm and didn’t do any worming again until Spring. I don’t honestly think we have a worm issue. I keep an eye on their droppings in the coops and haven’t seen anything alarming. I like the idea of doing preventative worming to keep worm loads down and problems from arising though