Little white worms in poop

[BanoOmg]

Hello BYC!

I didn't have my phone when I went in and found the parasites. It was a perfect Kodak moment, but by the time I returned, the girls had walked all over the wormy poo.

https://imgur.com/a/CqdKKpT

What kind of worms are these, and what is my best course of action?

They look like tape worm segments to me.

Additional context: I last cleaned the run out in October. I use wood shavings as substrate, over a dirt floor. I live in Southern California, in the mountains. It has been uncharicteristically rainy these past few weeks. I have 11 hens in a covered run well over the BYC recommended size-per-hen. I have never dewormed the flock, and I think the oldest are close to three years old. They've been housed in this run the whole time.

Please let me know if you need additional information, and thank you for the help!

 

[Eggcessive]

Those look like tapeworm segments and praziquantel is the best product to treat them. Equimax horse wormer at a dosage of 0.03 ml per pound (0.15 ml for a 5 pound chicken) given orally, and then repeated in 14 days would be good to use.

Tapeworms, a more rare worm, are spread to chickens by eating either the worm segments or one of the temporary hosts (flies, earthworms, beetles, grasshoppers, snails or slugs.) Keeping droppings picked up, and eliminating temporary hosts would be good. Keep bedding dry and stirred, and replenish when needed.

 

[BanoOmg]

Those look like tapeworm segments and praziquantel is the best product to treat them. Equimax horse wormer at a dosage of 0.03 ml per pound (0.15 ml for a 5 pound chicken) given orally, and then repeated in 14 days would be good to use.

Tapeworms, a more rare worm, are spread to chickens by eating either the worm segments or one of the temporary hosts (flies, earthworms, beetles, grasshoppers, snails or slugs.) Keeping droppings picked up, and eliminating temporary hosts would be good. Keep bedding dry and stirred, and replenish when needed.

Daaaaaang you're fast and thorough with your reply! Thank you very much!

I would like to use the dewormer on all of the hens. Should I stop eating their eggs for awhile?

 

[Eggcessive]

You don’t need to deworm all of them, just the ones that have the tapeworm segments in their poops. Egg withdrawal time is 2 weeks from the last dose.

 

[BanoOmg]

I'll check on behavior and find out who is acting strangely. I don't know if it's more than one bird, but if it's only one I have a good idea of who it is.

I guess I can partition the run and keep her alone but visible to the others.

Thanks again!

 

[BanoOmg]

I'm still dealing with this. Here's the routine:

I have been taking a few of the girls out at a time and wating to see who has tapeworms in their poop. Whole flock is rotated out, four hens at a time, other than the girls I have in a partitioned section of the run.

One hen will have tapeworms each time. She is dosed and put in the partition with the others that have been dosed.

I have three hens dosed, and another poo with tapeworms in the main part of the run this morning.

This is not going to work for me.

I'm going to dose the rest of the hens for tapeworms, put everyone in an outside pen, clean out all of the bedding and a bunch of the dirt beneath, and replace layers of dirt and shavings.

I hope this works out!

 

[BanoOmg]

My flock has tapeworms again, after another uncharacteristically rainy period in my region.

This sucks, that's twice in one year. I hope this isn't a regular event that follows every heavy rain. This is ridiculous!

I still have the ivermectin from last time, and the experience. Here we go again!

 

[KeeksBOT]

My flock has tapeworms again, after another uncharacteristically rainy period in my region.

This sucks, that's twice in one year. I hope this isn't a regular event that follows every heavy rain. This is ridiculous!

I still have the ivermectin from last time, and the experience. Here we go again!

Ivermectin isn't good enough for tapeworms.
Can you get Equimax horse paste?

 

[dawg53]

Ivermectin isn't good enough for tapeworms.
Can you get Equimax horse paste?

You're correct about the Ivermectin not treating tapeworms. However, Equimax contains Ivermectin AND Praziquantel. It's praziquantel that kills the tapeworms.

 

[dawg53]

My flock has tapeworms again, after another uncharacteristically rainy period in my region.

This sucks, that's twice in one year. I hope this isn't a regular event that follows every heavy rain. This is ridiculous!

I still have the ivermectin from last time, and the experience. Here we go again!

I've dealt with tapeworms many times and they are a pain in the neck to get rid of. The reason they are a pain in the neck to get rid of is because insects are the host for tapeworms and chickens love to eat insects; whether it's earthworms, crickets, ants, flies etc... That's how your birds are getting tapeworm infected. It's called the Indirect Lifecycle of tapeworms.
However, not all insects are infected.
It might be in your best interest to control the insect population until you get the tapeworm situation under control. Permethrin spray should take care of insects.