Mystery Snails

[Fatimetta]

Hi everyone! My mystery snails from my fish tank had... A LOT of babies. I know there is the risk of gapeworm from wild snails, but would pet snails have that too? The parents were from a pet shop and the babies hatched here at home. I don’t want to kill them all unless they can make a snack for the birds. Let me know your opinions! Thanks!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't know for sure. You are correct that the snail has to be infected to pass it on. I don't know enough about the life cycle of the gapeworm to know if it is even possible the parent snails could infect their offspring. But I'll give you my opinion.

Earthworms, slugs, and snails can be carriers for gapeworm. Grasshoppers, grubs, and other critters can possibly be carriers for other parasites. But they also have to be infected before they can infect your birds. I don't try to stop my chickens form digging up or catching these critters when they are out foraging. If I find grubs when working in the garden I might save them and feed them to the chickens.

My situation is a bit different from yours in that the critters I'm talking about are in their environment anyway and they are going to be exposed to them whether I feed them grubs or not. Personally I'd take the chance, figuring the odds are pretty low and I like to take advantage of free opportunities. But if you are uncomfortable, don't. What do you actually gain by feeding them those snails? Is that gain worth the risk, however small it may be?

 

[blissfulbirds]

Hello! i realize this thread is nearly 2 years old, but i am facing the same type of issue with aquarium snails and wondering if you ended up feeding them to your chickens? How did it go?

 

[Fatimetta]

Hello! i realize this thread is nearly 2 years old, but i am facing the same type of issue with aquarium snails and wondering if you ended up feeding them to your chickens? How did it go?

Hello! I ended up not feeding them to the birds as I felt it was too risky just in case. Also I kind of felt bad for the snails lol! I asked around places with aquariums and friends and gave some away. The rest kind of died off as they reached capacity. Now I only have about 10 left.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

It’s a bit gross, but I wonder if cooking the snails would kill off any potential parasites.

Umm...I'd use a old pan you don't use for your morning oatmeal.

 

[blissfulbirds]

Hello! I ended up not feeding them to the birds as I felt it was too risky just in case. Also I kind of felt bad for the snails lol! I asked around places with aquariums and friends and gave some away. The rest kind of died off as they reached capacity. Now I only have about 10 left.

Thank you for replying! Yeah i think it might be better not to risk it