Necropsy results, is not coryza or CRD--parasites are rampant!!!

[dawg53]

Sarahlorrain. Soil conditions dictate when and how often you should worm. If the soil is cool/cold and you live in a mountainous or rocky area, or hot deserstlike soil...you may only need to worm once a year. However, if your soil is warm and moist/wet most of the year...you should worm more frequently.
Keeping your run, pen and coops clean helps keep parasites at bay, but does not eliminate them. The key is keeping everything as dry as possible. Putting sand in your run will help keep everything dry and is cheaper then DE. Once you get your other run built, you can rotate pens as necessary to help keep the wormload down.
If sand isnt available, DE can be used to keep the soil dry as well as preventing external parasites from infesting your coop, nests etc...
Valbazen is the best wormer on the market.

 

[sarahlorrain]

Dawg, thanks! Our soil is hot and dry in the summer, and wetter in the winter, but not too cold. It doesn't get below freezing every night or anything. Here it is the end of November, and we still have flies and mosquitoes around.

Can I just use sand from the river or should I buy sand from a hardware store?

 

[dawg53]

It doesnt matter what type of sand you use, it dries quicker than dirt and wont wash away in a downpour like dirt does.

 

[tgooberbutt]

The Merck Veterinary Manual has some dosage guidance for poultry and chickens:

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/202800.htm

Are tapeworm eggs/segments the only visible, white-ish, moving things in chicken poo? A couple of weeks back, I definitely saw adult roundworms passed in chicken poop. I treated the flock with Ivermectin pour over...and then two days ago, I saw poop with the white moving things in them. Much smaller than rice. They were the diameter of sewing thread and maybe three millimeters in length.

From what I've read in this forum, it sounds like tapeworm...but I saw roundworms. Does this mean my flock probably has both?

My chickens free-range and intermingle with another flock, and has access to a yard with two goats. I've also seen plenty of little brown birds edging into my chickens' feeder.

I will try to take a video of the crawly things and post...but please help in the meantime. I've ordered both Valbazen and Safe-Guard Paste, but it won't get here for at least another 2 weeks.

 

[tgooberbutt]

Here's video of the creepy crawlies. As you can see, they are very small (the paper clip I put on the baggie is one of the small, standard-sized office paperclips. Are these tapeworm segments crawling around the bag? close-up starts at 2:08. paper clip for scale starts at 3:27.

 

[casportpony]

Maybe they're cecal worms?

 

[dawg53]

Tgooberbutt. Those are tapeworm segments. Each segment carries hundreds of eggs which are eventually eaten by earthworms and other insects, which in turn are eaten by your chickens. Then your chickens become infected, the tapeworms lifecycle is completed. Purchase valbazen liquid cattle/sheep wormer. Withhold the chickens feed for 24 hours, but not their water. After 24 hours, dose your chickens 1cc valbazen orally undiluted for standard size birds, 1/2cc for smaller birds. Wait 4 days then withhold feed for 24 hours on the 5th day. Then on the 6th day redose again 1cc orally undiluted (standards.) Wait 4 days then withhold feed for 24 hours on the 5th day. Redose again on the 6th day. You'll be dosing them a total of three times. Tapes are tough to get rid of and require multiple wormings. I've dealt with them. There is a 14 day withdrawal period after the last worming. It's possible to see the tapeworm excreted after dosing with valbazen, otherwise they are broken up in the digestive system and absorbed as protein. They come in different shapes,sizes, sometimes stringy... tapes are flat and segmented.
Cecal worms are roundworms, normally 1/4"- 1/2" in length. Large roundworms are normally 3"- 6" in length.

 

[tgooberbutt]

Tgooberbutt. Those are tapeworm segments. Each segment carries hundreds of eggs which are eventually eaten by earthworms and other insects, which in turn are eaten by your chickens. Then your chickens become infected, the tapeworms lifecycle is completed. Purchase valbazen liquid cattle/sheep wormer. Withhold the chickens feed for 24 hours, but not their water. After 24 hours, dose your chickens 1cc valbazen orally undiluted for standard size birds, 1/2cc for smaller birds. Wait 4 days then withhold feed for 24 hours on the 5th day. Then on the 6th day redose again 1cc orally undiluted (standards.) Wait 4 days then withhold feed for 24 hours on the 5th day. Redose again on the 6th day. You'll be dosing them a total of three times. Tapes are tough to get rid of and require multiple wormings. I've dealt with them. There is a 14 day withdrawal period after the last worming. It's possible to see the tapeworm excreted after dosing with valbazen, otherwise they are broken up in the digestive system and absorbed as protein. They come in different shapes,sizes, sometimes stringy... tapes are flat and segmented.
Cecal worms are roundworms, normally 1/4"- 1/2" in length. Large roundworms are normally 3"- 6" in length.

Thanks dawg53. When the Valbazen gets here, I'll start the regimen you outlined. The chickens free-range around a rather large yard. Should I keep them confined to the coop to make sure they don't eat for those 'fasting' periods before dosing? Or is random free-ranging/foraging for food still okay?

 

[dawg53]

I recommend that you keep them in the pen without feed for 24 hours. It will also be easier to catch and dose them with the valbazen. Then you can release them out in the yard. Use a syringe without a needle to dose them orally. Pull the wattles down and their mouth will open. Squirt the liquid in the mouth 1/2cc at a time and immediately release the wattles so the bird can swallow the liquid on her own and not aspirate.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Yep, this is an older thread, but I sure learned a lot today! Want to thank flowerchild59 for caring enough to start it, and dawg53 for giving a to the point comment on the information. Just excellent, and i have pasted tons of info from this to Word, too valuable to lose. Thanks to you both!