Newly adopted hens came with tapeworms!

[Darmer]

Friday I introduced three new hens to the flock and I discovered they have tapeworms. I've ordered the Valbazen and it's on its way. So I have three questions. Should I treat all of my chickens? Is it ok to treat the pullets? (They range in age from 5 months down to 14 weeks.) And if so, what's the dosage for the pullets? Any help you could provide would be appreciated!

 

[Poultrybreeder]

The 5 month olds should be fine, I don't know about the 14 day olds, seems kinda young... Maybe someone can help, I'm not good at translating liquid doses, I always use capsule wormers and medicine. Unless it is a shot.

 

[Kiki]

I'd treat everyone..including the 14 week olds.
The dosing with Valbazen for tapeworms is:

.23 ml/cc per pound per chicken for 5 straight days.
Dose each one seperatly straight to the beak.

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you have any pictures of the poop, or have you checked the droppings with a fecal float? Just asking, since pics can be good to help others. Valbazen can be used multiple days to treat tapes, but other wormers such as Zimectrin Gold which have praziquantel as an ingredient is said to be effective. Tapes are hard to totally get rid of, as far as what I have read, and controlling them may be as good as it gets. Look up some of Casportpony's threads about worming chickens for tapeworms. You can do that by searching here or by Googling it.

 

[Darmer]

I did not do a fecal float nor do I have a picture. But I did compare it to the pictures I've seen on this website. They are definitely tapeworms! It seems there are two different courses of treatment. Or perhaps I'm reading it wrong? I believe some posts said to dose them once and then again 10 days later as this would take care of the tapeworm's eggs once they have hatched. One of the previous replies stated to dose them three days in a row. Will this take care if the egg cycle of the tapeworms? Since you mentioned that tapeworms are hard to get rid of, is there any concern about the eggs being infected with tapeworms? Some of the posts also state that the hen's eggs should be thrown away for 14 days after dosing. Do you agree? Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[rebrascora]

Can you post a photo of the poop with the tape worm on it. I don't mean to question your judgement but many people mistake feather sheath preenings for tape worm segments and have posted photos of poop covered with it online, mistakenly identifying it a tape worm. Do the birds in question have any pin feathers or going through a partial moult?
It would be a lot better to be sure than pump chemicals into your birds when you don't need to, especially if it involves discarding eggs.

 

[Darmer]

Can you post a photo of the poop with the tape worm on it. I don't mean to question your judgement but many people mistake feather sheath preenings for tape worm segments and have posted photos of poop covered with it online, mistakenly identifying it a tape worm. Do the birds in question have any pin feathers or going through a partial moult?
It would be a lot better to be sure than pump chemicals into your birds when you don't need to, especially if it involves discarding eggs.

Can you post a photo of the poop with the tape worm on it. I don't mean to question your judgement but many people mistake feather sheath preenings for tape worm segments and have posted photos of poop covered with it online, mistakenly identifying it a tape worm. Do the birds in question have any pin feathers or going through a partial moult?
It would be a lot better to be sure than pump chemicals into your birds when you don't need to, especially if it involves discarding eggs.

They don't appear to be going through a partial moult. What I did find was caked on feces near the vent. I will isolate those hens and photograph their droppings this weekend. The Valbazen isn't due to be delivered until Monday. Thank you for your reply.

 

[rebrascora]

So are you basing your diagnosis of tapeworms purely on the fact they have caked faeces on/below their vent? I'm not sure that is an accurate means of establishing a worm burden let alone the type of worm.

 

[Darmer]

Well no...as I mentioned in my original post requesting help, I stated that I did observe what appeared to be tapeworms in the stool of at least one of the hens. I compared the poop to that of several pictures I have viewed online. I'm new to raising chickens, which is why I reached out for help on this site.

 

[rebrascora]

I understand that and I'm just trying to ensure that you don't medicate your birds unnecessarily. Tape worms are not that common, so just wanting to establish that you have correctly identified the problem. I have never had problems with tapeworms myself but I have read quite a few posts here where people thought their chickens had tapeworms but a photo of their poop revealed what they thought were tapeworm segments on the poop were actually feather shaft preenings.