Oxibendazole (Anthelcide EQ wormer)

[Sue Gremlin]

Curiously, which worms would you not treat?

I wouldn't treat my chickens for cecal worms, for one. I may or may not treat for roundworms or coccidia depending on a few things. I would definitely treat for capillaria or gapeworm.

 

[pibb]

Again, it depends on your soil conditions. Warm moist or wet soil most of the time or all the time will require frequent wormings. Cool or cold soil, mountainous/rocky soil and desert like sandy soil doesnt require worming as much.
Since you live further north than me, start out worming your birds twice a year. Start at the beginning of spring when soil temps warm up, then before molt in the fall. Take fecals to a vet in between wormings and see where your birds are at, then go from there.

This seems like pretty good advice and that's what I'm thinking it will mean for me and my location. I've got a feeling it's going to be a wet winter this year after a very dry late summer.

 

[pibb]

I wouldn't treat my chickens for cecal worms, for one. I may or may not treat for roundworms or coccidia depending on a few things. I would definitely treat for capillaria or gapeworm.

I thought for sure you were going to say roundworms and tapeworms. Roundworms being the most common and can clog up a chickens intestine and do the most damage, I thought. Would you care to elaborate more on why you chose those types of worms?

 

[Sue Gremlin]

I thought for sure you were going to say roundworms and tapeworms. Roundworms being the most common and can clog up a chickens intestine and do the most damage, I thought. Would you care to elaborate more on why you chose those types of worms?

Sure. Here's something I wrote about this in another thread:

Here is my perspective as a parasitologist: I am not a big fan of throwing dewormer at animals as a matter of course. It's fallen out of favor with horse owners, who have been conditioned to deworm on a schedule. Now the standard is to get fecal egg counts and treat only animals that have a heavy worm burden, recognizing that it's nearly impossible to rid them of worms completely. It's a big paradigm shift that a lot of horse owners have yet to adopt.
If my chickens have trouble laying or gaining weight or are otherwise sick, I will check for worms and act accordingly. (I usually check periodically anyway, just to be sure I understand what's going on in there). Even then, a positive fecal sample doesn't mean they need to be treated. There are a few things to consider. Knowing what kind of parasites they have is first and foremost.
Cecal worms (Heterakis gallinae) are not pathogenic in chickens unless they are so numerous that they block the ceca. That's a pretty unusual worm load, and would only happen rarely even in a debilitated chicken. They are an issue for turkeys because the worms themselves carry another parasite that kills turkeys, but in chickens, I would not treat based on the presence of cecal worm eggs in the feces. These are what I'd consider "normal" for a chicken to have.
Roundworms (Ascaridia) can cause illness and I will think about treating for them, but a few don't cause any harm. Same for tapeworms. If I had kids that did a lot of cuddling with chickens, I'd be more mindful of tapeworms, but otherwise, they're not much of an issue.
For ectoparasites (lice, fleas and mites), I would almost automatically treat.
If I find threadworms (Capillaria) or gapeworm (Syngamus trachea), I'd automatically treat, as they are quite pathogenic in chickens.
My own chickens have had a heavy tapeworm burden and were shedding large quantities of segments, and I dewormed them (because, ewww, moving feces), but generally, I don't worry about it unless somebody gets sick.
In an adult chicken, the presence of coccicia oocysts in the stool is basically inconsequential unless there are huge numbers of them, and in this case, there are likely to be other contributing factors. I always expect to find some, and they are basically part of the normal flora in an adult. In little ones, coccidiosis can be highly pathogenic and can easily wipe out chicks. For this reason, I'd want to put baby chicks on a coccidiostat/medicated starter.
It can be hard to reconcile since with other pets, we tend to want them totally parasite-free. They will often become reinfected quickly since they eat everything. If they are healthy and happy, there's no need, IMO, to evacuate the worms most of the time. In fact, I wonder sometimes if this causes more harm than good.
The bottom line: I don't worry too much about the worms my adult chickens have unless they are sick or have ectoparasites, threadworms or gapeworms. If I were breeding or had young chickens, I'd pay closer attention and would probably treat any worm burden for a time.

 

[pibb]

Thanks. You should make an article about how to use a microscope and fecal to find worm eggs and coccidia and what all is required with pics of what the eggs look like. I've thought about trying this myself but haven't had the time to research any of it.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

Thanks. You should make an article about how to use a microscope and fecal to find worm eggs and coccidia and what all is required with pics of what the eggs look like. I've thought about trying this myself but haven't had the time to research any of it.

I am planning on it once I get a moment.

 

[Folly's place]

What might make sense in Florida is not relevant for those of us 'up north', or maybe in the same neighborhood. Worm burdens vary hugely, for animal to animal, and farm to farm. It's not reasonable to make blanket recommendations here, except to say that 'it depends'.
Running fecals is a big part of knowing what's happening in the flock, as is actually seeing roundworms or tapeworm segments (the only grossly visible intestinal parasites).
It's not unreasonable, from a flock health standpoint, to cull severely affected individuals, and keep them out of the gene pool.
Currently the ONLY approved wormer in the USA for chickens is fenbendazole, which treats many, but not all parasites.
Mary