Poultry worm issues

[Carlatri]

I need help with poultry worm issues. For the past many months I’ve been trying to rid my chickens of worms.
I’ve contacted avian vet in Payson. Talked to my Mount Pleasant vet, tried 3 different medications, removed the bird feeders, tilled and treated the ground under the feeders, removed 1/2” of soil from chicken run, treated the ground with diatomaceous earth, clean up any poop in the run and coop, and they seem to keep getting worms. Today I see worms again. What else can I do? I’ve decided if I can rid them again, my girls will not free roam.

 

[Carlatri]

I found some great responses on other posts. I’ll try Zimectrin Gold paste or Equimax Paste.

 

[dawg53]

I found some great responses on other posts. I’ll try Zimectrin Gold paste or Equimax Paste.

Yeah, those are tapeworm segments. Safeguard and Pyrantel Pamoate wont treat tapeworms, they only treat different types of roundworms.
Your birds become infected with tapeworms from eating infected insects. If you can somehow control the insect population, you'll greatly reduce the chances of your birds getting tapeworms. Tapeworms are tough to get rid of, I've dealt with them.

Dose each chicken orally with Equimax equine paste. Dosage is 0.03ml per pound or 0.15ml for a 5 pound chicken. The segments you see are called Proglottids. Each segment holds hundreds of eggs. The segments work their way onto and into the soil and release eggs. Then insects eat the eggs and are the temporary host until a chicken eats the infected insect. Then the chicken becomes the host and is infected.

It's best to withhold feed from your chickens the afternoon before dosing them early the next morning with the Equimax. Water is okay. Withholding feed weakens the tapeworms. They will be starving for nutrients. You're going to feed them the Equimax which will be very effective killing the starving tapeworms.

Then go out to your coop early the next morning while it's still dark. Do not feed your chickens that morning. Again, water is okay.
Snatch a bird off the roost and orally dose the bird with the Equimax. Pull the wattles down and the chickens mouth will open, gotta be quick or the hen will shake her head.
Once you've dosed the hen, quickly let go of the wattles so she can swallow the wormer. Then release her and go snatch another bird off the roost and dose her. Do this until they have all been wormed. You might have someone hold the bird for you while you pull the wattles down and administer the wormer.

Then wait 3 hours before feeding your birds. Your birds will be starving and will gorge feed possibly causing impacted crop or gizzard. So, you'll want to feed them a little at a time, gradually increasing rations back to normal as the afternoon goes by.

It's possible you might see tapeworms excreted in feces within an hour after giving them the Equimax. You might see pieces of the tapeworm, they are flat and white/off white in color. You might see "strands or strings" of tapeworms excreted, like jellyfish tentacles. They come in various shapes and sizes but are flat, segmented, and white or off white in color.
Sometimes you wont see them excreted. They can be absorbed in the digestive tract as protein.

Repeat the above procedure in 10 days.

 

[Carlatri]

Yeah, those are tapeworm segments. Safeguard and Pyrantel Pamoate wont treat tapeworms, they only treat different types of roundworms.
Your birds become infected with tapeworms from eating infected insects. If you can somehow control the insect population, you'll greatly reduce the chances of your birds getting tapeworms. Tapeworms are tough to get rid of, I've dealt with them.

Dose each chicken orally with Equimax equine paste. Dosage is 0.03ml per pound or 0.15ml for a 5 pound chicken. The segments you see are called Proglottids. Each segment holds hundreds of eggs. The segments work their way onto and into the soil and release eggs. Then insects eat the eggs and are the temporary host until a chicken eats the infected insect. Then the chicken becomes the host and is infected.

It's best to withhold feed from your chickens the afternoon before dosing them early the next morning with the Equimax. Water is okay. Withholding feed weakens the tapeworms. They will be starving for nutrients. You're going to feed them the Equimax which will be very effective killing the starving tapeworms.

Then go out to your coop early the next morning while it's still dark. Do not feed your chickens that morning. Again, water is okay.
Snatch a bird off the roost and orally dose the bird with the Equimax. Pull the wattles down and the chickens mouth will open, gotta be quick or the hen will shake her head.
Once you've dosed the hen, quickly let go of the wattles so she can swallow the wormer. Then release her and go snatch another bird off the roost and dose her. Do this until they have all been wormed. You might have someone hold the bird for you while you pull the wattles down and administer the wormer.

Then wait 3 hours before feeding your birds. Your birds will be starving and will gorge feed possibly causing impacted crop or gizzard. So, you'll want to feed them a little at a time, gradually increasing rations back to normal as the afternoon goes by.

It's possible you might see tapeworms excreted in feces within an hour after giving them the Equimax. You might see pieces of the tapeworm, they are flat and white/off white in color. You might see "strands or strings" of tapeworms excreted, like jellyfish tentacles. They come in various shapes and sizes but are flat, segmented, and white or off white in color.
Sometimes you wont see them excreted. They can be absorbed in the digestive tract as protein.

Repeat the above procedure in 10 days.

View attachment 2836798

Yeah, those are tapeworm segments. Safeguard and Pyrantel Pamoate wont treat tapeworms, they only treat different types of roundworms.
Your birds become infected with tapeworms from eating infected insects. If you can somehow control the insect population, you'll greatly reduce the chances of your birds getting tapeworms. Tapeworms are tough to get rid of, I've dealt with them.

Dose each chicken orally with Equimax equine paste. Dosage is 0.03ml per pound or 0.15ml for a 5 pound chicken. The segments you see are called Proglottids. Each segment holds hundreds of eggs. The segments work their way onto and into the soil and release eggs. Then insects eat the eggs and are the temporary host until a chicken eats the infected insect. Then the chicken becomes the host and is infected.

It's best to withhold feed from your chickens the afternoon before dosing them early the next morning with the Equimax. Water is okay. Withholding feed weakens the tapeworms. They will be starving for nutrients. You're going to feed them the Equimax which will be very effective killing the starving tapeworms.

Then go out to your coop early the next morning while it's still dark. Do not feed your chickens that morning. Again, water is okay.
Snatch a bird off the roost and orally dose the bird with the Equimax. Pull the wattles down and the chickens mouth will open, gotta be quick or the hen will shake her head.
Once you've dosed the hen, quickly let go of the wattles so she can swallow the wormer. Then release her and go snatch another bird off the roost and dose her. Do this until they have all been wormed. You might have someone hold the bird for you while you pull the wattles down and administer the wormer.

Then wait 3 hours before feeding your birds. Your birds will be starving and will gorge feed possibly causing impacted crop or gizzard. So, you'll want to feed them a little at a time, gradually increasing rations back to normal as the afternoon goes by.

It's possible you might see tapeworms excreted in feces within an hour after giving them the Equimax. You might see pieces of the tapeworm, they are flat and white/off white in color. You might see "strands or strings" of tapeworms excreted, like jellyfish tentacles. They come in various shapes and sizes but are flat, segmented, and white or off white in color.
Sometimes you wont see them excreted. They can be absorbed in the digestive tract as protein.

Repeat the above procedure in 10 days.

View attachment 2836798

Thank you so much. I’ll be going to Tractor Supply tomorrow! I only have two hens now so should be pretty easy to treat this time. I’ve been keeping the poop cleaned up, what can I put on the run’s dirt to kill any eggs that may have already gotten into the soil?

 

[dawg53]

Just for your information; tapeworms do not have a "direct" lifecycle like roundworms. Tapeworms have an "indirect" lifecycle, meaning that the eggs need an intermediate host (insect) in order to infect your chickens when the insect is eaten. Tapeworm eggs cannot infect your chickens if swallowed directly off the soil unlike roundworm eggs.
Direct sunlight will kill worm eggs above ground but will not kill eggs in the soil. The sun is a great deterrent in killing both roundworm and tapeworm eggs on the surface of the soil. Keep the grass in your yard cut short.

Sand is best to put in your coop and the pen. Sand keeps everything dry and helps deter parasites and insects, like at the beach. It dries quicker than dirt and doesnt make nasty puddles that chickens love to drink from and wont wash away in rain. It's also easier to scoop poop when cleaning the coop and pen.