Praziquantel in water for tapeworm treatment

[SarahGfa]

My turkeys keep having tapeworms. I have been treating individuals with praziquantel but keep finding new segments. Maybe earthworms and bugs are host reservoirs. I don't want to salt the earth because part of why i have birds is for grasshopper/tick control. I got this tub of praziquantel https://www.amazon.com/AquaCura-Praziquantel-Fish-Medicine-Ultra-Efficient/dp/B07NZXWL4Q

- Can I dose the whole flock in the water?
- Can turkey tapeworms infect chickens?
- Can animals develop resistance to tapeworms? No one seems to be sick, but seeing tapeworm segments makes ME feel sick.

Thank you for reading my post.

 

[Sarahh_Janeyy]

I've only ever dosed each chicken individually, but I think they are the same tapeworms. I did have tapeworms and the praziquantel worked. Here are my notes I took for when I was treating them:

Dewormer:
Roundworms:
Pyrantel (ok while molting)
Fenbendazole (do not use while molting)
20-50 mg/kg given orally for 3 to 5 days, repeated again for another 3-5 days in 10 days.

Tapeworm: Praziquantel (could only find the tablets for dogs when I was treating, using fish treatment is interesting, if you can give them a big enough dose)
10-20 mg/kg
34mg/tablet
5 tablets x 4 boxes = 20 tablets

10mg/kg (10mg/2.2lbs, 4.54mg/lb) repeat in 10-14 days

20 tablets = 680mg
5mg/ml = 136ml total
4ml = 20mg dosage (for a 2 kg bird)

 

[SarahGfa]

I've only ever dosed each chicken individually, but I think they are the same tapeworms. I did have tapeworms and the praziquantel worked. Here are my notes I took for when I was treating them:

Dewormer:
Roundworms:
Pyrantel (ok while molting)
Fenbendazole (do not use while molting)
20-50 mg/kg given orally for 3 to 5 days, repeated again for another 3-5 days in 10 days.

Tapeworm: Praziquantel (could only find the tablets for dogs when I was treating, using fish treatment is interesting, if you can give them a big enough dose)
10-20 mg/kg
34mg/tablet
5 tablets x 4 boxes = 20 tablets

10mg/kg (10mg/2.2lbs, 4.54mg/lb) repeat in 10-14 days

20 tablets = 680mg
5mg/ml = 136ml total
4ml = 20mg dosage (for a 2 kg bird)

Thanks yeah I am mainly wondering if it is bad to treat everyone, even the ones without tapeworms. Also if they will be able to fight it off themselves if I don't treat.

 

[Sarahh_Janeyy]

Thanks yeah I am mainly wondering if it is bad to treat everyone, even the ones without tapeworms. Also if they will be able to fight it off themselves if I don't treat.

You should treat all of them, I don't think they will just go away. When you see worms I think it's safe to assume they all have access to the same source of the worms.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would not use that product. It doesn’t have anything about dosage for chickens or birds. Normally, you would only need to treat the chicken who is passing tapeworm segments, which would require you to monitor poop overnight on and under the roosts. Then if you use Equimax horse paste you would give 0.033 ml per pound or 0.16ml for a 5 pound chicken. Give it orally once and repeat it in 14 days. Here is a link in post 1 on dosages of products with praziquantel:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...rms-under-construction.1220309/#post-19519143

 

[coach723]

There isn't even an amount per gram on the label to even try to do math to figure out a dose, and I wouldn't try to worm them in the water, it's just too variable, you are far to likely to not give them the correct amount for it to be effective. You will be far better off with the Equimax. And if you did worm one that didn't have them, it's very unlikely that it would do any harm at all.

 

[SarahGfa]

There isn't even an amount per gram on the label to even try to do math to figure out a dose, and I wouldn't try to worm them in the water, it's just too variable, you are far to likely to not give them the correct amount for it to be effective. You will be far better off with the Equimax. And if you did worm one that didn't have them, it's very unlikely that it would do any harm at all.

I'm looking at the label right now. It says "100% praziquantel". ingredients says "minimum 98.5% praziquantel". that's 985 mg per gram. i've used this product before and i also have equimax. IMO i can get a more accurate dosage measuring this product on a kitchen scale.

i am wondering why @Eggcessive recommends treating only the one with tapeworms instead of everyone at once.

 

[coach723]

Because unlike most other parasites, the tapeworms require an intermediate host. Many of the other parasites are picked up directly from the soil, so odds are they all have been exposed to them. With tape worm, the bird has to eat the intermediate host that is carrying tapeworm. It's usually less likely that all of them will be infected. If you are having constant problems with multiple birds getting them over and over, then you really need to do something to reduce the numbers of intermediate hosts you have in your environment.
I still wouldn't use that product, unless you can do the math and mix it in water and direct dose them the correct amount orally. You have no way to know for sure if they take in the correct amount in the drinking water since it's not formulated for the average amount a chicken drinks every day. When medications are made to mix in drinking water, that's how they are figured, how much in order to make the dose correct based on how much water they drink every day. If they drink less, they are under-dosed. That's formulated for fish to swim in, different math.

 

[SarahGfa]

Because unlike most other parasites, the tapeworms require an intermediate host. Many of the other parasites are picked up directly from the soil, so odds are they all have been exposed to them. With tape worm, the bird has to eat the intermediate host that is carrying tapeworm. It's usually less likely that all of them will be infected. If you are having constant problems with multiple birds getting them over and over, then you really need to do something to reduce the numbers of intermediate hosts you have in your environment.
I still wouldn't use that product, unless you can do the math and mix it in water and direct dose them the correct amount orally. You have no way to know for sure if they take in the correct amount in the drinking water since it's not formulated for the average amount a chicken drinks every day. When medications are made to mix in drinking water, that's how they are figured, how much in order to make the dose correct based on how much water they drink every day. If they drink less, they are under-dosed. That's formulated for fish to swim in, different math.

So the birds can't get tapeworms from each other by pecking around in the same litter? That is very helpful to know, thank you.

I don't know if I am having constant problems with multiple birds. Every few months I find a dropping with tapeworm segments, and I treat the bird I think it came from. I don't observe every poop from every bird, so I thought I was missing some that have it. that is why I was thinking about treating everyone in the water. I can dose everyone individually, but it takes a lot longer.

 

[Eggcessive]

They can get tapeworm if they peck around where there are droppings and tapeworm segments. Each segment Carrie’s a lot of eggs. So eating the eggs themselves, or by eating a beetle, fly, grasshopper, snail or slug that has eaten those segments or eggs inside the segments, they get reinvested.

So the birds can't get tapeworms from each other by pecking around in the same litter? That is very helpful to know, thank you.

I don't know if I am having constant problems with multiple birds. Every few months I find a dropping with tapeworm segments, and I treat the bird I think it came from. I don't observe every poop from every bird, so I thought I was missing some that have it. that is why I was thinking about treating everyone in the water. I can dose everyone individually, but it takes a lot longer.