Question about tapeworms after meds dosing...

[Allthefloofs]

I am going to medicate my girls for tapes today using Equimax. I have the thread about dosing, but is there anything I should do about the grazing areas and run areas they use? They have a sand floor in their run, and they have a grass and clover yard to free range in during the day. I use something called Healthy Pen about once a month because it seems to keep the ants at bay a bit, but as it is mostly DE and essential oils it is more of a deterrent than anything I would consider an "eradicator". Any info would be great, thanks in advance! Also, I hope this is the right forum to post. I'm new so it seemed the best one, but if there is a better one, just let me know and I'll adjust

 

[dawg53]

Did you actually see tapeworm segments in feces? See pic. If so, there's a good possibility that you dont have to worm ALL your birds. Chickens have to eat an infected insect (host) in order to get tapeworms. Not all chickens eat infected insects.

 

[Allthefloofs]

Yes, most of the droppings in the yard have them. I found a full tapeworm in one of the droppings yesterday. I actually thought they were fly larvae at first as I have never seen anything like them. I had to come here to figure out what they were, you guys are the best! I have been seeing them for about 2 weeks. I wormed them today, but I am not sure if I need to do anything about the yard.

 

[dawg53]

You'll have to control the insect population in some manner. Perhaps treating one section in your yard at a time and blocking it off after treatment to prevent your birds from foraging the treated area. Then systematically treat your yard in this manner as needed.

 

[Allthefloofs]

Perfect! Thanks, that makes total sense and I can easily section off the yard to do that.