Should i worry if my chickens are eating worms?

[Ridgerunner]

This is a quote from a Florida Extension Service article.

The chickens pick up the parasite eggs directly by ingesting contaminated feed, water, or litter or by eating snails, earthworms, or other insects (intermediate hosts) which can carry the eggs. Further down it mentions earthworms and grasshoppers as intermediate hosts for roundworms.

Just for the record, here's a link to the article. The recommendations look like they are more for commercial growers than for me so read them and apply to your situation. I'm personally not going to use insecticides to try to kill insects that might come into contact with chickens.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/VM015

Unless you keep your chickens in solitary confinement, away from earthworms, insects, and wild birds, there is a great chance they have worms. The contaminated feed, water, and litter means that it has bird droppings in it, like when an infected bird perchs above a feeder or a wild bird leaves a deposit in the run. That thread Eggs4sale gave is great on treating them. Twice a year makes sense to me.

 

[mjohjoh123]

what is DE...Is that a brand of worm medicine? I also need to know will eating worm make my chickens sick?

 

[casportpony]

what is DE...Is that a brand of worm medicine? I also need to know will eating worm make my chickens sick?

DE is *not* a wormer. Read below about eating worms.

This is a quote from a Florida Extension Service article.

The chickens pick up the parasite eggs directly by ingesting contaminated feed, water, or litter or by eating snails, earthworms, or other insects (intermediate hosts) which can carry the eggs. Further down it mentions earthworms and grasshoppers as intermediate hosts for roundworms.

Just for the record, here's a link to the article. The recommendations look like they are more for commercial growers than for me so read them and apply to your situation. I'm personally not going to use insecticides to try to kill insects that might come into contact with chickens.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/VM015

Unless you keep your chickens in solitary confinement, away from earthworms, insects, and wild birds, there is a great chance they have worms. The contaminated feed, water, and litter means that it has bird droppings in it, like when an infected bird perchs above a feeder or a wild bird leaves a deposit in the run. That thread Eggs4sale gave is great on treating them. Twice a year makes sense to me.

-Kathy

 

[lmggabe]

I am relatively new to raising chickens and use this site often for info. I have to say I can't believe the number of "donts" on this site. Chickens can't eat earthworms? I have 3 which roam around the yard scratching and digging for bugs, worms or whatever the can find. It's the highlight of the day to watch them roam free, happy and treating them self to what the dig up. Now I have to worry if they eat too many bugs/worms, they could get a parasite? What next?

 

[casportpony]

I am relatively new to raising chickens and use this site often for info. I have to say I can't believe the number of "donts" on this site. Chickens can't eat earthworms? I have 3 which roam around the yard scratching and digging for bugs, worms or whatever the can find. It's the highlight of the day to watch them roam free, happy and treating them self to what the dig up. Now I have to worry if they eat too many bugs/worms, they could get a parasite? What next?

Best not to go digging up the dirt for them. If you're worried, find a vet that can do routine fecals to check for the parasites that they can get from eating bugs.

http://parasitipedia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2655&Itemid=2933
Internal parasites (endoparasites, worms, helminths)

Roundworms (nematodes)

• Acuaria spp ~ Dispharynx ~ Synhimanthus spp. $. Gizzard worms. Gizzard, esophagus and proventriculus. Can be a problem in endemic regions, mainly in birds kept outdoors.
• Ascaridia spp. $$$. Chicken roundworms. Small intestine. A serious problem worldwide, also in confined operations.
• Capillaria spp. $$. Hairworms. Crop, esophagus, small intestine, large intestine.
• Heterakis spp. $$$$. Cecal worms. Cecum. Probably the most threatening worms in all kind of poultry operations worldwide.
• Oxyspirura spp. $. Fowl eyeworms. Eyes. Usually a secondary problem in individual birds kept outdoors.
• Strongyloides spp. $$. Threadworms, pinworms. Small intestine. Can be a serious problem worldwide.
• Subulura spp. $. Cecum and small intestine. A secondary problem in birds kept outdoors worldwide.
• Syngamus trachea. $$. Gapeworms. Trachea, bronchi. A serious problem in birds kept outdoors in endemic regions.
• Tetrameres spp. $. Proventriculus and esophagus. Can be a problem in endemic regions, mainly in outdoor opertaions.

Tapeworms (cestodes)

• Amoebotaenia cuneata = sphenoides. $. Small intestine. Usually a secondary issue in most poultry operations
• Choanotaenia infundibulum. $. Small intestine. Usually not a major issue in modern poultry operations.
• Davainea proglottina. $. Minute tapeworms. Small intestine. Can be a problem in birds kept outdoors in endemic regions.
• Raillietina spp. $$. Small intestine. The most frequent tapeworm in poultry, however normally not a major problem.

Flukes (trematodes, flatworms)

• Prosthogonimus spp. $. Oviduct flukes. Oviduct, bursa of Fabricius. Can be a serious threat for birds kept outdoors in endemic regions.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

@lmggabe , welcome to BYC!

 

[Glenda Heywoodo]

what is DE...Is that a brand of worm medicine? I also need to know will eating worm make my chickens sick?

https://www.bing.com/search?q=DIATO...s=n&sk=&cvid=ef6897cc93414d4abad725d92f958bf2

DE= Diatomaceous Earth Food Grade
From Wikipedia
Diatomaceous earth (pronunciation: /ˌdaɪ.ətəˌmeɪʃəs ˈɜːrθ/), also known as D.E., diatomite, or kieselgur/kieselguhr, is a naturally occurring, soft, siliceous sedimentary rock that is easily crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder. It has a particle size ranging from less than 3 micrometres to more than 1 millimetre, but typically 10 to 200 micrometres. Depending on the granularity, this powder can have an abrasive feel, similar to pumice powder, and has a low density as a result of its high porosity. The typical chemical composition of oven-dried diatomaceous earth is 80 to 90% silica, with 2 to 4% alumina (attributed mostly to clay minerals) and 0.5 to 2% iron oxide.[1]
Diatomaceous earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. It is used as a filtration aid, mild abrasive in products including metal polishes and toothpaste, mechanical insecticide, absorbent for liquids, matting agent for coatings, reinforcing filler in plastics and rubber, anti-block in plastic films, porous support for chemical catalysts, cat litter, activator in blood clotting studies, a stabilizing component of dynamite, and a thermal insulator.

ALWAYS buy food grade
and use a mask so you do not get it in your nose when putting it in chicken, dog, cat food

AS TO CHICKENS EATING WORMS
THEY CAN BE HOSTS OF OTHER PARASITES FOR YEARS
SUCH AS BIRDS, CHICKENS ETC AFTR EATING THE WORMS MAY GET DISEASES

 

[mclanea]

Our chickens free range in the backyard pretty much every day. Worms, bugs, grass, grubs... this is every day. The only ones that gross me out is when they eat mice.

 

[FaithVondras987]

So my chicken found a ton of fishing sized worms, nice big ones around 2-3 inches and really thick. She ate like 3-4 of them things, is that ok... “ she found them going back to her coop at sundown when worms come out to breed.”