Slug trails in food

[SusanD]

Hi,

I caught a slug climbing up our food dish one time. This morning when I was topping off the chickens' food, I noticed that the food on the bottom had some slime on it (like a slug would make). Is this a possible way for them to catch gapeworm? If so, I will clean the container when I get home from work today and put fresh food in - And will make sure the food goes either in the coop or in the garage for the night.

Thanks,

Susan

 

[aart]

Hmmm....not sure but.....
Think I remember reading that slugs might carry a parasite in their intestinal tracts that could harm chickens.

Have you tried a search?
advanced search>titles only> slugs

 

[SusanD]

Thanks for your reply. I did find from the sites I read that its spread in feces (but I wasn't sure if they were talking about bird, snail/slug or both). I also found out that our setup makes us more at risk for issues with worms of all kinds (Keeping them in a small area and not rotating them to different pastures - also, a bit dampish).

So, I think I will be having them fecal sampled periodically. And will do my best to contrive to keep their area dry. And will wash their food dish tomorrow

 

[aart]

Thanks for your reply. I did find from the sites I read that its spread in feces (but I wasn't sure if they were talking about bird, snail/slug or both). I also found out that our setup makes us more at risk for issues with worms of all kinds (Keeping them in a small area and not rotating them to different pastures - also, a bit dampish).

So, I think I will be having them fecal sampled periodically. And will do my best to contrive to keep their area dry. And will wash their food dish tomorrow

Might want to check out your state chat thread, ask some local folks what their experiences are.

advanced search>titles only>Oregon