Tape Worms with Pic

[wesnmads]

Sorry in advance for the gross picture, but just want to be sure I am doing the right thing here. Today I found little white worms in my hen's poop. I immediately went to the trusty feed store and they sold me Wazine...then I researched and found that this is not for tapes (even though they assured me it would work). I researched and was set on getting ZGold, but when I went to the other feed store they recommended valbazen, which they will have Monday. Here are my questions:

1. Should I separate my other hen or is it too late and I should assume both are infected and treat them both?

2. How is tapeworm transmitted and how can I prevent them from getting it again? I already scoop their coop everyday. They are free range though so they could have eaten something rotten from the garden.

3. Are there natural preventative measures I can take, diet wise?

4. Is Monday too late? I feel like I am pretty on top of their poop, that sounds horrible, but I mean I scoop out their coop daily and I am constantly cleaning poop from the patio so I feel like I would have seen if it was happening for weeks. Should I just go back tomorrow for the ZGold?


Thanks for your help...and now the picture:

 

[Eggcessive]

I am pretty sure that Zimectrin Gold is good for tapes, but Dawg53 is pretty good with worming advice, so I will defer to him. I have heard from others that Z-Gold only treats tapeworm. Valbazen treats all worms, but I don't know if it is as good as Z-Gold for tapes. You do need to withhold food before worming for the best results each time treating. Tapes can be very hard to get rid of because of a good chance for reinfection. I would PM Dawg53 if he doesn't respond here shortly.

 

[wesnmads]

I am pretty sure that Zimectrin Gold is good for tapes, but Dawg53 is pretty good with worming advice, so I will defer to him. I have heard from others that Z-Gold only treats tapeworm. Valbazen treats all worms, but I don't know if it is as good as Z-Gold for tapes. You do need to withhold food before worming for the best results each time treating. Tapes can be very hard to get rid of because of a good chance for reinfection. I would PM Dawg53 if he doesn't respond here shortly.

Thank you so much, I will.

 

[dawg53]

Sorry in advance for the gross picture, but just want to be sure I am doing the right thing here. Today I found little white worms in my hen's poop. I immediately went to the trusty feed store and they sold me Wazine...then I researched and found that this is not for tapes (even though they assured me it would work). I researched and was set on getting ZGold, but when I went to the other feed store they recommended valbazen, which they will have Monday. Here are my questions:

1. Should I separate my other hen or is it too late and I should assume both are infected and treat them both?

2. How is tapeworm transmitted and how can I prevent them from getting it again? I already scoop their coop everyday. They are free range though so they could have eaten something rotten from the garden.

3. Are there natural preventative measures I can take, diet wise?

4. Is Monday too late? I feel like I am pretty on top of their poop, that sounds horrible, but I mean I scoop out their coop daily and I am constantly cleaning poop from the patio so I feel like I would have seen if it was happening for weeks. Should I just go back tomorrow for the ZGold?


Thanks for your help...and now the picture:

Those are tapeworm segments. I'll answer your question in the order you asked:
1. Your hen ate a host insect carrying an infective tapeworm egg(s.) If your other hen didnt eat an infected insect, no need to worm her
unless you see segments in her feces. You'll have to be vigilant because the soil they're on is now contaminated with tapeworm eggs.
2. Tapeworm eggs are eaten by insects, chickens eat insects....that's what they do and there's no way to prevent it. Keep observing feces.
3. Natural remedies are ineffective; been there, done that years ago.
4. Dont wait for the valbazen, use the zimectrin gold. Withhold her feed for 24 hours, water is ok. Then orally give her a regular "pea" size
amount of the z-gold. Then repeat this procedure again in ten days. She'll wipe her beak off on the ground, that's normal.

 

[wesnmads]

Thank you. I will go to get the z-gold tomorrow. When you say no food, should I keep her cooped up tomorrow so she doesn't eat anything, grass, bugs etc? Thanks again dawg53, so incredibly helpful.

 

[dawg53]

Thank you. I will go to get the z-gold tomorrow. When you say no food, should I keep her cooped up tomorrow so she doesn't eat anything, grass, bugs etc? Thanks again dawg53, so incredibly helpful.

Correct, nothing to eat at all. Cage her if you have a cage or crate and provide water only for 24 hours, that's what I do. Then give her the z-gold while she's caged. While caged and after you give her the z-gold, you might get lucky and see pieces or strands of tapeworm excreted in feces. Four hours after worming her, give her a small amount layer feed mixed with buttermilk to eat. Gradually increase the amount of feed over the course of the day. If you give her all the feed she can eat at once, she'll gorge herself with the feed and can possibly become crop or gizzard impacted.

 

[wesnmads]

Thank you. Unfortunately my second hen had worms in her poop as well this morning....ugh. Thank you for all the help, I will be following your advice x2.

 

[mauldin4]

I am having this same issue and will follow these steps too. However with having kids and I that walk around our back yard barefoot and garden. How do I make sure this hasn't been spread to our garden? is there a way to clean or kill tape worms out of the yard area? Since mine are free to roam they poop everywhere and now I am nervous about us getting them. Thanks I am very new to raising backyard chickens and a little upset someone gave me sick ones.

 

[dawg53]

I am having this same issue and will follow these steps too. However with having kids and I that walk around our back yard barefoot and garden. How do I make sure this hasn't been spread to our garden? is there a way to clean or kill tape worms out of the yard area? Since mine are free to roam they poop everywhere and now I am nervous about us getting them. Thanks I am very new to raising backyard chickens and a little upset someone gave me sick ones.

Welcome to BYC. Forget about treating your soil for worms. Worm eggs are everywhere in and on the soil, on grass as well. Tapeworms require a host to infect your chickens...your birds are eating tapeworm infected insects. Dont worry, poultry worms cannot infect humans. However if you have a dog infected with hookworms and you or one of your kids steps barefooted on infected dog poop, there's a good possibility that you and/or your kids could get infected with hookworms. Like dogs and cats, chickens should be wormed as well.
Follow the steps in post #6 as I mentioned. I've dealt with tapeworms and know how to treat them.
Keep in mind that chickens get other types of worms besides tapeworms. It would be best to start a regular worming schedule. After taking care of the tapeworm issue, purchase valbazen liquid cattle/sheep wormer or safeguard liquid goat wormer. How often you worm your birds depends on your soil conditions. Warm moist soil will require frequent wormings. I worm my birds once every 3 months or sooner depending how much rain we get.

 

[snaffle]

Dawg53 do you have a thread somewhere or blog that has all of your worming notes?