tapeworm question???

[kyrose]

can chickens get tapeworm and if so what are the syptoms and do they come out in their poo?
thanks

 

[Dar]

I would assume they can because cats can get tape worm from eating mice... and sometimes chickens will eat mice

 

[patandchickens]

Yes, they can. But they are bird tapeworms not other-species-specific tapeworms. IIRC, ground beetles (family Carabidae) are the intermediate hosts for the most-common chicken tapeworms (whereas mice and other small rodents are the intermediate host for the commonest cat tapeworms); but there are a variety of chicken tapeworms, with a variety of different intermediate hosts (other insects, snails, worms, etc etc). I do not know whether chickens ever get non-bird tapeworms; tapeworms are less host-specific than many internal parasites, though.

A light tapeworm infestation is supposedly real common in chickens, esp. those that free-range or have access to a run; they are not generally considered much of a problem unless you have a *heavy* infestation or the chicken has some other health problem(s) as well. If you see evidence of tapeworm in stools or vomit in *any* animal that usually means there is a very heavy infestation. The other indication of heavy tapeworm infestation would be chronic weight loss (although of course there are any number of OTHER things that can cause that too).

Hope this helps,

Pat