TAPEWORMS?!

[duckduckgoose13]

Today as I was cleaning out my chicken coop I noticed what looked like to be little rice pieces on one pile of chicken poop. I looked it up and it looks just like tape worm. I went to my local feed store and purchased some equimax and proceeded to feed them “pea” sized amounts. They are full grown. But I couldn’t get them to eat ANY of it, I’ve tried putting it on bread, on peas, even mixing it in an egg yolk and they want no part of it. I wasted an entire tube trying to feed it to them. Tomorrow I will be going back to get more but does anyone have any suggestions on how to feed it to them? I want to get it under control before it spreads to the rest of my flock. I have four chickens total and two ducks, the ducks live separate but I know they can get them easily if they’re within the flock already.

 

[duckduckgoose13]

Today as I was cleaning out my chicken coop I noticed what looked like to be little rice pieces on one pile of chicken poop. I looked it up and it looks just like tape worm. I went to my local feed store and purchased some equimax and proceeded to feed them “pea” sized amounts. They are full grown. But I couldn’t get them to eat ANY of it, I’ve tried putting it on bread, on peas, even mixing it in an egg yolk and they want no part of it. I wasted an entire tube trying to feed it to them. Tomorrow I will be going back to get more but does anyone have any suggestions on how to feed it to them? I want to get it under control before it spreads to the rest of my flock. I have four chickens total and two ducks, the ducks live separate but I know they can get them easily if they’re within the flock already.

Also, can I feed it to all of them? Or do I have to find the one who has worms

 

[jher77]

That sounds like tapewoms but sometimes people see maggots or feather dust and think they are tapeworm segments. Got a pic of it?

I doubt pea size is going to be the correct dose. You have to weigh the chicken, then dose per lb and give orally with a syringe. It's actually easier than doing the medicine on the bread thing. I've tried that too.

You can treat the whole flock but I'm thinking you can only dose the infected bird with tapeworms, but not sure. @dawg53 will know.

 

[duckduckgoose13]

That sounds like tapewoms but sometimes people see maggots or feather dust and think they are tapeworm segments. Got a pic of it?

I doubt pea size is going to be the correct dose. You have to weigh the chicken, then dose per lb and give orally with a syringe. It's actually easier than doing the medicine on the bread thing. I've tried that too.

You can treat the whole flock but I'm thinking you can only dose the infected bird with tapeworms, but not sure. @dawg53 will know.

Unfortunately I did not take a picture but from looking at others on here I’m 99.9% positive it’s tapeworm. I also heard they’re a pain to get rid of, I’ve had chickens for years and of course now one has tapeworm.

 

[dawg53]

If only one bird has tapeworms, that's the one you want to treat with Equimax. There's no need to treat all your birds when it comes to tapeworms. If you were dealing with roundworms, it would be a different story.

Insects are the vector for tapeworms. That ONE hen ate an infected insect.
Go out to the coop early tomorrow morning when it's still dark with a flashlight and do a look-see where birds are perched on the roost. Then do an eyeball poop inspection with the flashlight looking for the guilty hen.

Have your Equimax ready to use on the guilty hen. Dosage is 0.15ml for a 5 pound hen or 0.03ml per pound. Snatch her off the roost, cradle her in your forearm and with the same hand, use your fingers to pull her wattles down and her mouth will open. Then with your other hand put the paste in her mouth with your finger or use a syringe without a needle, release her wattles and she'll swallow the paste. You're done. Redose her in 10 days the same procedure as I stated.

The only reason why tapeworms are hard to get rid of is due to insects that are infected with tapeworm eggs. Insects are the host, chickens eat insects.
However not all insects are infected.

 

[duckduckgoose13]

If only one bird has tapeworms, that's the one you want to treat with Equimax. There's no need to treat all your birds when it comes to tapeworms. If you were dealing with roundworms, it would be a different story.

Insects are the vector for tapeworms. That ONE hen ate an infected insect.
Go out to the coop early tomorrow morning when it's still dark with a flashlight and do a look-see where birds are perched on the roost. Then do an eyeball poop inspection with the flashlight looking for the guilty hen.

Have your Equimax ready to use on the guilty hen. Dosage is 0.15ml for a 5 pound hen or 0.03ml per pound. Snatch her off the roost, cradle her in your forearm and with the same hand, use your fingers to pull her wattles down and her mouth will open. Then with your other hand put the paste in her mouth with your finger or use a syringe without a needle, release her wattles and she'll swallow the paste. You're done. Redose her in 10 days the same procedure as I stated.

The only reason why tapeworms are hard to get rid of is due to insects that are infected with tapeworm eggs. Insects are the host, chickens eat insects.
However not all insects are infected.

Thank you so much! I went out this morning to check poops and I didn’t see any with the little white rice looking things so I waited and just went to look again and I still don’t see any so now I’m second guessing myself unless the tapes don’t come out in EVERY poop?

 

[dawg53]

Thank you so much! I went out this morning to check poops and I didn’t see any with the little white rice looking things so I waited and just went to look again and I still don’t see any so now I’m second guessing myself unless the tapes don’t come out in EVERY poop?

Keep watching and be patient, time will tell.