Tapeworms?

[Jlwennerberg9]

I am deworming my flock with albendazole and they received their first dose at 20mg/kg. On the 3rd full day after 1st dose, I noticed what I think are tapeworm segments in one of my girls poop. The white segments were moving but seemed to stop after some time. I followed the rest of the girls around the rest of the day and examined each of their stool and noone else seems to have these segments. I will be re-dosing them 10-14 days after but I have a few questions if anyone is kind enough to provide answers..

1. Is it expected to see tapeworm segments following treatment? Does this indicate the worms are dying?

2. I know I am to assume that if one has it, the rest probably do too. But, I have only seen the worm segments in 1 out of 7 girls' poop. Does this mean the medication has been effective in only 1 chicken or is it normal to never see dead worms after treatment?

3. Other than tapeworm, do you usually see other types of worms in their poop after deworming?

4. A couple of the girls have occasionally had what looks like intestinal shed or mucus in their poop. Definitely not bright red nor a large amount but I decided to treat with corid 2.5 weeks ago regardless. Could the intestinal shedding be due to worm infestation?

Thanks in advance. Attached is the poop with the segments if anyone can ID.

 

[coach723]

For tapeworm you need something with praziquantel in it, usually Equimax horse paste or Zimectrin Gold, Equimax is more economical. You only need to treat the bird that has them in the case of tapeworm, not the entire flock. Dosing for those meds is here in post #6: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tapeworms-that-wont-go-away.1130035/

 

[DonyaQuick]

For tapeworm you need something with praziquantel in it

Albendazole is pretty hard-hitting on worms; Poultry DVM lists it as effective against tapeworms: https://poultrydvm.com/drugs/albendazole
"Albendazole is effective against all types of adult roundworms and tapeworms."
That medication has just become very difficult to get that some places (I can't get it where I live for example). Fenbendazole is similar and what's more readily available now in the USA, but it's less effective against tapeworms and only works reliably on some species.

1. Is it expected to see tapeworm segments following treatment? Does this indicate the worms are dying?

You shouldn't see any live segments come out after a successful treatment. Those are definitely tapeworm segments in the photo though unfortunately. Did any of the segments move? If they were all completely imobile on fresh manure then the timing could be close enough that you're just seeing things get flushed out. It's less reassuring though than seeing nothing, but not necesarily a total failure. Assuming the bird consumed the full correct dose, just wait and see for now. If you see nothing in coming days then you can assume it worked - but do follow up with a 2nd dose later if the meds say to do it. On the other hand, if you see more segments in a few days, then it didn't for whatever reason.

2. I know I am to assume that if one has it, the rest probably do too.

Not necessarily for tapeworms; there is no bird-to-bird direct transmission or fecal-oral rout for those, so one bird can easily have it while the others remain fine. The life cycle for tapeworms is complex and requires intermediate hosts like slugs or flies, so if bugs in your coop are not out of hand then it's unlikely that the whole flock has tapeworms (but they may well all have roundworms or other types that are more common and do have more direct ransmission).

Does this mean the medication has been effective in only 1 chicken or is it normal to never see dead worms after treatment?

The worms die shortly after a successful treatment and fall apart in ways that aren't typically visible; it's not like roundworms where you can expect to see a large mass of intact dead worms come out. But how long after the medication dose you might see the proglotids could vary from one med to another; I'm not sure for albendazole.

3. Other than tapeworm, do you usually see other types of worms in their poop after deworming?

Potentially, yes. Cecal worms and roundworms may get flushed out and be visible depending on the medication used. Albendazole would probably kill those so you might see them if present. Cecal worms are small and white, round worms are longer and can be reddish, tanish, or white.

4. A couple of the girls have occasionally had what looks like intestinal shed or mucus in their poop. Definitely not bright red nor a large amount but I decided to treat with corid 2.5 weeks ago regardless. Could the intestinal shedding be due to worm infestation?

Maybe but unlikely. Occasional intestinal lining shedding is normal. Unless you see obvious blood or a really excessive amount of red intestinal lining, it's unlikely to be coccidiosis. There are many other things as well that can irritate the intestinal lining and cause some shedding, such as a diet shift or even changing in the egg laying cycle (like getting ready for a molt or resuming laying after one). If you see another mass of shed lining or other reddish stuff, post a pic and folks should be able to diagnose from that or confirm that it's within normal ranges.

 

[dawg53]

I am deworming my flock with albendazole and they received their first dose at 20mg/kg. On the 3rd full day after 1st dose, I noticed what I think are tapeworm segments in one of my girls poop. The white segments were moving but seemed to stop after some time. I followed the rest of the girls around the rest of the day and examined each of their stool and noone else seems to have these segments. I will be re-dosing them 10-14 days after but I have a few questions if anyone is kind enough to provide answers..

1. Is it expected to see tapeworm segments following treatment? Does this indicate the worms are dying?

2. I know I am to assume that if one has it, the rest probably do too. But, I have only seen the worm segments in 1 out of 7 girls' poop. Does this mean the medication has been effective in only 1 chicken or is it normal to never see dead worms after treatment?

3. Other than tapeworm, do you usually see other types of worms in their poop after deworming?

4. A couple of the girls have occasionally had what looks like intestinal shed or mucus in their poop. Definitely not bright red nor a large amount but I decided to treat with corid 2.5 weeks ago regardless. Could the intestinal shedding be due to worm infestation?

Thanks in advance. Attached is the poop with the segments if anyone can ID.

I've dealt with tapeworms in chickens many times.
Insects are the vector for tapeworm infections in poultry. However, not all insects will be tapeworm infected. Not all chickens will be tapeworm infected. That means that the only chicken that needs to be treated is the one that has segments in feces.
If it were any type of roundworm, ALL your birds would need to be wormed.
Follow the instructions that @coach723 provided in the link above.

I'll answer your questions:
1. You may or may not see tapeworm segments in feces after worming your infected hen, most likely you wont. It's possible that you might see pieces of the tapeworm itself and/or jellyfish looking strands excreted in feces within 30 minutes after worming.

2. No. Remember; a tapeworm infected insect must be eaten. That's why you only need to dose the chicken showing segments in feces.

3. Yes, it's possible you might see other types of worms other than excreted tapeworm in feces. Praziquantel in the Equimax or Zimecterin Gold kills tapeworms.
The other ingredient in the paste is Ivermectin. Ivermectin will kill certain types of roundworms in poultry, but not ALL types.

4. Yes. Worms can be a cause of shed intestinal lining with or without blood, particularly in birds that are older when they arnt susceptible to coccidiosis.

 

[Eggcessive]

Albendazole is not as effective as praziquantel for tapewoms. Equimax, Zimectrin Gold, and Drontal or Tapeworm tablets will treat tapeworms. Here is a good video of tapeworms:

 

[dawg53]

Albendazole is pretty hard-hitting on worms; Poultry DVM lists it as effective against tapeworms: https://poultrydvm.com/drugs/albendazole
"Albendazole is effective against all types of adult roundworms and tapeworms."
That medication has just become very difficult to get that some places (I can't get it where I live for example). Fenbendazole is similar and what's more readily available now in the USA, but it's less effective against tapeworms and only works reliably on some species.

Albendazole and Fenbendazole are ineffective eliminating poultry tapeworms, been there, done that many years ago. Tapeworms have built resistance to Albendazole.
I worm my birds monthly with Albendazole. You can order it here:
https://horseprerace.com/albendazole-oral-liquid-for-horses-cattle-sheep-500ml

 

[Jlwennerberg9]

Thank you, all! Very helpful advice. Looks like I can get my hands on Equimax quickly but is it ok to give to my girl with the tapeworms on top of the Albendazole she already received? They all got the 1st dose of Albendazole on 8/30 and I was planning to re-dose 10-14 days after. Do I withhold the 2nd dose for the girl who will get Equimax or it doesn't harm her to receive both close together?

 

[dawg53]

Thank you, all! Very helpful advice. Looks like I can get my hands on Equimax quickly but is it ok to give to my girl with the tapeworms on top of the Albendazole she already received? They all got the 1st dose of Albendazole on 8/30 and I was planning to re-dose 10-14 days after. Do I withhold the 2nd dose for the girl who will get Equimax or it doesn't harm her to receive both close together?

Go ahead and use the Equimax to get rid of the tapeworms. Use the Equimax as a second dosing on the tapeworm infected hen 14 days later instead of the Albendazole. Use Albendazole for the rest of your birds. All your birds will be good to go, no problem. Keep up the good work!