Worms in duck poop-please give advice/opinion

[sherrybintally]

Okay, since you all have ducks having poop in your nest boxes may not seem atypical. Ducks are dirty birds (but I love mine dearly). Sometimes it soils the eggs. Sometimes it doesn't. And for the record, I do wash my eggs, which I know is a debatable subject.... but it's just a necessary thing with ducks, in my opinion. I use a product especially for washing eggs.

So, here's the question. A couple of weeks ago when I was cleaning the nest boxes, I found these tannish/gray/brown worms about 1/2 in long in the poop in ONE nest box. They were about as big around as an earthworm. I haven't been in the habit of completely emptying the nest box material every day (I use straw) and depending on how bad it is, I just add fresh straw on top, so I blamed it on myself for letting it sit too long and it had been hot, etc. It was the first and only time I'd ever seen worms in the nest boxes or anywhere. Also, on that day, the egg in that nest box had broken. I didn't change the box until that evening, several hours later.

Well, today I found them again. They were not quite as big, but the same worms. So, I googled the images for all the worms typical of ducks/poultry--Caecal, gape, gizzard, tape, round. NONE of the pictures even remotely looked like these worms.

One other note that might be important.... The same duck and only this one duck lays in this particular nest box. I've found no worms in the nest box that the other duck uses. And yes, I'm sure they don't switch boxes because I see them in them, I know the shape of each of the ducks eggs, etc.

So, what are these worms, where are they coming from, and what do I do? If you recommend a wormer, would you please recommend one that does not require I stop using their eggs?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Okay, since you all have ducks having poop in your nest boxes may not seem atypical. Ducks are dirty birds (but I love mine dearly). Sometimes it soils the eggs. Sometimes it doesn't. And for the record, I do wash my eggs, which I know is a debatable subject.... but it's just a necessary thing with ducks, in my opinion. I use a product especially for washing eggs.

So, here's the question. A couple of weeks ago when I was cleaning the nest boxes, I found these tannish/gray/brown worms about 1/2 in long in the poop in ONE nest box. They were about as big around as an earthworm. I haven't been in the habit of completely emptying the nest box material every day (I use straw) and depending on how bad it is, I just add fresh straw on top, so I blamed it on myself for letting it sit too long and it had been hot, etc. It was the first and only time I'd ever seen worms in the nest boxes or anywhere. Also, on that day, the egg in that nest box had broken. I didn't change the box until that evening, several hours later.

Well, today I found them again. They were not quite as big, but the same worms. So, I googled the images for all the worms typical of ducks/poultry--Caecal, gape, gizzard, tape, round. NONE of the pictures even remotely looked like these worms.

One other note that might be important.... The same duck and only this one duck lays in this particular nest box. I've found no worms in the nest box that the other duck uses. And yes, I'm sure they don't switch boxes because I see them in them, I know the shape of each of the ducks eggs, etc.

So, what are these worms, where are they coming from, and what do I do? If you recommend a wormer, would you please recommend one that does not require I stop using their eggs?

I use Epernix Pour on but usually only in the winter months and then mostly for external parasites when they aren't able to bathe as often. Most of the time water fowl doesn't get worms unless kept in really nasty enviroment because they have such a high body temp that nothing can live in it. Could something be laying eggs on the poop and with the hot weather the eggs are hatching out fast. Flies maybe? also Epernix has no egg withdrawl. I had to buy mine on line, some feed stores probably carry it but ours doesn't.

 

[sherrybintally]

Ms Lydia, someone else suggested fly larvae so I googled images of those and that's what I think they are. It makes much more sense to me too since just like you said, it's hot here, etc.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Ms Lydia, someone else suggested fly larvae so I googled images of those and that's what I think they are. It makes much more sense to me too since just like you said, it's hot here, etc.

Glad to hear that sherry, even though it still is nasty, flies have been terrible her this year, I bought these fly traps at Lowes they have the attractant in them and you fill with water and hang around were your ducks live. They have helped alot here.