Worms in eggs?

[K1023]

Does this look like a worm? Are there any natural de wormers I can give my chickens

 

[azygous]

Yep, It sure looks like a round worm. But we can't see it under magnification to check to see if it has segments. You can. I'm sure you or the kids has a magnifying lens. go look for it. It'll be worth it. Worms have segments, you know, like in the giant worms in "Dune". If you see those, you have yourself a regulation, official worm. Time to roll out the Safeguard.

 

[K1023]

What is safeguard?
Would seeing this worm mean we shouldn’t eat any of our eggs? What about incubating? We have 40 eggs incubating right now

 

[azygous]

Did you confirm it's a worm?

 

[theoldchick]

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/roundworms

 

[coach723]

It does look like a roundworm. Those are one of the most common to affect chickens. The eggs you have incubating, just keep going. Finding a worm in an egg is not that common, but it does happen. IF one of your incubating eggs were to contain one, that egg would probably be a quitter or not develop, but there is no way to know. It's unlikely that it's going to be an issue. You can eat your eggs, obviously that one has a huge yuck factor, and I wouldn't eat that one, the rest are fine. It's always a good idea to crack your eggs into a separate dish first, so there are no surprises like this that ruin a recipe.
Safeguard liquid goat wormer is commonly used, and usually available locally at tractor supply stores and feed stores. You can also use Safeguard horse paste with the same dosing. Valbazen can also be used (labeled for cattle and different dosing) but usually has to be ordered online.
For roundworm treatment with Safeguard you give .23 ml per pound of bird weight orally (an oral syringe is needed, feed stores or pharmacies have, just ask). Then repeat that dose again in 10 days. You can get a weight with a digital kitchen scale. Shake the medication well before drawing the dose, it settles out. Draw the dose, hold the bird, pull down on the wattles to open the beak, and give the medication slowly, 1/2 ml at a time into the front of the beak, and let her swallow. Repeat until the whole dose is given. Roundworm is easily picked up in the environment and infected birds spread the worm eggs in their droppings, so generally you worm the entire flock at once, they've all been exposed. Depending on your worm load, you may need to worm regularly to keep your birds healthy. Some can do once or twice a year, some may need to do more than that, it varies flock to flock. Some recommend a withdrawl period from eggs for 10-14 days after dosing. Many people ignore that and continue to use the eggs. Do what you are comfortable with.

 

[crazyeggRobyn]

I'm curious if anyone is ever used diatomaceous earth to solve worm problems and they do have poultry grade whatever you want to call it ...(animal grade) Diatomaceous Earth reason asked is because diatomaceous earth is a natural worm cure not only in animals but also in people

 

[coach723]

Diatomaceous earth may be effective on some external pests, but it's not effective once it's wet, so won't work in a digestive tract. Many of us know from personal experience how ineffective it really is. It also can cause respiratory irritation if inhaled, so I just don't use it. If you actually have a worm issue, you are far better off using the medications to be sure you've gotten them. I had too many sick birds, and lost a few early on that I no longer mess around. Many who say it's effective have not confirmed with a fecal before treatment or after treatment, to show actual effectiveness. My personal experience is that it does not work. I would not recommend it. Save your time and money for something effective. For external parasites I make sure they have plenty of dust bath areas and when I have wood ash from burning (always be sure it is completely cooled and is only wood ash, nothing toxic), I mix some of that into those areas for dust bathing. The wood ash does help preventatively. But again, if you were to end up with lice or mites, I'd use permethrin or spinosad products for that.

 

[crazyeggRobyn]

Diatomaceous earth may be effective on some external pests, but it's not effective once it's wet, so won't work in a digestive tract. Many of us know from personal experience how ineffective it really is. It also can cause respiratory irritation if inhaled, so I just don't use it. If you actually have a worm issue, you are far better off using the medications to be sure you've gotten them. I had too many sick birds, and lost a few early on that I no longer mess around. Many who say it's effective have not confirmed with a fecal before treatment or after treatment, to show actual effectiveness. My personal experience is that it does not work. I would not recommend it. Save your time and money for something effective. For external parasites I make sure they have plenty of dust bath areas and when I have wood ash from burning (always be sure it is completely cooled and is only wood ash, nothing toxic), I mix some of that into those areas for dust bathing. The wood ash does help preventatively. But again, if you were to end up with lice or mites, I'd use permethrin or spinosad products for that.

Well thank you kindly for that information no I do not have a worm issue at the current time I was just curious about diatomaceous earth I use it in my garden for pests that attack my plants and I had heard that you could use it for internal use for worms in both Critters and people have never tried it just have heard that I was curious and you are awesome for answering my curiosity

 

[coach723]

Many people say it works. It's a myth that just won't die. I hate for people to waste time and money, and maybe lose birds, and end up eventually with the meds after all that anyway. Worm loads vary greatly flock to flock and environment to environment, I happen to live in a climate that is very worm heavy, so probably have more worm issues than average.