Worms in Store Bought Chicks

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jpsand said:
Please advise. This is my first time ever purchasing baby chicks. I just bought 15 chicks from a store 2 days ago and would think they are not more than a few days old. How is it possibly for a newly hatched chick to have worms already? Would these likely be pinworms or what? What can I do about treating these babies? I do have some diatomaceous earth I could mix in with their feed but not sure how much. I have them in a large box on my screened porch and they have plenty of room to move around. The chicks seem look well. Probably the only reason I was able to see these worms was because I had them on an old white bed sheet which is over the top of a thin layer of pine shavings. I had seen a post that suggested this would give the chicks better footing but what it has done for me is it allowed me to notice the worms this afternoon. I will try and contact the manager of the store I purchased them at tomorrow to make him aware of this batch of chicks. I am considering taking the chicks back as I don't like starting off with problems.
As far as introducing myself, not sure if that is a separate post, but my wife and I live on a farm in south Alabama. We have raised goats and alpacas in the past at separate times and had purchased a few grown laying hens that layed for a few years but have gone for over a year now. My wife is retired and I still work a little but have slowed down. This year we are putting in a very large garden as we love having our on fresh, organic produce.
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:welcome

I see normal chick poops as well.

Adding that IF a chicken does have worms it is rare to actually see any in the droppings. Chickens that do expel worms we can see tend to seem unwell, thin, droopy, lethargic and such.

Your chicks being just a few days out of the shell are very unlikely to have picked up worms for several reasons.
First a hen with a heavy worm load is unlikely to be mating or laying eggs.
IF an egg is laid by a hen that has been mated and has worms the worms or worm eggs being IN the egg is unlikely and would if there prevent the chick from hatching.
Even if the chick picked up worm eggs within hours of hatching it takes time for the parasite to grow and a young chick would likely die quickly from the worm(s) depriving it of nutrients.

I wanted to reassure you that all is well with those droppings.
 
jpsand said:
To me, long and stringy, looked like worms. Glad to know it is not. Thanks for the responses.
Is it possible though for young chicks less than a week old to get worms? If so how could that occur?
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It is extremely unlikely. They would have to have been on contaminated soil and eaten the soil containing worm eggs.....as well as then had time for those worm eggs to hatch inside them and grow. It takes time and in the time a worm is growing in a host it is robbing that host of nutrients. I don't think a young chick would last long with that happening.
 
21hens-incharge said:
:welcome

I see normal chick poops as well.

Adding that IF a chicken does have worms it is rare to actually see any in the droppings. Chickens that do expel worms we can see tend to seem unwell, thin, droopy, lethargic and such.

Your chicks being just a few days out of the shell are very unlikely to have picked up worms for several reasons.
First a hen with a heavy worm load is unlikely to be mating or laying eggs.
IF an egg is laid by a hen that has been mated and has worms the worms or worm eggs being IN the egg is unlikely and would if there prevent the chick from hatching.
Even if the chick picked up worm eggs within hours of hatching it takes time for the parasite to grow and a young chick would likely die quickly from the worm(s) depriving it of nutrients.

I wanted to reassure you that all is well with those droppings.
Click to expand...
 

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