Worms? What to do?

[Acre4Me]

Noticed these worms today in chicken poop. At least I assume they are worms.

Any info or guidance on what I should do?

The chickens live outdoors, but in an enclosed (with 1x2” wire) and fully roofed run, with elevated coop. So, it’s unlikely to come from any wild birds or critters. But, they have worms, which came from something. The goats are in a pen next to chicken area (also roofed and enclosed with wire), but they get purchased hay and purchased straw. A rodent could get in either location, but we are not seeing rodent activity.

 

[DobieLover]

Those are tapeworm segments. Earthworms are a vector.
You can treat with praziquantel. That can be found in Zimectrin Gold horse wormer. Give a pea size amount to each 5-6# chicken AFTER withholding food for 24 hrs and repeat same in 10 days. You'll basically not feed the birds for one day and dose them that night.

 

[Eggcessive]

Equimax horse paste also will treat tapeworms at a dosage of 0.16 ml for a 5 pound chicken. Repeat in 14 days. Egg withdrawal time is at least 2 weeks. The Zimectrin Gold dosage is different. It is 0.3 ml for a 5 pound chicken. Repeat in 14 days. The Equimax is a little less expensive and will treat twice as many.

 

[Acre4Me]

@Eggcessive, @DobieLover

Thanks! I suppose the whole flock gets dosed? Also, do I need to do anything to the ground?

 

[Eggcessive]

Dawg53, a long term member and worm expert usually says that you can treat the one who has the tapeworm proglottids in the droppings. If you don’t know which one, you may need to treat the whole flock. Since chickens get tapeworms from eating an intermediate host, such as earth worms, flies, snails or slugs, grasshoppers, or beetles that have eaten the tapeworm eggs, the others may not have them. Those white proglottids or segments in the picture contain many eggs. The segments break off from larger tapeworms in the body, seen below.
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0...2--tapewormsinpoultry-Edited.jpg?v=1601184191

 

[Acre4Me]

@dawg53 @DobieLover @Eggcessive

Tapeworm Q: even with searching, I cannot find the answer- cold temps, do they kill off the segments in the poop once this is on the ground?

another Q: if a chicken eats a segment in the poop, they will not get a tapeworm -true or not? It is my understanding that there needs to be an intermediary host (earthworm, etc).

Our plan: today we will try to go thru as many chickens as we can. We will hold (and maybe they will poop right away) and place in a cage so we can inspect individual poops once dropped. If they appear fine (nothing but poop) we will put them in a separate pen with other healthy chickens. Hopefully we find the one or two that have the problem. Once determined we will separate to medicate.

Clean up the ground - as best we can. Not sure what else we can do -if chicken has been pooping out segments I can’t imagine I’d get them all.

Does this sound ok? Since we haven’t noticed a problem before, I’ll guess that it’s limited infection. But, in cold weather as we are having for weeks, it’s strange to have this show up in winter - but I guess could have eaten something in the fall to get the infection.

 

[LaFleche]

Tapeworm proglottids will not be excreted every day but in intervals which can be confusing and even lead to false fecal exam results.

 

[dawg53]

Tapeworm eggs can survive on frozen soil for several months.
Tapeworms require a host insect in order to infect chickens. It is called the "Indirect" lifecycle. There isnt a "Direct" lifecycle with tapeworm infections unlike roundworms.

How many chickens do you have?
When I've dealt with tapeworms, I'd follow the chickens around the yard after first letting them out in the mornings, and played poop inspector walking behind them as they foraged.
They eventually poop and you can see the segments from the infected hen(s.) They were the ones that I'd isolate in cages in the garage and treat them accordingly with Zimecterin Gold or Equimax.

You'd be surprised that out of a flock of 24 birds, only three were tapeworm infected and were wormed accordingly.

 

[Acre4Me]

We screened all yesterday. 4 were excreting the segments. They are segregated. I called vet to see if they could screen for type, waiting for call back.

 

[dawg53]

We screened all yesterday. 4 were excreting the segments. They are segregated. I called vet to see if they could screen for type, waiting for call back.

Why would you want to know the type? It really doesnt matter.
Give your birds the Equimax or Zimecterin Gold. Either product will kill the tapeworms no matter what type tapeworms they are.