Worms! Worms! Worm! Help

[Chictaw]

My girls have tapeworm. Gave them Valbazin three times. How many times can I give it to them.

 

[dawg53]

My girls have tapeworm. Gave them Valbazin three times. How many times can I give it to them.

Are you sure it's tapeworms? If so, at what intervals and dosage did you give your birds?

 

[Chictaw]

Yes we know it is tapeworm. We have given them three doses,but waited for the 14 day withdrawl. We found out that was to far apart. This last dose we gave them six days from last dose. If this doesn't work, how many doses can they take? We live in a very prone area for tapeworm

 

[dawg53]

You can use zimectrin gold equine wormer for tapes. Here's a link, read my posts regarding z-gold including how to administer it etc...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/732910/deworming-experience-from-start-to-finish/10#post_10216123

 

[Chictaw]

Thanks! I have been reading your posts for a long time. I just joined BYC, so I could ask questions and learn. We tryed Valbazine because I was reading what you said. We just didn't learn in time, and was afraid to give them to many doses. We just gave them more Valbazine yesterday so we will wait and see. Thank you so much. If this does not work we will try the Z gold.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

Thanks! I have been reading your posts for a long time. I just joined BYC, so I could ask questions and learn. We tryed Valbazine because I was reading what you said. We just didn't learn in time, and was afraid to give them to many doses. We just gave them more Valbazine yesterday so we will wait and see. Thank you so much. If this does not work we will try the Z gold.

If you've been tryin' one, then switchin' active ingredients is a good idea ... you never did say:

What dosage have you been giving of the Valbazen?

 

[Chictaw]

Been giving them 1/2 cc. Someone said to give them 1cc, but I was afraid after three doses already. Miss my eggs!! Hate store bought eggs, just don't taste the same. New at this chicken game. Started about a year and a half just for eggs. Now we are really attached to our girls. We are afraid to much of this stuff is going to hurt them.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

Been giving them 1/2 cc. Someone said to give them 1cc, but I was afraid after three doses already. Miss my eggs!! Hate store bought eggs, just don't taste the same. New at this chicken game. Started about a year and a half just for eggs. Now we are really attached to our girls. We are afraid to much of this stuff is going to hurt them.

Not likely to cause 'em any harm, as albendazole's toxicity level w/in rats was 1,500 mg/kg, but dawg's right to suggest changing wormers at this point ... although research indicates resistance isn't a serious problem in all animals, all of the benzimidizoles have been show to have some developing in most livestock, and I'd sure hate to see anybody push the envelope -- once you treat any parasite, it's your duty to be sure you kill 'em all.

If I'm not mistaken, the cestode you're dealin' w/ here is Raillietina tetragona, which has ants reported as the intermediate host. I've seen studies proving Albendazole as effective ... which is why I was wantin' to know why it didn't work for you (and, of course, so as to help you get rid of 'em ~'-)

1/2 cc of 11.36% Albendazole (113.6 mg/mL) = 56.8 mg which should be sufficient to eliminate 100% of the tapeworms in a 5 LB. bird, if given for three consecutive days, based upon the findings of this study. So, I'm hopin' there's somethin' you've done differently?

Another option, which has also been proven 100% effective against this specific tapeworm, but in a single dose, is oxfendazole:

Oxfendazole was tested against Raillietina tetragona in experimentally infected chickens using single oral doses of 20, 10, 7.5, 5, and 2.5 mg/kg body weight. The minimal dose of the drug which produced 100% efficacy against immature worms was 10 mg/kg whereas the same effect on the mature parasite was obtained with 7.5 mg/kg. Doses lower than these significantly reduce worm burdens. The compound appears to be safe for chickens and a dose of 20 mg/kg (twice the recommended dose) produced no untoward clinical reactions.

The problem w/ oxfendazole seems to be accessibility in smaller quantities, as I've only seen it marketed as Benzelmin, for cattle, and in volumes that are all in excess of a hundred bucks. SoOo ... sorry for wastin' your time w/ that part, unless you know of any farmers w/ cattle nearby.

So, my question, again -- was your chicken no more than five pounds, and did you dose for three consecutive days?

 

[Chictaw]

I guess we did it wrong. We been waiting to dose them when the 14 day down time was over. We did not do it soon enough. 2 days ago we dosed them 6 days after the last dose. We found out that we were going to long. My husband did some research and found out these tapeworms we have are from ants. He could not remember the name of them. We got lots of ants. We live in the high desert out in the middle of nothing. We planted lots of trees, so we have the only place around that is cool. Lots of wild life and lots of birds. These tapeworms are small white little balls when they come out, then they stretch out and are about 1/6 of an inch long. We were told they are very hard to get rid of. Our girls are very thin, they are under 5lbs. They seem to be happy and are laying, but still have worms. My husband checks their droppings daily, and said they are getting less. We think only 1 or 2 of them still have the worms, but are afraid the cycle will just start over again if we don't get them all. We dosed them 2 days ago, so should we do it again tomorrow? And is there something we can spray on the ground in their run to kill these worms?

 

[cowcreekgeek]

I guess we did it wrong. We been waiting to dose them when the 14 day down time was over. We did not do it soon enough. 2 days ago we dosed them 6 days after the last dose. We found out that we were going to long. My husband did some research and found out these tapeworms we have are from ants. He could not remember the name of them. We got lots of ants. We live in the high desert out in the middle of nothing. We planted lots of trees, so we have the only place around that is cool. Lots of wild life and lots of birds. These tapeworms are small white little balls when they come out, then they stretch out and are about 1/6 of an inch long. We were told they are very hard to get rid of. Our girls are very thin, they are under 5lbs. They seem to be happy and are laying, but still have worms. My husband checks their droppings daily, and said they are getting less. We think only 1 or 2 of them still have the worms, but are afraid the cycle will just start over again if we don't get them all. We dosed them 2 days ago, so should we do it again tomorrow? And is there something we can spray on the ground in their run to kill these worms?

Raillietina
a genus of cyclophyllidean tapeworms containing a very large number of species, many of them uncommon.
In the family Davaineidae.

​

Raillietina cesticillus
common in domestic poultry.
Raillietina echinobothrida
a common finding in the small intestine of chickens and turkeys.
Raillietina georgiensis
found in domestic and wild turkeys.
Raillietina magninumida
found in guinea fowl.
Raillietina ransomi
found in domestic and wild turkey.
Raillietina tetragona
found in the posterior small intestine of many birds including domestic fowls.
Raillietina williamsi
found in wild turkey.

Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary, 3 ed. © 2007 Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved

There be all ye more common tapeworms ... may they all die miserably ~;-)
Ants are an intermediate host of R. tetragona, and R. echinobothrida.

One thought: If all the ants are gone, then there is no longer any intermediate host.

The small chicken tapeworm, Davainea proglottina, occurs in the small intestine, and particularly favors the duodenum (the horseshoe-shaped part of the small intestine immediately behind the gizzard) as the site of its activities. It is one of the smallest species infesting poultry and can be seen only by careful examination. Mature worms are about one-sixth inch long and consist usually of two to five segments, although there may be as many as nine.

Poultry kept in damp areas are most likely to harbor the small chicken tapeworm, which is understandable enough, as its intermediate hosts are several kinds of snails and slugs.

The small chicken tapeworm occasionally occurs in turkeys, which also play host to another species of the same genus, Davainea meleagridis. Neither has been reported as doing any harm to turkeys.

The nodular tapeworm, Raillietina echinobothrida, is one of the largest of poultry tapeworms. It may become several inches long. It is distributed widely through the country, but it is less common than some other species. Ants are its intermediate host. The adult tapeworms infest chickens, turkeys, and occasionally pigeons, and produce bumps, or nodules, in the lower third of the small intestine wherever they attach themselves to the intestinal wall. The nodules are like the nodules caused by tuberculosis and may fool the poultryman into thinking his flock has that disease.

Ants also are the intermediate hosts of the related Raillietina tetragona, a parasite of chickens, turkeys, guinea fowl, and peafowl.

The broad-headed tapeworm, Raillietina cesticillus, is common in chickens, turkeys, and guinea fowl. Its name describes it. It generally locates itself in the front and middle parts of the small intestine of its host. Two dozen or more species of beetles may be its intermediate hosts. Among them are the common meal-beetles that infest poultry feeds.