Control & Handling Of Worms Inwards Chickens

Whether, when in addition to how to de-worm backyard chickens are hard questions for the average chicken keeper to answer. To a large extent, the answers are a thing of personal philosophy, but how does i shape a philosophy without a plane inward poultry medicine? Most of us actually precisely wishing the basics: how chickens instruct worms, how to recognize a worm problem, how to command in addition to process chickens for worms when necessary. I offering a few chicken worm basics hither amongst plenty-o-links to delve deeper into the wiggly world of poultry internal parasites should you lot so desire. My objective is to render plenty information for you lot sympathize the basics close worms inward chickens so you lot tin flame shape a worm command philosophy for your flock.

I consulted amongst board certified poultry veterinarians in addition to a board certified veterinary pathologist acre writing this article. While most of the handling information below is regularly distributed yesteryear i of the vets to their patients, their legal subdivision prefers no attribution. (Lawyers ruin all the fun.)  I'll convey whatever information I tin flame instruct for my chickens in addition to yours from highly regarded in addition to experienced poultry veterinarians though. 

HOW DO CHICKENS GET WORMS?

Basically, chickens instruct worms from something they eat. Either a chicken eats infected droppings from some other plane or the chicken eats an insect carrying worm eggs (earthworm, slug, snail, grasshopper, fly, etc). A salubrious chicken tin flame handle a reasonable worm load. When the chicken gets sick or otherwise stressed, their immune organisation is taxed in addition to internal parasites direct hold the chance to overpopulate. Worms within a chicken aren't aren't ever a problem, but when they are, they tin flame drive disease, infection in addition to death.

Slugs are an intermediate host, which agency they send i or to a greater extent than parasites that

volition infect a chicken entirely when the chicken eats the host.

WHAT KIND OF WORMS ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

There are entirely a handful of worms that backyard chicken keepers take to line of piece of work concern themselves amongst ordinarily: capillary worms, cecal worms, gapeworms, roundworms in addition to tapeworms. "There are several types of worms that drive infections, but few worms drive truthful illness inward hens. (H)ens volition often send quite a charge of worms earlier showing whatever signs." Dr. Mike Petrik, DVM, MSc

Roundworms inward chicken droppings.

Roundworms (Ascaridia galli):
Roundworms are really mutual inward backyard chickens. Heavy loads are visible inward droppings, tin flame travel upwardly to 3" long. Live inward the pocket-size intestine & interfere amongst chicken's might to absorb nutrients; larvae impairment the intestine walls, adults tin flame create a blockage inward the intestines, causing death. Roundworms cannot travel transmitted from chickens to humans. The handling of selection is piperazine.

Worms within eggs from hen amongst a worm overload:

Capillary Worms, aka: Hairworms, Threadworms (Capillaria):
Very thin, thread-like worms no to a greater extent than than .5" long.  Live inward diverse trunk parts of chickens (crop, espohagus in addition to intestines. Not ordinarily visible inward droppings. Contracted through earthworms or picked upwardly inward litter. Can rob chickens of nutrients in addition to vitamins.

Cecal worms (Heterakis gallinae)
Very common, non commonly harmful to chickens. Live inward ceca (2 branches off the intestine that destination inward two piffling pouches; the ceca are where the super stinky poop is made.). Visible amongst naked eye, .5" long. Cecal worms are non ordinarily detrimental to chicken health. Cecal worms cannot travel transmitted from chickens to humans. The cecal worm tin flame travel effectively treated amongst fenbendazole.

Gapeworms inward trachea of pheasant.

Gapeworms (Syngamus trachea)
Gapeworms are non really mutual inward chickens. They alive inward the trachea, drive a chicken to opened upwardly its oral fissure repeatedly, stretch its neck, gasp, coughing or milk tremble its caput trying to dislodge the worms.  Gapeworms direct hold a red, fork-shaped appearance in addition to are visible amongst naked eye. Transmitted yesteryear earthworms, slugs, flies in addition to beetles. Require exceptional handling repeated over a menses of 3 weeks. (Panacur, Ivermectin) Gapeworms cannot travel transmitted from chickens to humans.

Tapeworms:

Tapeworms (Cestodes)
Tapeworms are mutual inward chickens. Live inward dissimilar areas of the intestines. Transmitted yesteryear beetles, earthworms, flies, slugs, etc. Require exceptional handling (Valbazen) in addition to command of transmission sources. Difficult to treat, command transmission sources. Benzimidazoles, eg: fenbendazole or leviamisole, are the drugs of choice in treating chickens for tapeworms. Tapeworms cannot travel transmitted from chickens to humans.

*This is an actual hen's digestive tract. 

Abnormal, foamy, droppings tin flame travel a sign of a potential worm overload.

DETECTION
Symptoms of a worm infestation inward chickens tin flame include: worms inward eggs, abnormal droppings, (diarrhea, foamy-looking, etc) weight loss, pale comb/wattles, listlessness, abnormal droppings, muddied vent feathers, worms inward droppings or throat, gasping, head-stretching in addition to shaking, reduced egg production in addition to abrupt death.
If birds are suspected of having a worm overload, ideally, a droppings sample should travel brought to a veterinary for a vet or terra firma agriculture extension service poultry agent (see contact information for your terra firma HERE).  NOT all de-worming medications are capable of treating all types of worms.

This is an at-home fecal worm exam kit available online that is mailed out to a lab for testing.

WORM PREVENTION/CONTROL BEST PRACTICES 

The best way to avoid having to line of piece of work concern yourself amongst de-worming chickens is to maintain the birds healthy. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 salubrious chicken tin flame command a reasonable charge of worms inward its digestive tract.

• DO feed chickens properly. Limit treats to 5% of their daily diet in addition to don't add together ingredients to a character commercial ration because doing so dilutes the carefully calculated nutritional residuum inward the feed.
• DON'T throw chicken feed or treats on the basis where it tin flame travel contaminated amongst infected droppings. 
• DON'T overcrowd chickens inward a coop or run.
• DO keep feeders clean.
• DO render clean, fresh water daily in addition to maintain containers clean. Consider using a poultry nipple drinker.
• DO maintain a build clean coop. Don't allow droppings to accumulate. Use of a droppings board underneath roosts catches the night's droppings, keeping litter cleaner, longer in addition to provides an chance to uncovering abnormalities such every bit worms.
• DO maintain stress to a minimum. Stress taxes a chicken's immune system, allowing worms to capitalize on the reduced resistance. 
• DO render flock amongst a sunny, well-drained yard. 
• DO rotate pasture/pens/yards periodically. Chickens raised calendar month subsequently calendar month on the same expanse at higher run a peril for contracting illness, illness in addition to parasites than properly pastured birds given access to build clean basis regularly. 
• DO take coop in addition to pen litter & supersede periodically to suspension parasites' life-cycles. (I supersede the sand inward my coops in addition to runs at to the lowest degree i time a year, if non twice)
• DO contact your terra firma Department of Agriculture Extension service poultry agent  to verbalise over environmental specifics inward your expanse in addition to whether they lend themselves to a regular de-worming computer program in addition to if so, what that should await like (contact information tin flame travel found HERE). 

TREATMENT

Any fourth dimension i chicken inward a flock has a worm overload or is existence treated for a suspected worm infestation, every fellow member of the flock should travel treated. 

According to The Chicken Vet, "The best strategy is to command worms twice per year: i time inward the fall, in addition to i time inward the spring. To maintain resistance from developing, you lot should rotate two or 3 of them inward a program. Use production Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 inward the fall, Product B inward the spring, Product C inward the next spring....etc." Dr. Mike Petrik, DVM, MSc
Select i production that targets the type of worm plaguing your chickens in addition to ever treat the flock twice- i time to evict the adult parasites in addition to i time again inward 7-14 days (depending on the product) to eradicate the worms that direct hold hatched from eggs since the outset treatment. Clean the litter inward the coop in addition to run subsequently the minute treatment.

 Wazine-17 (Piperazine) is USDA approved for exercise inward laying hens for roundworms, but it is not approved for laying hens producing eggs for human consumption. 1 ounce per gallon of H2O every bit entirely source of drinking H2O for i day.
Repeat treatment twice inward seven solar daytime intervals (for a total of 3 days of handling over 21 days).

"You volition consider roundworms on the basis subsequently deworming if they had a roundworm infestation. If you lot don't consider any, it doesn't wound the birds to de-worm anyway." Dr. Michael Darre, MS, PhD, Poultry Professor, University of Connecticut

Safe-guard (fenbendazole) 10% treats threadworms, roundworms, cecal worms in addition to gapeworms. Dosage for paste version: identify a pea-sized dollop inward invoice or within a slice of bread. 

Repeat handling inward 10 days. 

Ivermectin pour-on, applied to the dorsum of chicken's neck; 1 driblet for tiny chickens, 3 drops for bantams, four for lightweight birds, 5 for large birds in addition to vi for heavy breeds. 

Repeat treatment inward fourteen days. 

Valbazen Drench, treats tapeworms, roundworms, capillary worms, cecal worms & gapeworms. Oral dosages: 1/2 cc for large breeds, 1/4 cc for bantam sized birds. Use a 3cc syringe, depict upwardly Valbazen dosage in addition to and so depict upwardly some H2O into the syringe to roughly the 2cc score for oral management or soaked into breadstuff in addition to fed to birds individually. 

 Repeat treatment inward fourteen days. 

ABOUT EGG WITHDRAWAL PERIODS

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 withdrawal menses is the minimum disclose of days that must overstep from the fourth dimension a chicken stops receiving a drug until the drug residue remaining inward its trunk is reduced inward its eggs or meat to an "acceptable level" to travel security for human consumption according to USDA standards. (paraphrased from The Chicken Encyclopedia) "If you lot cannot create upwardly one's heed a specific drug's withdrawal period, allow at to the lowest degree thirty days" earlier eating eggs or meat from a treated chicken." Gail Damerow, The Chicken Encyclopedia

According to Dr. Petrick, The Chicken Vet, "Most worm medications direct hold no [information close egg withdrawal periods] for laying hens. The reality is that most of the products are safe, in addition to most don’t fifty-fifty instruct into the egg....they are medications that comport upon the gut in addition to seldom are absorbed into the bloodstream. The work is that at that spot is no proof of their safety. Piperazine, (Wazine) levamisole, fenbendazole (Safe-guard) and hygromycin are all effective anthelminthics (anti-worm drugs). To maintain resistance from developing, you lot should rotate two or 3 of them inward a program. Use production Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 inward the fall, Product B inward the spring, Product C inward the next spring....etc."

"Rooster Booster MultiWormer" is oft used yesteryear folks hoping for a "more natural" de-wormer, however, what most compass non realize is that it contains the antibiotic, Hygromycin B and it is non a handling for a worm overload so much every bit a preventative to command the amount of worms inward the digestive tract amongst continuous use. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 1.25 lb container costs upwards of $25 in addition to must travel fed to the flock every solar daytime for weeks to get to command the population of entirely a few worms: capillary, cecal in addition to roundworms. In practical terms, that adds $25 to every pocketbook of chicken feed forever in addition to volition non get working to cut back a worm overpopulation for many weeks inward infested chickens.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE GREAT PUMPKIN CLAIM

According to Gail Damerow inward The Chicken Health Handbook, two Ed."Natural methods of worm control differ from chemic dewormers inward non paralyzing or killing existing parasites but rather operate yesteryear making the environs within the chicken less attractive, or downright unpleasant, for parasites to convey upwardly residence. They are thus to a greater extent than suited to preventing worms than to removing an existing worm load."

There is NO scientific evidence anywhere suggesting that the active constituent inward pumpkin seeds (Curcurbitin) is capable of deworming or reducing worm loads inward chickens. If I had roundworms inward my digestive tract, I would non travel willing to wage a bet that pumpkin seeds would eradicate the infestation inward my gut, similarly, I am non willing to drive my chickens to endure amongst a known worm overload acre testing a theory amongst no evidence to back upwardly it.

Beware of the declaration “I feed my chickens pumpkin seeds in addition to they direct hold never had worms therefore, pumpkin seeds are an effective, natural dewormer.”  All backyard chickens send some charge of worms in addition to salubrious chickens tin flame handle a normal worm charge whether or non they eat pumpkins or pumpkin seeds. Read Much to a greater extent than on this theme here.

Any fourth dimension a claim close pumpkins existence a "natural de-wormer" is found, inquire for specifics such as:

• Will the claimed final result travel a consummate de-worming of the chicken or simply a reduction inward the disclose of worms inward the chickens' digestive tract?
•  When volition the claimed final result occur?
• Which of the five species of Cucurbita (pumpkins) should travel used in addition to which multifariousness within the nine cultivar groups should travel used?
• What's the needed pct of Curcurbitin inward the pumpkin seeds? How tin flame the pct travel tested for?
• What quantity of pumpkin seeds should travel fed per solar daytime per chicken? 
• How often should the pumpkin seeds travel fed to chickens to direct hold the claimed effect?

Nobody has the answers to those questions. If they did, they'd travel sitting on a beach inward Hawaii, sipping a mutual frigidity potable paid for amongst the proceeds from the sales of the natural chicken de-worming production they patented in addition to nosotros all would travel using it already. 

Sources & Further Reading:
1 The Apha Practical Guide to Natural Medicines: The First Authoritative Home Reference For Herbs And Natural Remedies, Andrea Pierce, HarperCollins, 1999.
2 Dewormer Adjuncts, Control Without, or Along With, Chemicals, Karen Briggs amongst Craig Reinemeyer, DVM, PHD; Dennis French, DVM, MS, DIPL, ABVP; in addition to Ray Kaplan, DVM, PHD. www.TheHorse.com, Oct 2004
Internal Parasites of Poultry
Internal Parasites
The Chicken Health Handbook
Poultry Production inward Mississippi, Parasitic Diseases (internal)
Worming Treatments
Poultry Diseases & Medications for Small Flocks
Roundworms
The Chicken Encyclopedia
Gapeworms
The Chicken Health Handbook, 2edFDA, Piperazine
Benzimidazoles
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture Study: DE
Overview of Helminthiasis inward PoultryThe Informed Poultry Professional, University of Georgia

*Anatomical illustrations in addition to photograph reproduced for educational purposes, courtesy of Jacquie Jacob, Tony Pescatore in addition to Austin Cantor, University of Kentucky College of Agriculture. Copyright 2011. Educational programs of Kentucky Cooperative Extension serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability, or national origin. Issued inward furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 in addition to June 30, 1914, inward cooperation amongst the U.S. Department of Agriculture, M. Scott Smith, Director, Land Grant Programs, University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Lexington,and Kentucky State University, Frankfort. Copyright 2011 for materials developed yesteryear University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension. This publication may travel reproduced inward portions or its entirety for educational in addition to nonprofit purposes only. Permitted users shall give credit to the author(s) in addition to include this copyright notice. Publications are every bit good available on the WWW at www.ca.uky.edu. Issued 02-2011