Have you wormed your birds lately?
It is vital that your birds are wormed regularly and we are astonished at how often we hear people say they have never wormed their flock. Worms can block up the intestines, crop and digestive tract, resulting in poor digestion, drop in laying and overall health. If your chicken has dirty vent feathers and passing chalky, watery poos, she most likely has worms. You can also see tell-tale signs by inspecting their droppings for tiny wigglies, though they are not always obvious. This can be fatal if not attended to and should be treated immediately along with the rest of your flock.
If you see rice-like worms in droppings, this is tapeworm (see photo). The tapeworm sheds segments of its tail, which is eaten by snails, slugs, beetles and flies which are then eaten by chickens which act as secondary hosts. This is a particularly nasty worm which will cause your chicken to waste away and eventually die.
THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE TAPEWORM (also called "cestode")
Poultry tapeworm larvae live in creatures like slugs, snails, ants, beetles and flies - these are known as the host.
When a chicken ingests one of these, the larva hatches and attaches itself to the intestinal wall. The chicken is the intermediate host.
Within two to three weeks it becomes a fully grown tapeworm.
Then at least once a day the tapeworm releases it's "tail" segment, called a cyst.
The cyst is passed out with the faeces and wriggles (yes wriggles) out of the chicken's poo and onto the nearest vegetation.
When the cyst dries out it releases its eggs, which in turn are eaten by the host creature, and so the cycle begins again.
HOW DO I KNOW IF ANY OF MY CHICKENS HAVE TAPEWORM?
You need to inspect as many fresh poos as you can for the cysts. Try placing a fresh poo on a paper towel and have a good look with a magnifying glass. The cysts resemble sesame seeds. Sometimes they will not be moving straight away, but if you put this poo sample in a jar, the cysts will climb out of the poo because they want to dry out, whereas roundworms will burrow into it to stay moist.
An infected chicken will not pass cysts all the time, just in a few poos per day.
If you put the chicken poo onto a paper towel, it may leave a bloody tinge around it.
Cecal poos may be very frothy and yellowy (note that this can also be a sign of roundworm infestation).
A worm egg count by a vet will not necessarily pick up on tapeworms because there will not always be cysts in the poo.
Since we discovered Flubenol we wont use anything else, as it treats every worm known to poultry, is non toxic to both humans and poultry and there is no withholding period for meat and eggs and fertility and hatchability is not affected. And for us, that's a lot of eggs that don't need to be discarded and wasted! Only a tiny amount is needed, which is mixed into their feed and fed out for seven days.
Treatment with Flubenol can only give optimum results when hygiene is strictly observed in pens and houses. Flubenol is supplied in a container which is more than an average flock keeper can use and is very expensive, and vets do not usually stock it and it can be difficult to source.
Worming your flock should be carried out every three months, or sooner if you suspect an infestation. Inspect their droppings regularly and learn the difference between a good poo and a bad one. Use this reference as a guide: www.fresheggsdaily.com/2016/03/all-about-chicken-poop-brown-black-and.html
If you see rice-like worms in droppings, this is tapeworm (see photo). The tapeworm sheds segments of its tail, which is eaten by snails, slugs, beetles and flies which are then eaten by chickens which act as secondary hosts. This is a particularly nasty worm which will cause your chicken to waste away and eventually die.
THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE TAPEWORM (also called "cestode")
Poultry tapeworm larvae live in creatures like slugs, snails, ants, beetles and flies - these are known as the host.
When a chicken ingests one of these, the larva hatches and attaches itself to the intestinal wall. The chicken is the intermediate host.
Within two to three weeks it becomes a fully grown tapeworm.
Then at least once a day the tapeworm releases it's "tail" segment, called a cyst.
The cyst is passed out with the faeces and wriggles (yes wriggles) out of the chicken's poo and onto the nearest vegetation.
When the cyst dries out it releases its eggs, which in turn are eaten by the host creature, and so the cycle begins again.
HOW DO I KNOW IF ANY OF MY CHICKENS HAVE TAPEWORM?
You need to inspect as many fresh poos as you can for the cysts. Try placing a fresh poo on a paper towel and have a good look with a magnifying glass. The cysts resemble sesame seeds. Sometimes they will not be moving straight away, but if you put this poo sample in a jar, the cysts will climb out of the poo because they want to dry out, whereas roundworms will burrow into it to stay moist.
An infected chicken will not pass cysts all the time, just in a few poos per day.
If you put the chicken poo onto a paper towel, it may leave a bloody tinge around it.
Cecal poos may be very frothy and yellowy (note that this can also be a sign of roundworm infestation).
A worm egg count by a vet will not necessarily pick up on tapeworms because there will not always be cysts in the poo.
Since we discovered Flubenol we wont use anything else, as it treats every worm known to poultry, is non toxic to both humans and poultry and there is no withholding period for meat and eggs and fertility and hatchability is not affected. And for us, that's a lot of eggs that don't need to be discarded and wasted! Only a tiny amount is needed, which is mixed into their feed and fed out for seven days.
Treatment with Flubenol can only give optimum results when hygiene is strictly observed in pens and houses. Flubenol is supplied in a container which is more than an average flock keeper can use and is very expensive, and vets do not usually stock it and it can be difficult to source.
Worming your flock should be carried out every three months, or sooner if you suspect an infestation. Inspect their droppings regularly and learn the difference between a good poo and a bad one. Use this reference as a guide: www.fresheggsdaily.com/2016/03/all-about-chicken-poop-brown-black-and.html