Lucas Delgado
Worms in chickens are quite common, and they can have various causes, including ingestion of worm eggs, infected earthworms or other insects carrying worm eggs. These parasites can live and lay eggs inside the chicken's digestive tract, causing health issues such as weight loss, diarrhoea, and decreased appetite. While some worms may not require treatment, others can lead to severe infections and even death. Therefore, it is essential to monitor chickens for signs of worm infestation and provide necessary treatment to prevent health complications.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| How chickens get worms | Chickens get worms by eating infected droppings from another bird or by eating an insect carrying worm eggs (earthworm, slug, snail, grasshopper, fly, etc.) |
| How to prevent worms | Keep the ground clean, avoid contact with wild birds, treat birds with Flubendazole (or Flubenvet), provide a sunny and dry yard, rotate pasture/pens/yards periodically, remove litter and replace it periodically |
| Types of worms | Capillary worms, cecal worms, roundworms, gizzard worms, hair worms, caecal worms, tapeworms, gapeworms, threadworms |
| Symptoms of worms | Lethargy, paleness (of the face, comb and wattles), ruffled feathers, altered hormone levels, weight loss, decreased appetite, depression, diarrhoea, reduced activity levels, eggs or worms in the faeces |
| Treatment for worms | Fenbendazole, Flubendazole, garlic, turmeric, dewormer, veterinary treatment |
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What You'll Learn
How chickens get worms
It is almost impossible to prevent chickens from picking up worms, especially if they are backyard chickens. Worms are one of the most common ailments for poultry.
Chickens typically get worms by eating worm-infected bugs, worm eggs or larvae, or droppings from another bird that has worms. Bugs that carry worms include slugs, snails, earthworms, grasshoppers, and flies.
Worms are not always a problem for chickens, and a healthy chicken with a strong immune system can manage a reasonable worm load. However, if a chicken gets sick or stressed, its immune system is weakened, allowing worms to populate quickly and cause disease, infection, and even death.
To prevent worm infestations, it is important to keep chickens' living areas clean and dry, and to restrict their access to slugs and snails. Chickens should also be moved to fresh ground regularly to avoid the build-up of worm larvae.
There are various types of worms that can infect chickens, including:
- Roundworm (Ascaridia galli)
- Gapeworm
- Gizzard worm
- Tapeworm
- Caecal worm
- Hair worm
- Coccidia
- Eyeworm
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How to spot worms in chickens
It is a common misconception that chickens with worms will defecate on their eggs, but this is not always the case. While it can be alarming to see faeces on eggs, it is usually the result of an accident. However, if you are concerned, it is advisable to examine your chicken's stool for worms.
Worms in chicken faeces resemble wiggly, white hairs. They are small but visible to the naked eye, and you may notice them moving around in the stool. These worms are typically roundworms, which are the most common type of worm found in backyard chickens. Roundworms can also migrate to other organs and areas of the body, including the eyes and throat. Other types of worms that affect chickens include gapeworms, tapeworms, hair worms, and caecal worms.
To spot worms in your chickens, you should look out for symptoms such as increased appetite, weight loss, diarrhoea, reduced egg production, pale egg yolks, lethargy, and depression. Additionally, you can implement regular worm egg testing using postal kits or take a faecal sample to a vet for testing.
It is important to note that even healthy chickens can usually have a small number of worms without any ill effects. However, if the number of worms increases, your chickens can become stressed and unwell. Regular deworming is recommended to prevent worm infestations and maintain the health of your flock.
To prevent worms from causing illness in your chickens, you should manage their environment by regularly cleaning their coop, keeping the grass short, and preventing contact with wild birds.
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Preventing worms in chickens
It is nearly impossible to keep chickens completely worm-free, but there are many ways to prevent infestations.
Firstly, it is important to understand how chickens get worms. Chickens can acquire worms directly or indirectly. Direct ingestion means they eat worm eggs from the ground or their own droppings. Indirect ingestion means they eat an earthworm, slug, snail, grasshopper, fly, or another bug that is a host of worm eggs.
To prevent worms, chickens should be kept from pecking at their own poop. This can be achieved by installing a structure underneath roosts that allow overnight droppings to fall through, such as wooden slats or wire mesh. Alternatively, a droppings board can be placed under roosts so that poop can be cleared off each morning.
It is also important to rotate the ground or pen to avoid the build-up of trampled muddy areas, where worm eggs thrive. Chickens should be provided with a sunny, dry yard, and access to clean ground regularly.
Chickens with a good immune system tend to be more resistant to worms. Therefore, it is important to keep stress to a minimum, as stress taxes a chicken's immune system. A balanced diet high in vitamins A and B can also increase resistance to worms.
All-natural supplements can be used to help break down the natural defenses of intestinal worms and their eggs, making parasites more susceptible to attack by the bird's immune system, stomach acids, and gut bacteria.
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Treating worms in chickens
Chickens can get worms from their diet. They can either eat infected droppings from another bird or consume an insect carrying worm eggs, such as an earthworm, slug, snail, grasshopper, or fly. While a healthy chicken can manage a reasonable worm load, when the chicken gets sick or stressed, its immune system is weakened, allowing internal parasites to overpopulate and potentially causing disease, infection, and death.
There are several types of intestinal worms that can cause problems for backyard poultry flocks, including roundworms, cecal worms, threadworms, and tapeworms. Symptoms of a worm infestation in chickens include worms in eggs, abnormal droppings, weight loss, pale comb/wattles, listlessness, reduced egg production, and sudden death. If you suspect your chickens have worms, you should consult a veterinarian for assistance in diagnosis, treatment, and control. They will likely request a droppings sample to perform a fecal float test to check for the presence of worm eggs or larvae.
Once the type of worm has been identified, appropriate treatment can be administered. Fenbendazole is the only product currently approved for treating roundworms and cecal worms in chickens in the United States. It is available as a medicated feed or in a water-soluble formulation. Gapeworms, which are less common in chickens, require special treatment (Panacur, Ivermectin) repeated over a period of three weeks. Tapeworms, which are common in chickens, require special treatment (Valbazen) and control of transmission sources. Benzimidazoles, such as fenbendazole or leviamisole, are the drugs of choice for treating tapeworms.
In addition to veterinary treatments, there are some environmental and management practices that can help control worm infections in chickens. These include:
- Providing a sunny, dry yard and rotating pastures, pens, or yards periodically to reduce the risk of contracting parasites.
- Removing and replacing litter to break the parasites' life cycles.
- Keeping grass short, as UV light kills worm eggs, and rotating the ground to avoid the build-up of muddy areas where worm eggs thrive.
- Locating the chicken coop away from areas where intermediate hosts, such as slugs and snails, congregate.
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Types of worms in chickens
Parasitic worms are very common in chickens. Chickens can directly or indirectly ingest worm eggs. Direct ingestion means they eat the worm egg, while indirect ingestion means they eat an earthworm or bug that is the host of the worm eggs. The parasites will then live and lay eggs inside the chicken, which will pass them out through their droppings, allowing the parasitic lifecycle to begin again.
There are several types of worms that can infect chickens, including:
- Roundworms(Ascaridia galli): These are very common in backyard chickens and can grow up to 3 inches long. They live in the small intestine and interfere with the chicken's ability to absorb nutrients. Roundworms can create a blockage in the intestines, leading to death. They are transmitted through infected droppings and can be picked up from the ground or from an intermediate host like an earthworm.
- Gapeworms: A type of roundworm that attaches itself to the trachea (throat) of chickens, impairing their breathing and causing them to gasp for air. Gapeworms are often brought about by an intermediate host such as earthworms, snails, or slugs.
- Tapeworms: Tapeworms need an intermediary host, like snails, and they can infect the bird when it eats the snail. They are very hard to see with the naked eye and have a life cycle of 6 weeks but can live in the ground for a year or more.
- Capillary worms: These worms can be found in the crop, oesophagus, proventriculus, and intestine. They are very thin and can grow up to 3/4 inch. Infected birds may suffer from diarrhoea and anaemia, and death may occur if the condition is not treated.
- Cecal worms: These worms can carry a protozoan organism, Histomonas meleagridis, also known as blackhead, which can cause high mortality rates in turkey flocks. All poultry can be affected by blackhead, but turkeys, pheasants, partridges, and peacocks are particularly susceptible.
- Gizzard worms: This parasite mainly affects ducks and geese, causing depression, anaemia, weight loss, and stunted growth.
It is important to regularly check chicken droppings and treat chickens with an effective wormer to prevent worm infestations from becoming life-threatening. Flubendazole (Flubenvet) is the only licensed treatment for worms in poultry and game birds.
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Frequently asked questions
The worms on your chicken's butt are intestinal worms. These worms are very common in chickens and can be transmitted from chicken to chicken via egg-infested droppings.
Chickens can get worms by eating infected droppings from another bird or by eating an insect carrying worm eggs, such as an earthworm, slug, or snail.
There are several ways to treat worms in chickens. Firstly, you can treat your chickens with Flubendazole or Flubenvet. You can also add 2.5 mg of garlic per bird to their diet, or feed them turmeric (600 mg/kg of body weight).
