Fly larvae or worms?

[fiddleleaffarm]

Found one single dropping with these little white larvae. Does this look like fly larvae or worms? I clean the run/coop daily so there wasn’t a ton to compare, but I didn’t see these on any other droppings, inside or outside of the coop. I do have pour on Ivermectin and feel comfortable administering it, but hate to do it unless it’s really necessary. Everyone looks happy/healthy and is eating/drinking normally.

I also just put out fly traps and got some fly exterminators (we’re in Central California so it’s rainy, but starting to warm up…this is about the time I start with fly prevention tactics.)

TIA for any advice!

 

[sourland]

Looks like tapeworm segments to me.

@dawg53 what do you think?

 

[Eggcessive]

I agree that those are tapeworm proglottids (segments.) The best treatment is praziquantel which is found in Equimax horse paste from your feed store. Get a 1 ml free needle-less syringe from your pharmacy (say it is for an an animal or baby.) Dosage is 0.033 ml per pound of weight, so a 5 pound chicken would get 0.16 ml once orally, and then repeat that in 10-14 days. Usually, you only need to treat the chicken who passed that dropping. Snails, slugs, earthworms, flies, and beetles are the common hosts for tapeworms.

 

[dawg53]

Definitely tapeworm segments. @Eggcessive provided treatment instructions.

 

[fiddleleaffarm]

I agree that those are tapeworm proglottids (segments.) The best treatment is praziquantel which is found in Equimax horse paste from your feed store. Get a 1 ml free needle-less syringe from your pharmacy (say it is for an an animal or baby.) Dosage is 0.033 ml per pound of weight, so a 5 pound chicken would get 0.16 ml once orally, and then repeat that in 10-14 days. Usually, you only need to treat the chicken who passed that dropping. Snails, slugs, earthworms, flies, and beetles are the common hosts for tapeworms.

Thank you so much for this!! Really appreciate it. I would bet money the millions of slugs around are the culprit. Grr.

Any suggestions for lowering the parasite load in the area? Also, for biannual worming (which I’ve seen people recommend), what products do you recommend rotating to prevent resistance? Thank you again!

 

[fiddleleaffarm]

Definitely tapeworm segments. @Eggcessive provided treatment instructions.

Thank you! I appreciate your response, I have definitely been looking through your posts and responses! I think the wet winter we’ve had has made it an absolute disaster for worms, so many slugs and earthworms and I know the chooks are eating them.

I am guessing we’re right around the corner from some of this clearing up, with lots more dryness, heat, and sun coming. I’m wondering if there are other things I can do to keep the parasite load down. I don’t have great options to move them around, unfortunately. What about things like barn lime, DE, or sulfur to till into the ground? Also, does sand help? They have an enclosed run that is all sand, but like to venture out to a larger open run (fenced) that is dirt. If I covered their whole area with sand, would that help? I know they love digging in the dirt but maybe I can supplement with grazing boxes. I was a little surprised about the worms because I’m so diligent about cleaning, but I understand I can’t beat this very soggy environment we have right now.

Appreciate your thoughts (and anyone else who may respond )!!

 

[dawg53]

I dont worry about wormer resistance. It takes years for that to happen. As far as poultry goes, the only wormer I know of that is showing resistance is Ivermectin to several poultry worm species. I simply dont use it anymore, except for mites. There are areas in the U.S. where mites are resistant to Ivermectin.

I use sand in all my pens and inside coops, some nest boxes as well.
Sand keeps everything dry. It wont wash away and there are no nasty mudpuddles for birds to drink from. It dries quicker than mud and deters insects.
How often you worm your birds depends on your soil conditions. Birds constantly peck the soil, in doing so, they pick up worm eggs and swallow them. Warm moist or wet soil makes it worse. Your environment dictates how often you should worm your birds. I worm my birds monthly due to our warm moist/wet soil most of the time.

 

[fiddleleaffarm]

I dont worry about wormer resistance. It takes years for that to happen. As far as poultry goes, the only wormer I know of that is showing resistance is Ivermectin to several poultry worm species. I simply dont use it anymore, except for mites. There are areas in the U.S. where mites are resistant to Ivermectin.

I use sand in all my pens and inside coops, some nest boxes as well.
Sand keeps everything dry. It wont wash away and there are no nasty mudpuddles for birds to drink from. It dries quicker than mud and deters insects.
How often you worm your birds depends on your soil conditions. Birds constantly peck the soil, in doing so, they pick up worm eggs and swallow them. Warm moist or wet soil makes it worse. Your environment dictates how often you should worm your birds. I worm my birds monthly due to our warm moist/wet soil most of the time.

Awesome, thanks for your response!! Definitely going to switch to all sand. We have wet winters and it’s very dry and hot the rest of the year so think I will probably line up wormings with the rain. Truly appreciate your response!