Hookworms and Chickens

[GinaA]

Hi there. We have two dogs (8 months and 3 months) and the 3 month old has been diagnosed with hookworms. We also have chickens that we sometimes let out into the yard with the dogs. The dogs eat the chicken poop. I've been looking online to see if chickens can carry hookworms and I see a lot of conflicting information. Some sites say no and some say yes. Our vet says absolutely chickens cannot carry hookworms. I've seen some threads on this site that talk about their chickens having hookworms and I just don't know what to believe. From what I can tell, hookworms, roundworms and tapeworms are all parasitic worms but they are different. Can anyone tell me with absolute certainty whether chickens can carry hookworms? Thank you.

 

[Eggcessive]

No hookworms in chickens. Here's a link about the different types in chickens: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/parasitic-worms-in-chickens.html

 

[GinaA]

Thank you!

 

[sezua]

I just had a fecal test done and one of my hens has moderate hookworms and eggs (hookworm rhabditiform and strongyloides). The other hen I had tested didn't have any. I am treating the infected one with valbezen and will repeat dose in ten days and then retest.
They free range daily where lots of wildlife come through and we also have snails which they have a taste for escargot cause I find empty shells in the run.

 

[Eggcessive]

You might want to read post 2, and contact your vet that did the fecal. Valbazen does get all chicken worms that I know of. The link in post 2 lists the various chicken worms. SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer or Horse Paste will also get most chicken worms with 5 straight days of dosing.

 

[sezua]

Not sure why it is not listing hookworms. However, it must be possible for them to get it because my Bluebell is proof and the lab I use is highly reputable all the vets send labs off to this company..it wasn't an in office fecal float test.

 

[dawg53]

Chickens can get hookworms. Chickens can also get flukes from eating snails. Stick with the valbazen, it gets them all.

 

[Eggcessive]

Chickens can get hookworms. Chickens can also get flukes from eating snails. Stick with the valbazen, it gets them all.

Thanks for clearing that up Dawg. Can you post a link about hookworms in chickens? I can't find anything out in my reading, and I know that you know a heck of a lot more than I do about worms in poultry. You have taught me a lot my friend.

 

[dawg53]

They are rare in chickens but can happen if the birds have picked them up from the soil where infected dog feces was located, especially if they free range. They have the same lifecycle as most nematodes. Humans can get infected by hookworms just by going barefooted on contaminated soil.
There are several threads from others that have verified hookworm infections in their chickens like Sezua. Safeguard will treat them also.

 

[sezua]

Yes, thank you for clearing that up!! They probably picked it up from the many coyotes, raccoons, skunks, possums and everything else that comes to my pond regularly. I used this same lab to determine my chickens had cocci last spring and they were able to determine the strain that it was. In regards to books and websites not all the information out there is accurate when it comes to chicken health. Hopefully that improves as more chicken keepers use vets and labs for proper diagnosis.