Tapeworm Hell

[Mdand23]

Hello all. So I’ve been battling tapeworms in my 3 girls now for over a month. I have dosed them with Equimax (3 times now) and still it’s been 3 weeks since their last dose and I still see segments in their poop. I just put lime down today hoping that if the tapeworms are in the soil it will kill them, I’ve given them apple cider vinegar and garlic in their water, but I’m at a loss for what to do next. They all look healthy and happy. Poops are solid except for a few splats after their veggies and fruit snacks.

Help?!!!!!!

Thanks so much,
Melissa

 

[dawg53]

The only way chickens can get tapeworms is by eating insects. It's called the indirect lifecycle of tapeworms which requires a host. The hosts are insects. Chickens eat insects, then become infected with tapeworms. Not all insects will be tapeworm infected however.

You can pen your birds for a period of time and spray your property with an insecticide if you wish.
I recommend that you keep your birds penned and change out litter/poop in coops daily and scoop poop in the pens 3 or 4 times a day until you get the situation under control. Put sand in the pens and coops to deter insects.
You can spray bleachwater inside the coops which will kill insects on contact, including inside cracks and crevices.
Additionally, you only need to dose chickens that excrete segments with the Equimax, not ALL birds will be tapeworm infected, unlike roundworms.

 

[Cindy610]

Hello all. So I’ve been battling tapeworms in my 3 girls now for over a month. I have dosed them with Equimax (3 times now) and still it’s been 3 weeks since their last dose and I still see segments in their poop. I just put lime down today hoping that if the tapeworms are in the soil it will kill them, I’ve given them apple cider vinegar and garlic in their water, but I’m at a loss for what to do next. They all look healthy and happy. Poops are solid except for a few splats after their veggies and fruit snacks.

Help?!!!!!!

Thanks so much,
Melissa

Your story is a duplicate of my horror! I finally used zimecterin gold equine past at 1/2 ml then again in 10 days. Does Equimax have the praziquantel? It is probably a different dosage than the gold.

Hello all. So I’ve been battling tapeworms in my 3 girls now for over a month. I have dosed them with Equimax (3 times now) and still it’s been 3 weeks since their last dose and I still see segments in their poop. I just put lime down today hoping that if the tapeworms are in the soil it will kill them, I’ve given them apple cider vinegar and garlic in their water, but I’m at a loss for what to do next. They all look healthy and happy. Poops are solid except for a few splats after their veggies and fruit snacks.

Help?!!!!!!

Thanks so much,
Melissa

 

[dawg53]

Actually, there's more Praziquantel in Equimax than Zimecterin Gold and both have different dosages.

 

[FunnyBunny89]

I am going through this now it's been a month. I've treated 4 chickens more than once, and a few others. One I am still waiting to see if I can spot her poop with segments before I treat her, but her feathers have been looking ruffled for a while. I'm most concerned about another one of my hens whose weight seems low. Everyone's combs are looking fine, energy and appetites are good. But they did have paling combs before their first rounds of Equimax. This time, I'm hoping the worm load is less and maybe that's why their combs look normal. But why won't they just go away???

I put up a fly trap in hopes it's from the flies.
I have a sand floor coop with DE mixed in, and it's insect-free. They free range 10-12 hours a day, and the area is in full sun for the most part. I read that sunlight kills tapeworms if they're exposed too long. I'm assuming it's flies but it could it be something else??? Can a chicken die of tapeworm?

They're all laying fine too.

 

[dawg53]

I am going through this now it's been a month. I've treated 4 chickens more than once, and a few others. One I am still waiting to see if I can spot her poop with segments before I treat her, but her feathers have been looking ruffled for a while. I'm most concerned about another one of my hens whose weight seems low. Everyone's combs are looking fine, energy and appetites are good. But they did have paling combs before their first rounds of Equimax. This time, I'm hoping the worm load is less and maybe that's why their combs look normal. But why won't they just go away???

I put up a fly trap in hopes it's from the flies.
I have a sand floor coop with DE mixed in, and it's insect-free. They free range 10-12 hours a day, and the area is in full sun for the most part. I read that sunlight kills tapeworms if they're exposed too long. I'm assuming it's flies but it could it be something else??? Can a chicken die of tapeworm?

They're all laying fine too.

You might want to take a look at the tapeworms lifecycle and then you'll know how and why chickens become infected with them.
Worm load is less? One worm is one worm too many. Think of the consequences. How many eggs does one female roundworm lay in one day? A chicken will eventually die from worms via slow starvation/lack of nutrients.

 

[Cindy610]

Tapeworm eggs can stay in the soil for a long time. It could be the flies also. Any host that eats the worm eggs, beetles, flies, earthworms etc. may be a host your chickens eat especially if they are free ranging. I get it, it is hell! This is my second time in two years and one of the birds came to me from sixty miles away. I am still watching the poop. I only have five birds and have stopped free ranging.

 

[FunnyBunny89]

Tapeworm eggs can stay in the soil for a long time. It could be the flies also. Any host that eats the worm eggs, beetles, flies, earthworms etc. may be a host your chickens eat especially if they are free ranging. I get it, it is hell! This is my second time in two years and one of the birds came to me from sixty miles away. I am still watching the poop. I only have five birds and have stopped free ranging.

I have 16. I feel like I'll be treating them indefinitely. I'm out of Equimax, gotta get more. I don't have a run, nor supplies to build one yet... guess I should consider drawing up plans. I hope you're able to get a handle on it soon!! I had a nightmare that I had tapeworms on my hands while in bed I never thought of this as a possibility because I only ever had dogs and cats who would get tapeworm from eating wild animals, not bugs. Learning the hard way

 

[FunnyBunny89]

You might want to take a look at the tapeworms lifecycle and then you'll know how and why chickens become infected with them.
Worm load is less? One worm is one worm too many. Think of the consequences. How many eggs does one female roundworm lay in one day? A chicken will eventually die from worms via slow starvation/lack of nutrients.

I know one worm is too many, I just meant that I wonder if that's why their combs were looking better.

 

[Cindy610]

I have 16. I feel like I'll be treating them indefinitely. I'm out of Equimax, gotta get more. I don't have a run, nor supplies to build one yet... guess I should consider drawing up plans. I hope you're able to get a handle on it soon!! I had a nightmare that I had tapeworms on my hands while in bed I never thought of this as a possibility because I only ever had dogs and cats who would get tapeworm from eating wild animals, not bugs. Learning the hard way

I have a predator proof run the coop is in then just a four foot high roll of welded wire tied to those little metal poles you pound in for a chicken yard. Seem to keep them in. The first time we saw tapeworm we completely moved the coop to avoid ground contamination! That was hard!
You really need to see the bird poop to know which one has it so that you don't have to treat them all. I picked the food up overnight then did the dose of meds before I put the food back down. What dosage are you giving? Good luck!