• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

STATE COLLEGE OF WASHINGTON INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES ~ .-rl- ~~~~~-~ p No. 26 (Revised) ~Jill"'~-~ AGRICULTURALEXTENSIONSERVICE Extension Bulletin No. 355 March 1953 Worms • Poultry The Poultry CounciF of the State College of Washington Fig. 1. Water container over wire grid prevents wet spots. Wire grid is over hole in ground about 2 feet deep. 1 The Poultry Council of the State Coll ege of Washington is composed of staff members of the State College of vVashington at Pullman a nd Puyallup en gaged in teaching, 1·esearch, and extension work in poultry science and pathology. Domestic fowl may pick up many kinds of internal para­ sites (worms). Each -kind of internal parasite grows only in a certain place within the bird. Part of the li st of internal parasites found in domestic fowl is given in Table 1. Where they are found and what they look li ke is also described. TABLE 1. PARTIAL LIST OF INTERNAL PARASITES OF DOMESTIC FOWL N ame of Location of para­ parasite site within host Bri ef description of parasite Gapeworm Trachea Short, stumpy, red, branched. Often (windpipe) found in wild birds, such as pheas­ ants. Sometimes seen in poults. Capillaria Crop Threadlike. Sometimes seen in Worms Esophagus Washington domestic fowl. A cause Small intestine of great damage in heavy infesta­ tions. Ascarid or Small intestine Up to 5 inch es in length. Smooth, large round­ ivory-colored, round. Very common worm in chickens and turkeys. Many of them cause severe damage in young birds. Cecal or small Ceca (blind Threadlike. About half an inch in roundworm pouches) length. Very common in chickens and turkeys. The worm itself is almost harmless to birds, but helps spread blackhead. Tapeworms Small intestine Flat, segmented (divided), attached to intestine. At least twelve differ­ ent kinds are known in chickens and turkeys. Some are several inch­ es long, others very small. Other kinds are found in ducks and geese. H eavy infestations cause unthrifti­ ness in both young and adult birds. Gizzard Gizzard Small threadlike. Found under the Worms horny layer of the gizzard. Quite common in chickens, less in turkeys. ( LIFE CYCLE OF WORMS Each female worm of any kind produces thousands of eggs, w hich pass in the bird's droppings. The eggs cannot infect other birds at once. F irst, they must pass through a period of development ( embryonation) . For the common roundworms 2 ( ascarids and cecal worms), this development takes about 2 weeks under damp and warm conditions. Birds get worm infestations by picking up developed worm eggs while feeding or by drinking unclean water. Also birds pick up worms when they eat insects, earthworms, and so forth which have eaten eggs of the parasite worm. The bird cannot get all types of worms simply from eating worm eggs. For some types, a so-called "intermediate" host (flies, beetles, slugs, and others) must eat the eggs first. Birds can get tapeworm or eye worm infestations only by eating some of these intermediate hosts. Most worm eggs like those of the roundworms (ascarids and cecal worms) can li,·e for a long time around poultry yards and buildings. Tapeworm eggs on the other hand, are quite easily killed by drying. PREVENTION OF INTERNAL PARASITES Remember that in general, young growing birds suffer more from internal parasites than adults. F or this reason, you should pay special attention to protecting the young birds against worm infestations. Important ways to protect them are as follows : 1. Moisture or dampness and drainage. Moisture speeds up the de,·elopment of worm eggs and lets them live longer. Keep poultry ranges and premises, including all buildings, as dry as possible. Drain pools or puddles of stagnant water. A ,·oid areas of dampness around drinking fountains (Fig . 1). RemO\·e loose boards or rubbish under which insects or slugs may live. 2. Range Rotation. You can control internal parasites by a system of range rotation. In practice, the 3-year p lan is most often used (placing the birds upon a certain area every third ) ear only). Cattle can change with the birds without damage to either, but there is some danger with pigs and sheep. They might carry erysipelas or paratyphoid, particu­ larly to turkeys. 3. Management practices. Chicks or poults are always free from internal parasites at time of hatching and you can keep them free if you raise them away from adult birds and upon clean g round and premises. Separate the young from the old stock Breeder birds from other flocks should be brought in with care. Guard against birds picking up the disease from others exhibited at fairs and shows or entered in egg-l aying contests. 4. Sanitation. Removal of all droppings and litter at about 10-day intervals is a great aid in controlling internal para­ sites in birds, since most worm eggs need 10 days or more to develop. Cleaning out droppings often, therefore, tends to remove the worm eggs before they become harmful to birds. Keep the feed and water containers away from drop­ pings. Either use dropping pits or keep the birds from be­ neath the roosts. Do not use the droppings to fertilize poultry ranges. ( 5. Destruction of intermediate hosts. Flies and slugs often spread tapeworms. DDT, lindane, methoxychlor, or a com­ bination of any two of these insecticides help control flies. Slugs are best controlled by keeping poultry premises as dry as possible and by taking away loose boards and other rubbish under which slugs live. Beetles, ants, snails, grass­ hoppers, and earthworms also are known to spread tape­ worm. Control measures are made up of killing these intermediate hosts, keeping the birds from them or remov­ ing the droppings often. E arthworms and grasshoppers spread some of the capillaria and gizzard worms. Cock­ roaches act as the intermediate host for the eye w orm. 6. Sanitation for worm control. It should be pointed out that treatment for the adult worm is not the most important consideration in handling the worm problem in broiler­ fryer plants. The major factor of concern is the worm embryo that develops in the chicken from the worm egg. Drugs now available are not effective against this stage of infection. In view of this situation, every effort should be made toward preventing disease. Where worms are a problem, litter (which contains worm eggs) should be changed after each batch of broilers or fryers. In other flocks a change of litter at 10- to 12- week intervals will go a long way toward controlling the life cycle of infestation. TREATMENTS FOR INTERNAL PARASITES There is no harmless treatment for worms. A ll good worm remedies are poisonous to some degree; they only poison the worms a little more than they do the birds. For this reason, the indiscriminate or routine "worming" of birds,­ which is often done, should be discouraged. Good treatments are known only for three types of worms, the large round­ worm (ascarid), the small roundworm (cecal worm), and the 4 gapeworm. Before worming a flock, kill a few birds and examine them to be sure they have worms. If one or more kinds listed are present, the right treatment can be given. If other types are present such as tape or gizzard worms, treat­ ment probably will do little good. For the large roundworm (ascarid), nicotine sulfate is probably the best well-known remedy. You can buy capsules or pills for single birds or for general flock treatment on the mat-ket. Use them according to directions. To get rid of the small roundworms (cecal w orm) , use phenothiazine. Treat each bird with pills or mix 0 pound of phenothiazine with 100 pounds of mash and feed continuously "'ith restricted grain feeding for 5 days. Barium antimonyl tartrate is good to treat gapeworm in­ festation. Since, however, the disease is rare and treatment difficult, see U.S.D.A. Leaflet 207 (1941), "Controlling Gape­ v.r orn1s in Poultry," for further details. Special comment should be made about tapeworm remedies. You- can buy many "remedies" on the market advertised to remO\·e tapeworms. Most, if not all of these, are of limited value. -The head of the tapeworm is firmly buried in and attached to the intestinal wall, and the body of the worm is attached to the head and neck. Materials are known that cause the body of the worm to break away from the neck and be passed in the droppings. The head, however, is not often taken out and a new body grows from it. The treatment, therefore, only helps for a short time. EFFECT OF DRUGS ON PRODUCTION Phenothiazine giYen according to directions probably has little if any effect upon egg production. Nicotine sulfate and many tapeworm "remedies" on the market may lower prod_uc­ tion to some degree. When using a tapeworm remedy, you'll want to try it first on a few birds before you treat the whole flock. For good worm control, move birds to new premises after treatment, or thoroughly clean the old building and grounds. There may be worm eggs in yards or buildings where there have been parasitized birds. If the flock is not moved or the premises cleaned, reinfestation will take place. There is no known method for killing worm eggs in soil with chemicals. Plowing or cultivating the land does, of course, bury most of the worm eggs beneath the surface. 5 PHENOTHIAZINE TO CONTROL BLACKHEAD The small roundworm (cecal worm) is not a serious para­ site itself, but it is important in spreading blackhead. Control of the cecal worm probably is best done by placing the young poults (or chicks) upon a Yz per cent phenothiazine mash for 5 days in a row when you turn the birds out of the brooder house upon the range.

Load more

  8

Copy Link