NEWSLETTER KEPRO OCTOBER 2016 WORMS IN POULTRY Deworming chickens is important, because most infections through worms can cause damage and eventually death. The following types of worms can be found in poultry: - Hair worm: Found in the crop, oesophagus, proventriculus and intestine. Also called Capillaria. - Round worm: Found in the birds digestive system. - Gizzard worm: Found in the gizzard, mainly in geese. - Tape worm: Fairly uncommon, found in the intestine. - Gape worm: Found in the trachea and lungs. - Caecal worm: Causes little damage but transmits blackhead to Turkeys. The life-cycle of these worms is visualized by the following image: Chicken eats contaminated feed or drinks contaminated water. It may also feed on infected earthworms or other intermediate hosts. Eggs are expelled Worms develop and mature in the faeces. in the intestinal tract of the bird. Adult worms lay eggs. Earthworms may eat the eggs. Eggs mature on the ground. Image 1 - The life-cycle of poultry worms Direct life-cycle Worm eggs are expelled from an infected bird in droppings. One dropping can contain more than a thousand worm eggs. These eggs are on the ground and survive up to a year until they are consumed by the chickens. Large Round worm, Gizzard worm (that affects geese), Hair worms and Caecal worms follow a direct life-cycle. Hair worms can also follow an indirect life-cycle. Indirect life-cycle Worm eggs are expelled from an infected bird in droppings, or in the case of coughed up Gape worm that are found in the respiratory system. This can also contain more than a thousand worm eggs. Worm eggs are not infective at this stage. Intermediate hosts (such as earthworms, slugs, snails and centipedes) will eat these eggs and the chickens will eat the intermediate hosts. The worm eggs ingested will infect the birds. The larvae hatch inside your chickens and the cycle repeats. Hair worms, Gapeworms and Tapeworms follow an indirect life-cycle although hair worms can follow a direct life-cycle as well. Symptoms of worms The most common symptoms are loss of weight / poor weight gain, increased feed consumption, pale yolk color, diarrhea and in severe cases anemia (pale comb and wattles) and mortality. In the case of gapeworm, chickens will gasp for breath or ‘gape’ stretching their neck. Diagnosing worms Performing a ‘worm egg count’ is the way to diagnose a case of worms. A sheet of newspaper on the floor under the perches (weighted down on the edges so it doesn’t move when birds flap their wings) can be used to collect droppings. A jam jar partly filled with water and some droppings can be used to separate the droppings by shaking. Then the contents can be inspected by holding the jar up to the light. Different sorts of worms including the location in the chicken and the treatment options, are stated in table 1 below. Common name Scientific Location Age of birds when Description Intermediate Treatment options name adult worms first host appear Roundworm (Ascarid) Ascaridia Small intestine > 4 weeks Large, thick, None 1. Levamisole hydrochloride galli yellowish-white, 2. Piperazine 50 - 116 mm long 3. Albendazole 500 μm - 1.8 mm 4. Oxfendazole wide 5. Fenbendazole 6. Ivermectin Tapeworm Many Small intestine > 5 weeks Segmented, white 1. Darkling beetle 1. Albendazole Length and width 2. Earthworm varies greatly with 3. Grasshoppers species 4. House fly 5. Beetle 6. Ant 7. Stable fly Capillaria Capillaria Small intestine > 3 weeks Hair-like worm hard None 1. Levamisole hydrochloride obsignata (occasionally to visualize 2. Albendazole (most ceca) 7 - 18 mm long 3. Oxfendazole common) 49 - 80 μm wide 4. Fenbendazole 5. Ivermectin Cecal worm Heterakis Cecal pouches > 6 weeks Small, white, hard to None 1. Levamisole hydrochloride gallinarum visualize (Earthworm 2. Albendazole Detected by their vector for 3. Oxfendazole movement in cecal Blackhead) 4. Fenbendazole contents 5. Ivermectin 7 - 15 mm long Table 1 - Different sorts of worms Good husbandry – preventing worms Many health problems in poultry can be related to an infestation of worms of some sort. It is important to not only deworm your birds regularly, but also manage houses and chicken coops correctly in between deworming treatments. - Worm eggs thrive in wet, warm, muddy areas. Remove mud, keep litter in poultry houses fresh and always ensure it is dry. - Worm eggs cannot develop when it is very dry and when the temperature is below 10 ˚C or above 35 ˚C. Deworm chickens as the temperature rises in spring. - Worm eggs are destroyed by Ultra-violet Light (UV) from the sun. Keep grass short and rotate pasture in the summer to help prevent a build up of worm eggs. - Prevention is always easier than curing so follow good husbandry techniques combined with regular deworming (according to the instructions on the insert of the anthelmintic). Source: poultrykeeper.com Treatment To treat birds, the following products are suitable: Fendazol 10% Oral A water-soluble dewormer used for the treatment of worm infestations caused by large roundworm, caecal worm and capillaria worms. Kepromec Oral An anti-parasite medication, effective against most worms, mites and some lice including scaly leg mite and northern fowl mite. Piper Dewormer wsp A water-soluble dewormer, for the treatment of round worms in poultry. Levasol 200 wsp A water soluble dewormer to treat larval and adult stage gastro-intestinal and pulmonary round worms (Ascaridia and Capillaria). VETERINARY SOLUTIONS FROM HOLLAND.