Poultry worming is vital for any poultry species, especially in chicken raising, whether commercial or backyard poultry; paying attention to worm infestation in chickens is prime to their health.
Poultry gets infected by worms directly or indirectly; hence they are two types of life cycles of poultry worms: Direct life cycle and Indirect life cycle.
Direct life cycle worms in chickens
The direct life cycle of poultry worms is when the eggs are released from an infected bird through its droppings. Before another bird picks it up while feeding, the eggs on the ground can endure for up to a year. These worms include large roundworms, caecal worms, hairworms, and gizzard worms that affect mostly geese.
Indirect life cycle in chickens
Birds become infected when they ingest an intermediate host such as slugs, snails, earthworms, and centipedes. This usually occurs when intermediate hosts feed on droppings containing worm eggs from infected birds.
Worms that go through the indirect life cycle are not infective during the egg stage till it has been consumed by the intermediate host and hatched into larvae before they can infect a bird. Hair worms can go through both direct and indirect life cycles.
Signs of worms in chickens
- Loss of weight
- Anaemia
- Diarrhea
- Increased feed consumption
- Pale yolk color
- In severe cases, mortality.
- Gasping for breath in case of gapeworm infection.
Most poultry worms live in the digestive tract except for tapeworms which live in the respiratory tract. Therefore most of the damage caused by these worms is done in the digestive tract. Infections frequently result in anemia and bleeding.
Roundworms can affect (block) the gut when present in significant quantities. Worms rob the body of its nutrition and cause damage. Their waste also produces the body to toxins and releases them into the body.
Common Chicken Worms
Different types of poultry worms have different identification characteristics. Fecal samples are needed to be extracted to identify these worms. Here are five common chicken worms. These common chicken worms can also infect ducks, geese, and other poultry birds.
1. Large Roundworms
Although there aren’t many adult worms in the intestines, these worms are simpler to detect. They can reach a length of 8 cm, and they resemble ‘spaghetti.’ In addition to damaging the intestines, roundworms also steal nutrients from the body and release toxins.
2. Tapeworms
Due to their small size, tapeworms can only grow to a maximum length of 3–4 mm and are difficult to see. Segments of the white tapeworm that are excreted and left behind in feces are considerably easier to identify.
3. Hairworms
Hair worms are tiny and hardly visible to the naked eye and can reach a length of 1.5 cm. During post-mortem procedures, the hairworms are often seen as white threads when the intestines are scraped and combined with water in a petri dish.
4. Caecal worms
Caecal worms are S-shaped and can grow up to 1.5cm long. They are grey to white. The only way to identify worm eggs is with a microscope because they are too small to be seen with the human eye.
5. Gapeworms
Gapeworms are Y-shaped, scarlet, and up to 2 cm long. The Y-shape is formed when the male and female are combined.
What is the best way to worm poultry?
There are two main ways to worm your chickens. This is done using natural methods and using chemicals.
- Natural methods of worming chickens.
- Worming chickens with effective chemical methods.
- Baycox Poultry: Treatment and Prevention of Coccidiosis
- The Excretory System in Domestic Fowl
