“Worms, a word that should send shivers down the spine of any birdkeeper. Getting rid of, or better yet, preventing worm problems is really easy. You just need to have the right information. So let’s cut straight to it.
Now what birds can get worms? There are many opinions on this topic and we’ve heard them all. Things like cement floors will prevent worm infestations in aviaries and if you only have one bird it can’t get worms. Wrong. While there are measures that reduce the risk of worm infestation, there still remains some risk. While some species of birds and environmental factors reduce the risk, the fact is if it has a gut it can get worms, no exceptions. So how does a bird end up with worms? Very easily.
Roundworm eggs are spread through the droppings of birds already carrying a worm burden. Worm eggs shed into the environment are incredibly tough. They require 14 days in the environment before they become infective. And then they can remain infected in the right circumstances for years afterwards, simply waiting for a new host to infect. Birds usually ingest worm eggs while foraging in an infected area. But there’s always a chance that the infected area will be brought to them in the form of feathers, dropping dust, wild birds or even a new cage mate. These parasites are experts of infiltration. Now why should I care about worms? What do they actually do? Well, different worms cause different issues. If your bird has made contact and ingested around worm eggs, they quickly hatch with the emerging larvae taking a tour of the bird’s body, actually moving through the tissue on their way to the bird’s gut. Sounds dramatic, right? Well, in large numbers it can be.
But you see the real problem caused by roundworms happens when the larvae reach the gut and then mature into adults. At this point, each worm becomes an egg producing factory, sucking up nutrients that your bird needs and increasing the numbers as the life cycle continues. Now your birds are in serious trouble. How about some worm symptoms?
It’s a tricky thing to know what to look for if your bird has worms. Birds can carry a large number of worms in their stomach without showing any outward symptoms. Then in the right conditions, for example, your bird becomes stressed. This existing large worm population can explode in numbers causing immediate implications and even death. So some of the symptoms that are common with worms with birds is weight loss, poor feather condition, lethargy, sleepiness, and ruffled feathers.
You may also see a reduced activity, particularly in their egg production and adults carrying worms also pose a risk to their developing babies. The big problem is that these symptoms are not specific to just worms and the majority of them occur when birds are very sick with just about any disease. So waiting to treat worms until you see these signs is without a doubt a very bad idea. So now the important question is how do we stop a worm infestation? The only way is to establish a regular worming schedule. So Vetafarm recommends that all birds, whether they are breeders or pets, inside or outside, birds are wormed every three months or four times a year. Prevention is the key to stopping worm infestations. Some people find it easy to remember by worming at the start of every season. This ensures that you are up to date with your worming treatments. Now, worm infestations in young birds are a real issue and a cause for a large number of deaths every year.
Worming just before breeding season and again after the chicks fledge is absolutely crucial. It’s much easier to worm adult birds before breeding season than to run the risk of baby birds picking up worms and then trying to treat the problem. So now we have the background story on worms and we have a schedule to control them, we need to make a decision on which wormer to use. There are many worming treatments available on the market so treat all types of worms in your birds and just as importantly is safe. So you need to pay attention to your active ingredients in your selective wormer.
Piperazine is safe as a bank, but is an old remedy, and many birds are now resistant. This should not be your first choice. Leber missile is another option and is very effective. However, overdoses are common and this active can be toxic. Ivermectin is often touted as the perfect wormer, but there are downsides. Ivermectin does not treat tapeworm and is very unstable in water. This means that once added to water, Ivermectin immediately begins breaking down actually do its job becomes questionable. When treating worms you don’t want questionable, you want a sure-fire solution. Definitely. Now Vetafarm recommends using worm-out gel to worm all types of birds. The active ingredients in worm-out gel are praziquantel and oxfendazole. Both have been proven to be safe at up to 10 times the recommended dose rate.
It will treat and prevent all types of worms and can be administered either in water or via a crop meter. And either method is safe and effective. Thanks for watching. And remember, the Vetafarm team is only a phone call away.”
