Mary Allen
Roundworms primarily affect young chickens and accumulate in their small intestines. The consequences can be deadly. But there are measures to reduce the risk of infection of the chickens.
Seeing roundworms crawling around in the chicken yard or in the barn is not for everyone. And the idea of these little creatures, a few centimeters long, romping about inside one or more chickens is unbearable. Roundworms, called ascarids, are also found in pheasants and sometimes in turkeys. They live primarily in the small intestine and occasionally in the stomach, fallopian tube, or egg.
Roundworms usually appear in young animals, rarely in older animals. If there are only a few, they are considered harmless parasites. If they occur in large quantities, they can cause inconveniences and even serious damage to the health of infected animals. Symptoms are tiredness, reduced laying activity, diarrhea, and loss of appetite, which can lead to severe emaciation. The parasites can also cause damage to the intestinal wall. In any case, however, they deprive the poultry of important nutrients and at the same time secrete toxic metabolic products, thus disrupting the natural, mechanical digestion process to a large extent.
Larvae Can Withstand Minus 12 Degrees
If roundworms appear in chicks up to the third month of life, the course of the disease often leads to death. External signs of roundworm infestation in chicks include delayed development, shaggy, lackluster plumage, pale complexion, and a rather long break. From the third month of life, the chickens develop a natural resistance to roundworms. Heavy races are considered more resilient than light races such as the Leghorn. The balanced feed can have a positive influence on the course of the disease.
Infected animals excrete the eggs of the roundworms with feces. Outside the body, given suitable moisture and warmth, these develop into contagious eggs within 15 days, as the German veterinarian and poultry specialist Karl Fritzsche write in the standard work “Geflugelicke”. However, the larvae of the parasite do not hatch outdoors and do not need a host for transmission. She is still in the worm egg when the hens take her.
The larvae are very resilient. Temperatures of up to minus 12 degrees over a period of 15 hours are no problem. At zero degrees, they stop developing after a month. Thus, the larvae can easily survive in a mild winter. Once the infectious eggs are ingested, the larvae hatch in the glandular stomach or duodenum, after which they remain in this region for about nine days before invading the mucous membrane. When this happens, bleeding can occur. After about 17 days, they return to the intestine. There they mature for another three weeks until they are sexually mature.
At Least Two Separate Outlets
Roundworms are a genus of threadworms, which in turn are assigned to roundworms. The roundworm that most commonly affects chickens has the Latin name Ascaridia galli. It is white and occurs in separate sexes. The male is six to eight inches long. The female is six to twelve. According to the well-known German animal researcher and zoo director Bernhard Grzimek, it can carry between 1200 and 1500 eggs.
Experts do not recommend giving chickens preventive medication against roundworms, as the worms can develop resistance to the active ingredients. On the other hand, keepers can have a major influence on the probability of worm infestation when caring for and caring for the poultry on a daily basis. For example, it is advisable to have at least two separate runs (rotating runs) and to keep the chickens alternately in one area and then in the other for a few weeks. The reason for this is simple: a heavily clogged run is a good breeding ground for worms. If you give it an occasional rest period, it can recover.
It should also be ensured that the litter remains dry in general and especially around the drinking trough. You should always pay attention to the size of the herd, too many animals in too little space will result in too many droppings and thus delayed regeneration of the meadow or drying of the bedding. Since young animals, in particular, are attacked by roundworms, they should not be kept together with old animals, because over time they build up a natural resistance that the chicks do not yet have.