Guest IB Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 Took this off an New Zealand? forum. Hope members find it useful Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2005 7:57 pm Post subject: Bird Worming ________________________________________ Brett Gartrell, BVSc MACVSc(Avian Health) PhD Lecturer in Avian and Wildlife Health IVABS, Massey University Palmerston North, NZ copyright © The first thing to note is that no wormer is 100% effective in birds. Different worms require different drugs and worms can develop resistance to all drugs. Different types of birds require different strategies to worm. Desert adapted birds such as bush budgies, princess parrots and many finches are difficult to worm in water, especially with drugs that taste bitter. Crop worming is the best way to worm these birds but may practically be very difficult where large numbers of birds are involved. Finches can sometimes be wormed with drugs mixed through seed although it is difficult to ensure the right dose is consumed. In water worming should not be used on very hot days as birds can overdose very easily. Finches must be very accurately weighed if you are going to use crop worming, as some of these drugs are potentially fatal. Birds should either be wormed regularly or have their droppings tested for worm eggs. Worm eggs can only be seen with a microscope with the exception of tapeworm eggs that are about the size of a grain of rice. Birds in suspended cages should be wormed or tested once or twice a year, as the chances of them re-infesting are low. The level of worm eggs can be kept low on a concrete floor by regular cleaning with soapy water. Dirt and sand floors will gradually accumulate worm eggs and the only way to stop this is to change the top few inches every year. Well-drained floors also help reduce worm egg burdens. Birds on dirt or sand floors should be wormed three to four times a year. Aim to ensure birds are free of worms prior to breeding. Change the type of worming drench you use to ensure that worms don’t build up resistance to the drugs you are using. Types of wormers 1. Fenbendazole (Panacur 2.5) Do not use Panacur 5 or Panacur 10 as these formulations can cause deaths. It is effective against roundworm and Giardia and has some effect against capillaria (hairworm). It can cause feather abnormalities if given during moult or to growing chicks and can cause mortality in high doses. Crop dose rate: 0.1mls/100g of bodyweight by crop daily for 3 days Water dose rate: 5 mls/litre for 3 days. Settles quickly so must be stirred regularly. In seed: mix 8mls with 12 mls vegetable oil and add to 1 kilogram of seed and feed 6-7 days. 2. Ivermectin (Ivomec Sheep Drench) Do not use the cattle formulation as it is fat-soluble and must be diluted with propylene glycol before use. The sheep preparation is water-soluble but must be protected from light. It is effective against some roundworms, lice and mites (including air sac mite and scaly face mite). It can cause nerve damage at doses just above the effective dose so use carefully. It must be changed daily to remain effective. There has been high levels of resistance to ivermectin develop in bird roundworms. Crop dose: 200 micrograms/ kg. Dilute 1:10 with water and then give at 0.25mls/100g bodyweight by crop daily for 3 days In water dose: 5mls per litre of water for 5 days. Repeat in 2 weeks. 3. Levamisole (Nilverm Pig and Poultry Drench, Avitrol and Avitrol-plus) Effective against most worms except tapeworm. It has been one of the few drugs effective against gizzard worm in finches and spiruroid worms in magpies (however see Moxidectin). Side effects include vomiting, incoordination, wing and leg paralysis and death. Do not use in hot weather or in ill birds. Crop dose rate: 25-50 mg/kg. Avitrol = 0.5mls/100g bodyweight once by crop. In water dose rate is: Nilverm = 5mls/litre of water for 3 days. Repeat in 2 weeks. Avitrol = 25mls/litre for 24 hours. Repeat in 2 weeks. 4. Moxidectin (Vet-dectin oral drench for sheep) This is a newer drug and is still largely unknown. Don’t use the cattle pour-on or the low volume formulation (Cydectin LV). However it is very effective against gizzard worm, roundworm, capillaria, air sac mite and scaly face mite. Crop dose rate: dilute 1:10 with water and give at 0.2ml/100g bodyweight by crop once and repeat in two weeks. In water dose rate: 5mls per litre of water for 5 days and repeat in two weeks. 5. Niclosamide (Niclocide, Yomesan) Is effective only against tapeworm. Comes in a 500mg tablet. Do not use in pigeons, geese and ducks as deaths have been reported. Dose at 50mg/kg once a week for 4 weeks in seed gruel. Bake into a cake for finches at a dose rate of 500mg/kg. 6. Oxfendazole (Synanthic, Benzelmin, Systamex) This is a white drench that is the best drug to use in water as it is quite stable and doesn’t taste too bad. It is very effective against roundworms and has some effect against tapeworm when given for 5 days. Each brand has a different dose so need to work out dose in milligrams; see below. Very little side effects except can cause feather abnormalities if given to growing chicks or during the moult. In water dose: 100-200mg per litre of water for 3-5 days. Repeat in 2 weeks. Crop dose: 2mg/100grams of bodyweight by mouth once daily for 3-5 days. 7. Piperazine (Piperazine solution for Poultry and Pigs, Bird wormer) This is a commonly sold wormer through pet shops and supermarkets that is NOT EFFECTIVE in finches and parrots for any worms. Has some effect against roundworms in pigeons and poultry but is not recommended due to the high levels of resistance that occur in bird worms. 8. Praziquantel (Droncit, Virbac tapewormer tablets) It is effective only against tapeworm. It settles out in water so must be given as crop wormer (usually mixed with other wormer) or in food. Injectable droncit is available but causes death in finches. Crop dose: one tablet (50mg) crushed into 5mls liquid and given at 0.1ml/100g bodyweight once. Repeat in 10-14 days. Food dose (finches): ¼ tablet per 30-50 finches mixed evenly in soft food. 9. Pyrantel (Combantrim children’s wormer, Canex puppy suspension) This is useful as a single dose crop wormer for roundworms and some capillaria. Praziquantel (Droncit) can be added to include effects against tapeworm. It can cause vomiting. It settles out of water and can only be used by crop worming. Waterfowl can be wormed with Drontal tablets at the dose on the packet by weight. Crop dose: Crush one droncit tablet for every 5 mls Combantrim liquid. Give 0.1mls/100g bodyweight Tablet dose: One tablet per 10 kg of body weight orally http://www.kakariki.net/ftopict-59.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aye ready Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 Took this off an New Zealand? forum. Hope members find it useful Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2005 7:57 pm Post subject: Bird Worming ________________________________________ Brett Gartrell, BVSc MACVSc(Avian Health) PhD Lecturer in Avian and Wildlife Health IVABS, Massey University Palmerston North, NZ copyright © The first thing to note is that no wormer is 100% effective in birds. Different worms require different drugs and worms can develop resistance to all drugs. Different types of birds require different strategies to worm. Desert adapted birds such as bush budgies, princess parrots and many finches are difficult to worm in water, especially with drugs that taste bitter. Crop worming is the best way to worm these birds but may practically be very difficult where large numbers of birds are involved. Finches can sometimes be wormed with drugs mixed through seed although it is difficult to ensure the right dose is consumed. In water worming should not be used on very hot days as birds can overdose very easily. Finches must be very accurately weighed if you are going to use crop worming, as some of these drugs are potentially fatal. Birds should either be wormed regularly or have their droppings tested for worm eggs. Worm eggs can only be seen with a microscope with the exception of tapeworm eggs that are about the size of a grain of rice. Birds in suspended cages should be wormed or tested once or twice a year, as the chances of them re-infesting are low. The level of worm eggs can be kept low on a concrete floor by regular cleaning with soapy water. Dirt and sand floors will gradually accumulate worm eggs and the only way to stop this is to change the top few inches every year. Well-drained floors also help reduce worm egg burdens. Birds on dirt or sand floors should be wormed three to four times a year. Aim to ensure birds are free of worms prior to breeding. Change the type of worming drench you use to ensure that worms don’t build up resistance to the drugs you are using. Types of wormers 1. Fenbendazole (Panacur 2.5) Do not use Panacur 5 or Panacur 10 as these formulations can cause deaths. It is effective against roundworm and Giardia and has some effect against capillaria (hairworm). It can cause feather abnormalities if given during moult or to growing chicks and can cause mortality in high doses. Crop dose rate: 0.1mls/100g of bodyweight by crop daily for 3 days Water dose rate: 5 mls/litre for 3 days. Settles quickly so must be stirred regularly. In seed: mix 8mls with 12 mls vegetable oil and add to 1 kilogram of seed and feed 6-7 days. 2. Ivermectin (Ivomec Sheep Drench) Do not use the cattle formulation as it is fat-soluble and must be diluted with propylene glycol before use. The sheep preparation is water-soluble but must be protected from light. It is effective against some roundworms, lice and mites (including air sac mite and scaly face mite). It can cause nerve damage at doses just above the effective dose so use carefully. It must be changed daily to remain effective. There has been high levels of resistance to ivermectin develop in bird roundworms. Crop dose: 200 micrograms/ kg. Dilute 1:10 with water and then give at 0.25mls/100g bodyweight by crop daily for 3 days In water dose: 5mls per litre of water for 5 days. Repeat in 2 weeks. 3. Levamisole (Nilverm Pig and Poultry Drench, Avitrol and Avitrol-plus) Effective against most worms except tapeworm. It has been one of the few drugs effective against gizzard worm in finches and spiruroid worms in magpies (however see Moxidectin). Side effects include vomiting, incoordination, wing and leg paralysis and death. Do not use in hot weather or in ill birds. Crop dose rate: 25-50 mg/kg. Avitrol = 0.5mls/100g bodyweight once by crop. In water dose rate is: Nilverm = 5mls/litre of water for 3 days. Repeat in 2 weeks. Avitrol = 25mls/litre for 24 hours. Repeat in 2 weeks. 4. Moxidectin (Vet-dectin oral drench for sheep) This is a newer drug and is still largely unknown. Don’t use the cattle pour-on or the low volume formulation (Cydectin LV). However it is very effective against gizzard worm, roundworm, capillaria, air sac mite and scaly face mite. Crop dose rate: dilute 1:10 with water and give at 0.2ml/100g bodyweight by crop once and repeat in two weeks. In water dose rate: 5mls per litre of water for 5 days and repeat in two weeks. 5. Niclosamide (Niclocide, Yomesan) Is effective only against tapeworm. Comes in a 500mg tablet. Do not use in pigeons, geese and ducks as deaths have been reported. Dose at 50mg/kg once a week for 4 weeks in seed gruel. Bake into a cake for finches at a dose rate of 500mg/kg. 6. Oxfendazole (Synanthic, Benzelmin, Systamex) This is a white drench that is the best drug to use in water as it is quite stable and doesn’t taste too bad. It is very effective against roundworms and has some effect against tapeworm when given for 5 days. Each brand has a different dose so need to work out dose in milligrams; see below. Very little side effects except can cause feather abnormalities if given to growing chicks or during the moult. In water dose: 100-200mg per litre of water for 3-5 days. Repeat in 2 weeks. Crop dose: 2mg/100grams of bodyweight by mouth once daily for 3-5 days. 7. Piperazine (Piperazine solution for Poultry and Pigs, Bird wormer) This is a commonly sold wormer through pet shops and supermarkets that is NOT EFFECTIVE in finches and parrots for any worms. Has some effect against roundworms in pigeons and poultry but is not recommended due to the high levels of resistance that occur in bird worms. 8. Praziquantel (Droncit, Virbac tapewormer tablets) It is effective only against tapeworm. It settles out in water so must be given as crop wormer (usually mixed with other wormer) or in food. Injectable droncit is available but causes death in finches. Crop dose: one tablet (50mg) crushed into 5mls liquid and given at 0.1ml/100g bodyweight once. Repeat in 10-14 days. Food dose (finches): ¼ tablet per 30-50 finches mixed evenly in soft food. 9. Pyrantel (Combantrim children’s wormer, Canex puppy suspension) This is useful as a single dose crop wormer for roundworms and some capillaria. Praziquantel (Droncit) can be added to include effects against tapeworm. It can cause vomiting. It settles out of water and can only be used by crop worming. Waterfowl can be wormed with Drontal tablets at the dose on the packet by weight. Crop dose: Crush one droncit tablet for every 5 mls Combantrim liquid. Give 0.1mls/100g bodyweight Tablet dose: One tablet per 10 kg of body weight orally http://www.kakariki.net/ftopict-59.html thot moxedectin was a one day treatment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenlands Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 Good post IB,very surprised at the length of time for the treatment . (5 days) 4. Moxidectin (Vet-dectin oral drench for sheep) This is a newer drug and is still largely unknown. Don’t use the cattle pour-on or the low volume formulation (Cydectin LV). However it is very effective against gizzard worm, roundworm, capillaria, air sac mite and scaly face mite. Crop dose rate: dilute 1:10 with water and give at 0.2ml/100g bodyweight by crop once and repeat in two weeks. In water dose rate: 5mls per litre of water for 5 days and repeat in two weeks. Lindsay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest IB Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 Remember this was written in 2005, when he says moxidectin was a new & unknown drug. I've posted up the 'opposite' view in at least one thread, I am surprised that anything can be cured by a one-day treatment. I also think doing so would likely cause drug resistance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JonesyBhoy Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 If a pigeon gets worms.. is there anyway that the pigeon can expel it itself..?? Or will it live within the pigeon forever..?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Owen Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 I have done a lot of droppings tests for Fanciers and, of course, my own. The one thing that has become very clear is, that one time doses are not clearing the worms. And hair worm is very hard to shift. If I find worms, I always advise the Fancier to come back for another test within a week of the treatment completion. On one occasion early on in the youngbird season a new Fancier came and got his test. I found both round worm and hair worm. I advised him to treat with Moxidectin and come back in a week. It took three doses of Moxidectin to clear the hair worm. The round worm was gone after the first treatment. I believe that the Vets are not clearing this problem because they do not do the follow up checks. The result will be that we will have super worms, just now. Then they will blame the Fanciers when it is their fault for not getting a complete kill. The more I see of these things the more I realise that we Fanciers have to learn how to examine and treat our stock. The Vetinary suport is just not good enough and it is costing a lot of money for a poor service. And, perhaps more to the point, pigeons can not do their job if they are burdened with parasites. Worse still, I believe that hair worm will do lasting damage to the intestines and ruin good pigeons. And if that happens, no amount of dosing will rectify the situation. Of course we carry on wondering what can have gone wrong, never knowing the truth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest spin cycle Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 i only use wormers formulated for pigeons. i know very often the chemical is the same but using thinned down products designed for other animals doesn't seem right and i'm surprised its even legal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest strapper Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 i only use wormers formulated for pigeons. i know very often the chemical is the same but using thinned down products designed for other animals doesn't seem right and i'm surprised its even legal emtryl (canker)was originally designed for pigs...but just about everyone has used it over the years. one of the most used canker treaments . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest spin cycle Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 emtryl (canker)was originally designed for pigs...but just about everyone has used it over the years. one of the most used canker treaments . i don't dispute that but personally i would draw a distinction between an emtryl product marketed for pigs and an emtryl product marketed for birds/pigeons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest IB Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 If a pigeon gets worms.. is there anyway that the pigeon can expel it itself..?? Or will it live within the pigeon forever..?? All living things carry their own protection against invasion by parasites and other organisms. They all stem from the bone marrow, in biology in my day they were called 'white blood cells'. I've attached a pic showing the family. You may have to click to enlarge it. The one that attacks worms is the eosinophil. It first paralyses it, then attaches stuff that blows holes in it, the innards flow out, and the dead worm is either flushed out with droppings, or digested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest spin cycle Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 All living things carry their own protection against invasion by parasites and other organisms. They all stem from the bone marrow, in biology in my day they were called 'white blood cells'. I've attached a pic showing the family. You may have to click to enlarge it. The one that attacks worms is the eosinophil. It first paralyses it, then attaches stuff that blows holes in it, the innards flow out, and the dead worm is either flushed out with droppings, or digested. thats very interesting...is that why certain adult animals are resistant to worms ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Owen Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 IB of course you are right in theory but you are miles out in practice. I have seen pigeons guts full of round worms. And I know that the hair worm can do very serious damage to the intestines. So much so that the birds are ruined because they can never regain full health again. If you have studied this subject you should know this. Birds carrying worm burden are never going to achieve the super health that we require for our sport. And it is no help to allow any bird on your premises to shed the parasites for your youngstock to pick up. Just to put the record straight, I have a limited accademic background, but I have seen and done an awful lot of post mortems on both animals and birds. My original interest was round worm infestations in sheep and chicken. All this was done to produce practical solutions to practical problems. I hope you will reconsider what you have writtten because there is a real danger that you can mislead people into thinking that worm burden is to be tolerated in racing pigeons. And you know that it has to be strickly controlled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest IB Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 IB of course you are right in theory but you are miles out in practice. I have seen pigeons guts full of round worms. And I know that the hair worm can do very serious damage to the intestines. So much so that the birds are ruined because they can never regain full health again. If you have studied this subject you should know this. Birds carrying worm burden are never going to achieve the super health that we require for our sport. And it is no help to allow any bird on your premises to shed the parasites for your youngstock to pick up. Just to put the record straight, I have a limited accademic background, but I have seen and done an awful lot of post mortems on both animals and birds. My original interest was round worm infestations in sheep and chicken. All this was done to produce practical solutions to practical problems. I hope you will reconsider what you have writtten because there is a real danger that you can mislead people into thinking that worm burden is to be tolerated in racing pigeons. And you know that it has to be strickly controlled. Owen, please remember my post was in reply to a very specific question:- If a pigeon gets worms.. is there anyway that the pigeon can expel it itself..?? Or will it live within the pigeon forever..?? I would not and have not suggested that anyone should tolerate a worm burden in their birds. Like everyone else I work to keep my loft environment as hostile as possible for anything that could harm me and my birds. I was making the point that we are all naturally equipped to deal with most of the things that could affect our wellbeing. That point is justified as it is validated in the real world. Just comparing the numbers of well animals against the numbers of ill animals (birds or humans) demonstrates our immune system works very well in the health-conscious environment we both live in. As I have said in other threads, I have had to worm my birds only once, and I am certain on hindsight that I brought that infection in with new introductions. If I am not worming my birds, what is keeping them free of these parasites? Others on the forum will know that I have spent years puzzling out loud on that one, considering at times that the grit / diatoms the birds eat all the time may shred any worms in the gut, or herbs in pigeon teas might flush them out etc. The final clue came in a paper I’ve posted a few times about the 400 pigeons at San Diego? Zoo experimentally infected with worms, the control group were given nothing yet cleared themselves of all infection, while the others were given certain wormers and ended up still having infection AND damaged guts AND a damaged immune system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubber duck Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 stick to pigeon wormers use 1 and then use a different 1 in 10 days time all sorted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Owen Posted December 31, 2009 Report Share Posted December 31, 2009 IB, if you have found the solution to worm infestations, you have done well. And I have no doubt at all that feral pigeons will develop a high level of imunity to any health threat, given time. And if the ferals are living in a place where they are able to obtain food and shelter I would expect them to achieve a high level of imunity quicker than usual. You mentioned grit. I am a firm believer in making a wide variety of mineral material avialable to pigeons because it has a high impact on health overal. And I consider clay based products essential to a balanced diet, if only to reduce the negitive effects of tanin found in many pigeon feeds. I was reading the other day that there are high numbers of people in Europe that have imunity to the AIDS virus. Apparently it came about during the time of the plague, and is passed on in the genes. Without doubt birds do develop and imuity to worms. What I do not accept is the sugestion that it is something to live with and that the birds will cure themselves in some way. Pigeons in common with all domestic livestock are kept in artificial conditions and are subject to worm infestations because of it. In the wild animals and birds are not as likely to be feeding from contaminated areas. This is because they can range over very large areas and this makes worm contamination unlikely. I know that domestic livestock are more suseptible to worms when they are under stress. And I feel sure that pigeons are no differant. The stress of overcrowding, breeding, racing and ill health will inevitably make them vulnerable. So the threat is ever present and should be managed. If you have found a way of manageing the ever present threat of worms, I would very much like to hear how you have done it. My approach is to conduct regular microscopic examinations of my birds and treat as needed. But I have also found that it is essential to reexamine after treatment to confirm that the medication has been successful. And it is worth noting that the medication is rarely successful in the treatment of hair worm infestations. This is a fact that Fanciers need to know and address. And it is a fact that Vets are not helping here because they do not usually encourage re-examination. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerome Gunn Posted June 23, 2023 Report Share Posted June 23, 2023 Hey there! Let me tell you why deworming is so important for your furry friend. Worms can sneak their way into your pet's system and cause all sorts of issues like weight loss, diarrhea, and a dull coat. That's where your awesome vet comes in! They'll ask you some questions and might need a stool sample to confirm if worms are the problem. Once they diagnose it, they'll come up with a deworming plan. It's usually a simple process, like giving your pet a tablet or chewable. Just follow your vet's instructions and complete the treatment to keep your Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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