Hey brenda,

I don't know about the worming. I've never wormed my ducks before. I don't have any chickens. Hopefully someone else will know much more about this than I do.

I'm really sorry about you Dad.

Genny

I've had chickens, ducks and geese for years (off and on, in the case of ducks and geese) and I have to say I've never once wormed any of them. Maybe you should not look too close at their water. That is my suggestion. I would not worry about this worm.

Kristen

Is it possible an earth worm climbed into the water dish?

If it did, it would turn white after it was in the water a while. I've had them crawl into water bowls that were not very tall.

M

Way to skinny to be an earth worm! It was white and sorta transparent! I know it wasn't in there very long cause I had just filled it up! Thanks for the responses, I'll keep an eye out to see if I see any more!
BRENDA

That sounds gross! But, I don't even know if you could worm a duck. Or even a chicken. it might harm them to do that!

i use piperazine or wazine. mild wormer but does work. i get it at my local tractor suppy store.

You are right to be concerned. What you described seems to be an intestinal worm as you suspect, and not an earthworm. Don't just ignore it and hope that it will go away, as suggested. Many serious breeders worm their ducks and chickens. I do mine at least twice a year. Most use ivermectin, as it has the broadest coverage, and it appears to be very safe. I'm not going to give you a dosage, as it's not approved for either species. That's your vet's responsibility, and to explain to you the precautions when using any medication off label. Don't think of it as an expensive office visit, think of it as an investment in your education, that you can use over again in the future. Explain that you have a flock, and ask for a dose by weight for all the birds. Bring along a stool sample.

I'm assuming that you're too intelligent to take the advice that "we've never done it in so many years, so it must be unnecessary". Some old timers still think that vaccinating dogs and cats is a bunch of bull. Sure, they'll survive, but overall they'll do better if they are treated for intestinal parasites, just like most other livestock.

Piperazine is good for round worms, but it is limited with other worm species. You're smart to notice that ducks drink more, and this makes worming them with anything in the water more tricky, as they get a higher dose. Most doses in water are calculated for chickens, and I don't know a reliable source that has scientifically calculated one for waterfowl. You're better off dosing each individually anyway, either orally or by injection, so that you're sure that each got the proper amount. Good luck.

I called the local vet and she told me what to get (at the feed store) and then she sold me a couple of syringes (no needles) for pennies and the dosage amount per (weightof) bird. It takes two people but it was really easy to nudge their bills open, squirt the meds in and they just naturally swallow. This way you know that each bird has recieved a specific dose.