Worms in Your Flock: The Good, the Bad, and the Harmful

Backyard chickens bring more than fresh eggs to our homes—they enrich our lives! Just like with any other animal, caring for chickens means understanding their needs and protecting them against any dangers that can impact their health, especially hidden ones. One of the most common and overlooked dangers to chickens is worms, specifically internal parasitic worms.

Don’t worry, not every worm is bad for chickens. The highlight of a chicken’s day may be searching the garden for fresh bugs! While these good worms aerate the soil and provide
entertainment for chickens, bad worms, on the other hand, can silently hurt your flock from the inside. Understanding the difference is essential to keeping your chickens healthy, productive, and thriving.

Good Worms: Nature’s Helpers for Your Flock

Good worms are the kind you’ll find wriggling in the soil, contributing to a healthy backyard ecosystem. Earthworms, for example, are nature’s recyclers, breaking down organic material into nutrient-rich soil. They not only help your garden thrive but also provide a tasty, protein-packed snack for your chickens.

Chickens spend most of their active time foraging and feeding. These behaviors exhibit natural instincts for chickens, meaning chickens love to work for their food even if there is food easily available for them. Foraging is also a social activity for chickens – when one
chicken sees another chicken foraging or feeding, they will want to start doing so themselves.

This natural behavior keeps chickens physically active, mentally stimulated, and socially engaged with each other. By encouraging foraging in areas with good worms, you’re
enriching your chickens’ lives and overall health and well-being.

Bad Worms: Hidden Threats to Your Chickens

Bad worms, on the other hand, are parasitic and can survive inside another organism, like
your chickens, by stealing the nutrients from the food they eat. Common parasitic worms
include Ascaridia galli (roundworms) and Heterakis gallinarum (cecal worms).

Chickens with parasitic worms may show signs like weight loss, diarrhea, reduced egg production, or a droopy appearance. If left untreated, parasitic worms can lead to serious complications for your chickens and, in extreme cases, death. These worms can also not
only harm individual chickens but can spread quickly through the flock.

These parasites normally enter their hosts by ingesting the parasite’s eggs in contaminated water or food. Therefore, it’s likely that you won’t be able to physically pick up and clean up these bad worms from your backyard. Instead, you'll have to treat infected flocks to
minimize the intestinal parasitic burden.

How to Get Rid of Those Bad Worms

Deworming is a treatment process that helps prevent the damage caused by parasitic worms and rid the birds of worms from their intestinal tract. This procedure can help protect and improve your flock’s overall health and its egg production and quality.

The best deworming solutions are FDA-approved so you know they are backed by science and proven to work. Currently, the only FDA-approved deworming solution for backyard and home-raised chickens is SAFE-GUARD® AQUASOL (fenbendazole oral suspension).

SAFE-GUARD AQUASOL contains fenbendazole, an active ingredient that targets harmful parasites like roundworms and cecal worms. This FDA-approved dewormer has been rigorously tested for safety and effectiveness, making it a trusted solution for backyard chicken owners. Also, preapproved studies confirmed that there is no egg or meat withdrawal required, meaning you can continue to enjoy fresh eggs from your flock while you’re deworming.

How to Deworm Your Flock Step by Step

Deworming your flock is essential to keeping them healthy and free of harmful parasites and using SAFE-GUARD AQUASOL makes the process simple and effective. The liquid solution is diluted into your flock’s daily drinking water for five consecutive days, ensuring even new chicken owners can administer it with ease.

Carefully measure 0.05mL of SAFE-GUARD AQUASOL for every 22 pounds of flock body weight. Accurate dosing is crucial to ensure the product’s effectiveness, so take the time to calculate your flock’s total body weight correctly. Once the solution is prepared, replace your chickens’ regular water with the medicated mixture and monitor their behavior to confirm they are drinking normally throughout the treatment period. After the five days of treatment, clean and disinfect all water containers to prevent reinfection.

Maintaining a clean coop during and after deworming is also essential to help keep worms from returning. It’s important to avoid common mistakes, such as skipping a day of treatment, which can compromise results, or mixing SAFE-GUARD AQUASOL with other medications or supplements, which may reduce its potency. Check out DewormMyChickens.com for a simple how-to video and downloadable dosing chart.

Protecting Your Flock Starts with You

Good worms and bad worms both play a role in your chickens’ environment, but only one requires your intervention. By understanding the difference and taking steps to prevent and treat parasitic infections, you can protect your flock and ensure their health and
productivity.

SAFE-GUARD AQUASOL is an essential tool for parasite control, offering a safe, proven,
and easy-to-use solution for deworming your chickens. Visit your local farm store or go to
DewormMyChickens.com to learn more and find a dealer near you. With the right
tools and knowledge, you can keep your flock free from harmful parasites so they can thrive.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION: Accidental exposure may result in skin and eye irritation and may cause gastrointestinal disturbances and hypersensitivity reactions in humans. No withdrawal period is required when used according to the label. Consult your veterinarian for assistance in the diagnosis, treatment and control of parasitism.