Preventive Maintenance: Worm Away

[L in Ontario]

I've read in some posts here that this may be considered as a Preventive Maintenance item to be given either once a year (possibly more - I can't recall).

For those using this Morning Bird product, my questions are:

1. How often do you give this to your finches (ie- 1/year or every 3 months or every 6 months)?
2. Are there any times of the year when you would not give this (ie- breeding with eggs or chicks in the nest, weaning, moulting)?
3. Is there an age minimum that you would not go below (ie- do not give to birds under 6 months of age)?

Thanks!

[nixity]

1. How often do you give this to your finches (ie- 1/year or every 3 months or every 6 months)?

It depends on what type of birds you have and what your housing and feeding routines are. If you do not offer raw live food (mealworms, waxworms, maggots, etc.), and your birds are kept indoors, you really do not need to worm as part of a "prevention" or "maintenance" program.

However, I worm incoming birds once on the first day in quarantine, and once again three weeks later, because you never know with new birds.

Parasitic worms are a contact based problem - meaning, they have to come into direct contact with the worms or ingest the eggs in order to be infected. Birds that have direct exposure to the ground [via an outdoor aviary] are much more at risk than birds housed indoors (their risk is virtually negligible).

However!! - Birds housed indoors that are fed live foods can contract worms because many of the live foods we feed are carrying vectors or intermediate hosts for the worms (like tape, hook, thread worms, etc.). So if you are actively feeding your birds live foods, I would worm the birds getting the live foods once every three months.
It would probably be best to swap out between Ivermectin and Worm Away, as Ivermectin works against different worms than Praziquantel and Oxfendazole (the ingredients in WA).

2. Are there any times of the year when you would not give this (ie- breeding with eggs or chicks in the nest, weaning, moulting)?
3. Is there an age minimum that you would not go below (ie- do not give to birds under 6 months of age)?

No - I've asked Bill (owner of Morning Bird) about this myself. He told me he has safely given it to birds throughout all life cycles - laying, rearing nestlings, molting, etc., and does not feel like it is potentially harmful in any respects.

I have to agree, in that I have used it on molting birds, juveniles as young as 4 months old, and laying pairs (when I noticed sudden watery droppings after offering mealworms) without any problems with fertility etc.

It is a very mild, safe product.

[nixity]

oops

[L in Ontario]

Great info - thanks Tiffany.

I do give the Waxbills live mealworms. All my birds are indoors and I would only treat my finches (not my parrots). I also treat all new finches upon arrival with Scatt and 3 weeks later with a second dose and then every 3 months. I presume WA may be given in their water on the same day?

[nixity]

Well SCATT is, in essence, a wormer (so is Iverlux, the MB product sold for Air Sac Mites).

So if you are doing SCATT, too, you could use Scatt the first day, and then three weeks later (this is typically how long the Scatt remains in the blood stream) use the Worm Away.

If you do it this way, I would also say you wouldn't need a second dose of the Worm Away.

[L in Ontario]

Well SCATT is, in essence, a wormer (so is Iverlux, the MB product sold for Air Sac Mites).

Really? I thought SCATT was strictly for ASM.

[nixity]

Yeah

SCATT is Moxidectin, which is the same thing a lot of dog owners use to control heart and intestinal worms.

It just happens to be effective against mites (not just ASMs) too - the way it kills the worms effectively kills the mites as well - so it's marketed as an ASM treatment, but it will also kill some parasitic worms, too!

The same goes for Iverlux, which is just Ivermectin

[L in Ontario]

Oh hmmm, I heard that S76 was effective against ASM and worms but I never heard / knew it about Scatt.

So if I use Scatt then I don't need to use Worm Away? I guess that could have been a bit of wasted money spent (on the Worm Away). Or is there any reason to keep both items on hand?

[nixity]

Oh hmmm, I heard that S76 was effective against ASM and worms but I never heard / knew it about Scatt.

So if I use Scatt then I don't need to use Worm Away? I guess that could have been a bit of wasted money spent (on the Worm Away). Or is there any reason to keep both items on hand?

Not necessarily.

Scatt is Moxidectin, and Worm Away is a mixture of Praziquantel and Oxfendazole.

Anyone who has ever owned horses is probably really familiar with the different wormers available.
I had horses up until last year - and using a rotational program is really the only way you can successfully do it - because the different chemicals work against different parasites at different stages.

Although this isn't as important for indoor birds not on live food - if you have birds eating live food, using the various types of wormers (Ivermectin in S76/Iverlux, Moxidectin in SCATT, Prazi/Oxfen in WA) in a rotational program will probably ensure better that your flock stays worm free because each time you rotate (e.g., using a different one every 4 months), you treat/rid the bird of that particular parasite.

They can also develop resistance just like bacteria, so this is another bonus to rotating.

Again - it's really not as dire as it is with something like a horse, where they eat contaminated grass daily.

But if I was going to have a "wormer" on hand - it would be Worm Away or Worm Out gel since these two are specifically concentrated with dosages geared towards treating worms and not mites

[MLaRue]

Tiffany,

What you said about Scatt makes sense but I've never heard of it being used for worms too?

[L in Ontario]

That's really good to know, Tiffany; thanks! I'll give them Scatt twice a year and Worm Away twice a year rotating every 3 months. Thanks muchly!

[nixity]

Tiffany,

What you said about Scatt makes sense but I've never heard of it being used for worms too?

"SCATT" isn't marketed towards a worm treatment - which is why when most people hear SCATT, they don't think of it as a med for worms.

It's easier to think of something like "Worm Away" or "Worm Out Gel" which has a descriptive title, as being something specifically for worms.

But the active ingredient in SCATT is a parasiticide that is used commonly for worms in animals such as dogs, horses, etc.

I just don't know if it's a concentration thing - meaning; maybe the concentration of Moxidectin in SCATT is more prescribed for the Mites than for a Wormer..