Preventative Health Medication

[Ian]

Hi Everyone,

Once my Green Singers are through there moult I plan to give them some annual medication for worms etc?

To be honest though I am not really sure what I should treat them for or if I should treat without any signs of illness. Also should I treat the young too?

Is it good practice to treat for worms or feather lice etc? Or should I only do so if i see signs of illness. I really am not sure with regard to the medication side of things and therefore woud appreciate any help or guidance.

Many Thanks
Ian

[nixity]

I don't believe in treating prophylactically for worms unless you have a reason to.. meaning - if your birds are housed outdoors where they have access to the ground/soil, or are fed live food where they could be exposed to certain parasites, it makes sense to have them on a prophylactic/"preventive" worming program.

Otherwise, indoor birds not on a live food diet could be wormed during quarantine and unless you see symptoms/signs I do not feel it is necessary to have them on a consistent worming program.
But that's just me..

Again, same with mites. Feather mites are not common in indoor housed birds so I don't consider it a necessary protocol. I have never treated my birds for feather mites unless I suspected a problem - and even in the one instance I thought it might be mites, it wasn't, so even then it turned out to be unnecessary but it was better to be safe than sorry since I wasn't sure what it was at the time. (Turned out the galvanized wire in the cage was damaging the feathers to where it looked like mite damage)..

[mickp]

was happy to find that someone else had posted an answer here before I found this topic, as some of my answers are rather blunt & abrupt.

very nicely answered Tiffany

it surprises me how many people do treat their birds ( all pets) to try & prevent them getting anything.
wonder if those same people also treat themselves the same way monthly worming, a course of anti-biotics every couple of weeks, maybe even the odd headache tablet just in case

[debbie276]

Couldn't agree more, very well said Tiffany.

[Ian]

Thanks Guys,

I completely agree with all of your views and would not normally consider this myself. But it is the very point that was mentioned in the first reply with regard to live food that has got me thinking as I have read elsewhere that this can be a source of worms (although I am hard pressed to think how). My birds have been fed cultured commercial mealworms during there breeding period.

Thanks
Ian

[nixity]

I have read elsewhere that this can be a source of worms (although I am hard pressed to think how).

The foods fed are often parts of indirect life cycles of transmission to the actual host.
Similar to the malaria life cycle..

In mealworms, I think the issue is predominantly that of Gregarine protozoan parasites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregarinasina

(http://science.peru.edu/gregarina/16_Clopton_1991.pdf)

[dfcauley]

When I am feeding my birds mealworms, I always treat for worms.

[Chris103]

What medication are you all using to treat for worms and where is the best place to get it? I mix Diatomaceous Earth in with all my seed mixes and eggfood but my outdoor birds (cockatiels) get on the ground to dig for seed, so I really worry about them.

[lovemyfinch]

I use Morning Bird's Worm Away.

[Ursula]

I don't want to ruffle feathers here ... but I feed mealworms for years and never used any worm medication. I don't like to give anything preventive if it's not necessary, except vitamins once a week... (I do the same for myself, my husband and my dogs as well... )

[nixity]

I don't want to ruffle feathers here ... but I feed mealworms for years and never used any worm medication.

The issue of pathogens with respect to mealworms is mostly that of protozoa - not necessarily "worms."



For "worms" - you'd be looking more at live foods like crickets, maggots, termites, etc.

[dfcauley]

I don't know..... this is just what Laraine told me that I should always do when feeding mealworms. You would surely think someone with that much experience would know what they were talking about.

While learning I always seek the advice of those who I think have the knowledge and experience, but it appears everyone has different views on this one so I guess you would have to do what you think is best for your own birds.

Personally I will continue to treat once a year for worms.

[L in Ontario]

I too use Morning Bird's Worm Away once a year on all my finches.

[Chris103]

I use Morning Bird's Worm Away.

Thanks Guys!!!

I too use Morning Bird's Worm Away once a year on my finches.

Just my 2 cents on the worming issue......I think a lot of the harsh medications we use (such as wormers) can have bad side effects and I know that tons of these medications are hard of birds endocrine systems (avian vet source). This could all effect reproduction, fertility issues and overall life span of our birds. So In my opinion, I don't think it's worth treating just as a preventative, Unless of course there are obvious signs of worms or your birds (like my Cockatiels) have access to the dirt floor.

...on a side note
My dogs dont even get chemically wormed, treated for fleas or vaccinated after they are 6 weeks old! My beagle is 17 and My Carolina Dog is 3...every time we see the vet he is shocked at their health. They also eat raw....which makes a huge difference.

....sorry, a bit off topic.

[L in Ontario]

I didn't think doing worming once a year would hurt them at all...?