In poultry farming, worms and protozoa represent the two primary classes of internal parasites that impact bird health, welfare, and productivity. While indoor-reared poultry typically avoid infestation from worms that require intermediate hosts, free-range birds are more susceptible. Interestingly, broilers tend to have less exposure due to their shorter growth cycles, as many nematodes require four weeks or more to reach maturity and produce infective eggs.
However, with the recent rise in the use of slow-growing lines for pasture-based and free-range broiler production, worm infestations could become a significant issue. Warmer weather also contributes to the rise in worm populations, as moisture and humidity create favorable conditions for parasite eggs to thrive. There are various worms and protozoa that can infect poultry such as roundworms (nematodes), flatworms (trematodes), tapeworms (cestodes), coccidia, histomonads etc. In this article, we will focus our discussion on roundworms.
Fig. 1: Broilers in pasture production system (PC: P. Regmi)
Fig. 2: Poultry roundworms (Ascaridia
sp.; PC: P Regmi)
Fig. 3: Ascaridia sp. in small intestine of chicken (PC: O. Wedegaertner)
Fig. 4: Heterakis sp. in the ceca of a chicken (PC: O. Wedegaertner)
Understanding your flock’s behavior helps you recognize deviations from normal patterns. Signs of internal parasite infestation include:
Fig. 4: Wood chips around chicken house can maintain dry environment (PC: P. Regmi)
Editor’s note: Content on Modern Poultry’s Industry Insights pages is provided and/or commissioned by our sponsors, who assume full responsibility for its accuracy and compliance.