# Bird Worming



## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

Hi Everyone,

Ok I have just wormed all 3 of my birds and I need to repeat the treatment in 14days, that’s fine, but do you really need to worm the birds again if they are indoor birds?

I ask this because the bottle says you should worm every 3 months, but I feel is this really necessary after the initial treatment if the birds are kept indoors and don’t go outside, I can understand the need to treat your birds every 3 months if they are outside in a aviary, so just wondering what everyone else does if they have indoor birds?

Jenny


----------



## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

I don't know much about this subject, but it's my understanding that birds don't need to be wormed at all unless they have actually been diagnosed with worms. In that case the vet who made the diagnosis will give instructions on what needs to be done.


----------



## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

I didn’t get the treatment from the vets, I bought it in the local pet store it is recommended in Australia that you do treat birds for worms just as a precaution the same way you would do your cat and dogs.


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

tielfan said:


> I don't know much about this subject, but it's my understanding that birds don't need to be wormed at all unless they have actually been diagnosed with worms. In that case the vet who made the diagnosis will give instructions on what needs to be done.


 ------------------------------------

A agree 100% with what Carolyn posted above. Birds should NEVER be wormed unless there is a definite diagnosis that there is a problem. From personal experience worming can be very dangerous if done and can cause other problems and/or death. Some problems...if the bird did have worms is, many times they are attached to the intestinal wall, when the wormer comes in contact with them, and there is a heavy infestation there could be internal bleeding...or worse a blockage of worms, enough that there is so much pressure that the interstines are forced out thru the skin of the abdomen or vent, and this results in death. The stress of worming can cause some secondary bacterial infections and also a problem with anemia, which if working with a vet these problems can/would also be addressed. Intestinal flora is affected from treatment, and that has to be treated to restore to normal.

As to tapeworms infestations...they are a secondary problem resulting from a red mite attack/infestation.


----------



## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

Hi, well I don’t know what worming treatment you guys have in the states, but maybe it is very different to what we have here, I cant believe we would be able to buy something of the rack in a pet store that would do real harm to your bird.

It was even on my check list provided from the pet store when purchasing a bird to ask about the simple in the water treatment for worms, saying worms can be the biggest bird killer in Australia.

We do have a lot of nasty bugs out here maybe they are different.


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

LOL...I used the Worm Out from AUS, and I painfully learned that you do not go and treat a bird just because...


----------



## cheekyboy (Jul 14, 2009)

I've personally never considered worming a bird before.. I didnt know products like that existed.


----------



## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

Cheekyboy, they sell worming stuff for birds pretty much in all the stores out here.

I don’t want to imply what srtiels is saying isn’t true I am sure it is, although after speaking with my hubby about the subject he also made a good point of saying well if the bird as that many worms that worming would kill the bird, not worming the bird is also going to result in killing the bird to.

I wormed all 3 of mine the other day completely unaware that this was according to some so dangerous, but they are all fine no ill effects so far and it has been two days now, and they are all eating drinking and pooping as normal, lol


----------



## seaofdreams (Dec 29, 2009)

I used to worm my birds with the pet store worming treatments and I have since stopped as what Carolyn and srtiels have said is right. The medication you get from a pet store is very, very broad spectrum which makes it essentially ineffective and it's a toxic chemical so you may be putting your birds are risk. Worming medications also only work if your birds are actually infested (not as a preventative treatment) and if that is the case, they should be diagnosed by a vet and treated with a medication suited to that particular parasite. Even if you have very strong evidence of a parasite, I would highly recommend avoiding pet store worming treatments (or any unprescribed "health" product) and seek the guidance of an avian vet. Not worming your bird will NOT kill your bird but treating them with these chemicals might.


----------



## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

When I bought Shiro from a local pet store in a shopping centre, they gave me worming stuff with him (I had to pay $20 for) and said that it's to be given every few months - they also said they can guarantee he'll be "free of worms" if given the amount of right doses and given when told to. If anything were to happen (i.e he got sick) in result from worming him, I'd be able to take him to the Vets for free.. I didn't continue giving it to him, but threw it out instead.


----------



## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

Ok, so quite a few are against worming, I thought I was doing the right thing and being a very responsible owner, to be honest I thought I was going to get moaned at something terrible for even suggesting not worming anymore after the initial treatment, lol

I guess I will re think my plan to even continue the worming process and do the second required dose in 14 days.

Thanks for all your experiences.

Jenny


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Jenny, you *are NOT* a bad bird owner. Sadly..., the culprit is the shops and Mfg. that provided these products, and the info on the label as to repeating treatments later on *is just a sales tactic* to insure continual sale of the product.

Actual intestinal parasites such as worms are rare in captive birds. I have encountered tapeworms within my flock in the spring, but that was a result of a red mite infestation after we have had several months of no rain, and then had weeks of rain. The wet and humid conditions caused these parasites to get off the wild birds and get into drier conditions. They are so tiny they slip thru to inside and on our birds for warmth and food (which is blood) The *ONLY* time I would suggest that someone treat (under a vets confirmation and supervision) is if they have had a confirmed red mite attack.


----------



## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

I agree that birds should be treated under a vets supervision. There are so many things in petstores that are not safe for birds those mite discs that you can hang in cages for example.


----------



## seaofdreams (Dec 29, 2009)

Srtiels put it perfectly, you can't be a bad bird owner if you had the best intentions and thought you were doing the right thing by your bird. Pet store employees are trained to sell you things like worming treatments by telling you that they are a necessity when the reality is far from that (this is from working at a petstore for a few months which gave me some really shocking insight into the commercial pet world)


----------



## cheekyboy (Jul 14, 2009)

I agree, dont think of yourself as a bad owner, honestly, it could have happened to me too. In fact, when I saw your thread to start with I first thought to myself 'oh my goodness, should I be worming my birds? I never knew...' 

The commercial pet world is nuts. Absolutely sales driven, and not necessarily in animals best interests. It's easy for store workers to make up stories to sell products, and most people dont have the knowledge to tell them otherwise. Besides the petstores, its the flamin' manufacturers and marketing folk thats should be shot for it.


----------



## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

Hi Guys,

Thanks, I don’t think I am a bad owner, lol

I guess I just thought to worm a bird is nothing more than how I would worm my Dog or Cat, its something we do monthly with cats and dogs so why not your bird, but unless you know differently you just think of it has something you should do.

Jenny


----------

