Some deaths of recently hand-reared parrots can be avoided by a simple worming programme that takes account of the life cycle of worms.

In the past month I have seen a Major Mitchell and a Cockatiel that had just weaned from hand rearing. Both these birds had a major infection with roundworm ( Ascarids ). The Major died but the Cockatiel eventually passed all his worms. This is not a new syndrome, over the years I have seen a similar situation in a range of parrots including a Gang Gang hen.

How can this happen?

In fact it is quite logical - if you consider what the birds are doing.

When the young are hatched they are effectively a gut with legs – they do nothing but eat. The parents constantly scrounge for feed and pass it on to the young. In an aviary, especially one with a dirt floor, worm eggs are common. The parent will pick up the eggs in the process of feeding and pass them to the chick.

When the chick is pulled for rearing and it will do quite well. The immature worms are slowly going about their business of migrating through the body and developing into adults, but are not preventing the chick from growing.

Then the weaning process begins and the baby does not do very well – it does not want to wean or weans slowly. Weight loss is more than is expected. The baby will often develop a swollen abdomen and may get brownish diarrhoea.

Then it becomes critical – stops eating, becomes fluffed, has diarrhoea and generally looks dreadful. Depending on the worm burden it may die.



What are the worms doing?

After their migration around the body as part of their cycle they stop in the gut as little worms and then they begin to grow rapidly. This is when the bird becomes ill. The gut may contain hundreds of worms all trying to grow and feed in the intestine of the baby. They cause damage to the intestine wall where they attach to feed, they also distend the intestine with their combined bulk. Eventually they will cause an intestinal blockage – this is fatal.



What is the treatment?

Firstly recognize that the bird is very ill. Then it must be wormed immediately. I use the Wormout Gel as it is easy to dispense and I can mix it in a little food or give it direct.

I also try to give the bird as much fluid as possible in the way of electrolytes ( eg Spark ) to try and lubricate the gut so the worms can be passed. I have also used Polyaid for this purpose, it has the added advantage of being a source of nutrition for birds that are underweight.

Get these birds in a hospital cage as they are critical – do anything that helps reduce their stress.



How do I prevent the problem?

Very simple – apart from the regular worming programme – all hand reared birds should be wormed before weaning. Treat them at about after they have fully feathered and again just as they start to wean. Just add the Wormout Gel to their feed – no need to fuss.



Tony Gestier.