Earthworms

[laurab]

Can I give earth worms to my softbills or finches?

[Waxbillman]

hello Laura

i myself would steer clear of it, though its very possible mine have eaten them before

i seem to recall earthworms containing some parasite or other... not sure about commerialy farmed ones

maybe someone can shed more light on the matter

Matthew

[chris]

Hi Matthew,

i can't remember if it was earthworms or slugs that carry the gapeworm parasite? given the diet of earthworms the commercial ones would almost certainly be safe. if they weren't then they wouldnt be allowed to sell them for feeding purposes.

the only birds of mine to touch earthworms are the CPQ, even then they only eat the smaller ones. i don't recall the pekins ever attempting any, or anything else

Laura,

you could always try a whiteworm culture, they might seem small but once the culture is established they soon make up for it

Chris

[Alasdair Ingram]

I would tend to agree with the other comments, i was always led to believe that earthworms occasionally contained parasitic (Nematode?) worms which in turn could give birds worms.
The commercially bred worms should be ok though.

[laurab]

I am sorry if this is a stupid question, but how do wild birds cope?

[Waxbillman]

scientifiaclly i do know Laura my own thoughts on the matter is
they will have a much stronger immune system, they will to an extent be used to it, i would of thought there will be a balance, - some birds do die of it, egg may lay dormant in them and they pass them out...

Matthew

[chris]

Hi Laura,

the problem maybe twofold, a lot may well be exaggerated myth as is often the case in aviculture:lol:

however, from a wild birds point of view it isn't restricted to the same patch of ground every single day off which to collect food. this means that their droppings aren't concentrated in the same area from which they feed, and so any parasites they do carry don't multiply out of control and re-infect the same birds as frequently as a bird in an aviary, as the chances are they aren't feeding from the exact same spot they just took a crap in and passed out a few parasite eggs.

ofcourse if the parasite has an intermediate host before getting to the bird, in the wild the chances are that the bird wont eat the slug/worm that just happened to eat the eggs in it's faeces. not only that, the slug/worm is more likely to go unnoticed as the bird isn't constantly going over the same spot of ground as in an aviary.

basically it comes down to if your bird gets infected, the concentration of parasites in the soil in the aviary rockets, then the worm/slug population becomes largely infected and since the birds probably pick off 90% of any livefood in the aviary re-infection is high, causing big problems with captive birds.

the way round it would be a large aviary with minimal birds. a concrete floor that is washed down and disinfected regularly, or better still a wire mesh floor so the birds can't get to the ground at all. strictly from a hygeine point of view anyway

Chris;)