Parasite/Worm Treatment Options

[TerriG]

When we did trays today, we noticed egg casings (some were red, some were black, shaped like reptile eggs) and even one worm that looked like a tape worm? I would like to treat the rabbits naturally since they are for meat. Will ACV take care of whatever they have? Can it be regular ACV or does it need to be Braggs (I use Braggs for us humans)? Do I need to do pumpkin? Will colloidal silver help? I am kinda creeped out right now.

 

[Dood]

It sounds like fly maggots and casings and not intestinal worms. Flys have a similar life cycle to butterfly's and moths = egg - larva - cocoon - adult

The eggs of parasitic worms cannot be seen without a microscope and only hatch once eaten.

 

[TerriG]

I haven't seen any maggots, but of course, there are flies.

The one worm I did see looked like a tape worm segment. It looked like the ones we would find on our outdoor cats. It had that sunny shaped end on it just like them. I only saw one though.

 

[akane]

At minimum tapeworms and roundworms are fully visible. In fact when deworming our farm cats the vet would ask what the worms and eggs looked like in order to determine what med to give us since we couldn't get them in carriers to bring them in.

 

[TerriG]

Google Images confirms the maggot cocoons. I hate maggots and flies, but at least I know what they are now.

Now to figure out the worm. The images of maggots don't match what I saw (it's been awhile since I have seen maggots, so I wanted to make sure I was remembering correctly).

Ok, so tape worm doesn't look right either. Maybe it was just a weird looking maggot?!? I'll just go with that for now. It means my rabbits are healthy

 

[Dood]

It is highly unlikely it is a tapeworm as rabbits do not have mature adults in their intestines that can shed segments.

When a rabbit eats a tapeworm egg it hatches and the larva don't mature in the intestine but migrate into the body and form cyst in the tissues (white nodules similar to coccidia lumps but multilayered inside) in the hopes the rabbit will be eaten by a carnivore so it can finish its life cycle and mature

 

[MaggieJ]

Good information, Dood! Thanks for posting it.

If you are still feeling uncomfortable about the possibility of worms, Terri, you could feed raw pumpkin seeds. They are an extremely nutritious food and rabbits usually love them. They don't need large quantities, which is good because they are a bit expensive. Ask at your feed store first; they are sometimes sold as squirrel food. Bulk food stores and health food stores also carry them and you can sometimes find them in supermarkets too.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tnam ... ce&dbid=82

Squash seeds work too. We always give them to our rabbits, except the ones we keep back for planting the next year. (If you are buying seeds for the rabbits, don't buy the ones intended for planting. They are likely treated with fungicides.)

Interesting article from McGill University on internal parasites in ruminants, including a section on natural dewormers.
http://eap.mcgill.ca/agrobio/ab370-04e.htm

Another on organic parasite control. It's slow to load, so be patient.
http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/pdf/ ... 9-7-21.pdf

One of the plants mentioned is Lamb's Quarters (Chenopodium album), which grows in most areas of the continent. I feed it to my rabbits in spring and early summer as a part of their gathered forage. Later in the season they will sometimes reject it.
http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=chal7

EDITED TO ADD:
There are many plants mentioned in these articles, some of which may be toxic to rabbits. Stick to the ones that we can safely give as feedstuffs. See the Safe Plants list.
safe-plants-for-rabbits-list-t55.html

 

[dayna]

I have goats so that link from McGill U was very very helpful!

 

[TerriG]

I'll have to take a look at all the links.

We planted pumpkins in our garden this year to use as decoration for this fall since nobody in our family likes pumpkin. We figured we could also dry the seeds and maybe even can some of the meat from them. Would I just put the seeds in my dehydrator? Also, you mentioned other squash seeds. The only other squash we have is zucchini. Any idea if those work? We don't like squash.

 

[AnnClaire]

Terri, unless you planted an actual "pie" pumpkin, I wouldn't waste my time on the jackolantern ones. If you did plant a pie pumpkin, I suggest googling for a recipe called "pumpkin butter" as that is an AWESOME recipe for canning I got 16 pints out of ONE pumpkin last year LOL

As for the seeds, I spread mine out on an old plastic dish drain and let them dry naturally. Once they are dry, you can easily pick out the last of the flesh ... just be sure to turn them a couple of times per day until they are dry.

Once you pick the last of the flesh out, let them dry for another few days as the interior needs to exhaust more moisture. Also, do not store them in a closed container ... they can still mold depending on how much humidity is in your area.

I would not recommend putting them in a dehydrator unless they are not for planting