Enemies of earthworms. Feeding chickens with worms and insect larvae Which birds eat worms

Most chickens have worms. Infection of chickens with worms occurs through vectors (insects, wild birds, earthworms), through contaminated equipment and poultry farmer's shoes, through the soil and, of course, through the droppings of already infected birds. The lowest level worm infestations in chickens constantly living in cells, provided that these cells are kept clean (but they also have a high probability of picking up worm eggs over time). The greatest is in chickens that use the same paddock every day with earthen cover and a limited area on which sources of infection accumulate. Increased risk infection with worms and in chickens, who are kept free-ranging on garden plot or yard, as well as in chicken coops using a deep litter system.

Chickens are affected by the following types of worms that are dangerous to birds: roundworms ( Ascaridia, roundworms), capillaries ( Capilliaria, hair worms), tracheal red worms ( Syngamus trachea) and pinworms ( Heterakis).

How to tell if chickens have worms

For exact definition the presence of eggs of worms, litter of chickens is submitted for analysis. In the UK, owners of chickens and other pets are no longer required to take the droppings to the vet, but can simply be mailed to a dedicated lab, which will also send a response by post about the presence and number of worm eggs. Find out if there is a similar service in your country.

Signs of a massive lesion worms in laying hens are: decline in productivity and laying of eggs with soft shells, weight loss, cessation of growth, diarrhea, pale color of the crest, general dirty and unkempt appearance of the hen, enteritis. Symptoms are most pronounced in young hens, older hens develop some resistance to worm infestation.

Some experienced poultry farmers claim that a sign of the presence worms in chicken is also yellow diarrhea (as opposed to green diarrhea caused by excessive consumption of greens by chicken).

As a preventive measure removal of worms from domestic chickens It is recommended to carry out at least 2 times a year, in spring and autumn. It is also recommended to do preventive deworming of all new chickens that you add to an existing herd.

Treatment of worms in chickens: flubenvet, flubendazole

For treatment for worms in chickens the drug flubenvet (Flubenvet) is used. Active substance contained in flubenvet - flubendazole (flubendazole). Flubenvet is fully licensed in the UK and the EU. Flubenvet 1% and 2.5% are produced in powder form. Flubenvet is mixed with compound feed for chickens in the proportion of 3 g of flubenvet per 1 kg of compound feed (you can add a little vegetable oil or fish oil so that the powder is more evenly mixed with the feed) and given to chickens for 7 days. Flubenvet is a highly effective remedy a wide range action, it kills worms and their eggs at any stage of the life cycle.

In the presence of severe worm infestations in chickens removal of worms using flubenvet is recommended every 3-4 weeks to prevent re-infection with worm eggs left in the chicken coop and range.

When using flubenvet 1% during worm treatment for chickens laying hen eggs are perfectly safe to eat. It is impossible to slaughter a bird during the entire period of treatment and in the next 7 days after the course. When using flubenvet 2.5%, it is required to refrain from eating eggs and slaughtering poultry for a longer period after treatment, read the annotation to the medicine.

Treatment of worms in chickens: ivermectin

If you dreamed of worms, then in reality dishonest people will weave intrigues around you.

Earthworms dream of a change in relationship with someone dear and close to you.

The aspirations and hopes of a young woman who dreamed that worms were crawling on her will always be connected with something material.

If she managed to kill or throw them off, then in reality she will strive for spiritual and moral values.

A dream in which you used worms as bait for fish portends that your ingenuity will help you outwit your enemies.

Sometimes a dream about worms should be taken as a call: take care of your health.

If in a dream you put a worm on a hook, intending to fish, then you urgently need to change your style of dress. People around you have long been accustomed to you, and you do not surprise them with anything. And the person you like won't pay attention to you either if you don't change.

If a woman dreamed that she crushed a worm, then some very persistent suitor would claim her. It will be necessary to behave very sharply with him - then he will understand that he has no chance.

If such a dream was seen by a man, then he needs to treat his wife with great confidence and not give her endless scenes of jealousy.

Interpretation of dreams from the Psychological dream book

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I am the connection of the worlds everywhere,
I am the extreme degree of matter;
I am the center of the living.
The trait of the initial deity;
I'm rotting in the ashes,
I command the thunders with my mind,
I am a king, I am a slave, I am a worm, I am a god!
G. Derzhavin

Once in the family of the inventor of the shepherd's pipe - the ancient Greek god of cattle breeding Hermes and the goddess of beauty Aphrodite, a son was born. In honor of the divine parents, the boy was named Hermaphrodite. When he grew up and matured, the nymph Salmakida fell in love with him. Desperate to win his love, she began to beg the gods to make sure that she would not be separated from Hermaphrodite. The prayer of Salmakida was heard: her body fused with the body of Hermaphrodite. The young man unexpectedly became a bisexual being.

In the experimental transplantation of female tissues, the gods probably followed the path beaten by nature: at least earthworms could be taken as a model - they are bisexual and can be both dad and mom at the same time.

By adulthood, worms grow a so-called belt on the front of the body. On it they carry their child for some time: the belt, like a self-assembled tablecloth, is suddenly covered with a liquid ring; a nutrient mixture for the future baby and an egg (sometimes there are several) are carefully deposited here. Then the androgynous parent, walking backwards, drops the ring-cocoon over his head. The through hole in the cradle is sealed by itself, and the cocoon becomes like a tiny lemon. If the weather does not let us down, in a month a small hermaphrodite will slip out of the "cradle", which next year will also grow up and acquire a belt.

Earthworms do not reproduce quickly. Those with red pigmentation lay no more than a hundred cocoons per year, and a solid thirty-centimeter inhabitant of the soil, popularly referred to as creeping out, is even less - 40 cocoons. life path the crawl is also small - only 5-6 years. Considering that lapwings, rooks, blackbirds, toads, shrews and moles love worms, this amount of offspring no longer seems large. And if you remember that the underground inhabitants are included in the menu of gulls, owls, millipedes and flies, then the number of offspring will look quite modest.

Blow flies are terribly robbed, the females of which are looking for the minks of worms in order to lay their eggs in coprolites (emissions enriched with organic matter from the intestines of the worm). Bloodthirsty larvae soon emerge from these eggs. These vile creatures, probably guided by their sense of smell, get to the unsuspecting owner of the mink and, having infiltrated the defenseless body, eat him from the inside. Fly larvae prefer an adult worm with a belt, but if it is not nearby, then they will not regret unbelted cubs.

It is unpleasant to write about the flies that torment the subject of our story. It's better to talk about a more decent devourer - a mole. Remember how, in Andersen's fairy tale, the fat mole came in the evenings to the old mouse's hole, where Thumbelina temporarily lived. He talked about how soon the summer would end, the sun would stop burning and the earth would again be soft and loose. That's when they will play the wedding.

“But Thumbelina was sad and crying: she didn’t want to marry a fat mole at all ...

- Nonsense! - said the old mouse. - Do not be stubborn, otherwise I will bite you with my white tooth. Why is the mole not your husband? The queen herself does not have such a velvet coat as his. Yes, and in the cellars he is not empty.

And in fact, mole cellars do not empty, although the owner swallows 20 grams of worms in one sitting. And the "squats" are repeated after four to five hours. The mole eats the worm from one end, holding the wriggling body with its paws and clearing it of adhering earth. After dinner, the owner of a chic fur coat tucks his head under his belly and falls asleep for four hours. Waking up, he feels unbearable hunger and again rushes in search of food (in middle lane half of the mole diet is earthworms).

How does a mole get such a myriad of worms? It's very simple: they themselves climb to him, replenish his cellars themselves - they are attracted by the smell of mole musk. In addition, the underground galleries are slightly warmer than the damp earth, and this also attracts the unfortunate. The owner of the labyrinth even stocks up for the future - so that they do not run away, he bites their heads. The poor fellows have no choice but to grow a new head. And this takes time - the worm lies in the mole's kitchen for months and does not deteriorate even without a refrigerator.

So, the worms have good reason to stay away from the mole. And some of their species do just that: evolution has provided them with an innate reaction to flee from the molehill when the host runs through it. The smallest tremors of the soil seem to tell about its approach. One way or another, but the worms are afraid of vibration and jump to the surface. Alas, this is not always salvation: lapwings, disguised as a mole, drive them out of the ground, quickly shaking their outstretched leg; seagulls force the underground inhabitants to leave their minks by stomping their feet - raising and lowering their paws four times per second. It is good that birds usually manage to deceive only small gray worms, which are called allolobophora.

Even more mysteriously, the New Zealand kiwi bird gets earthworms. An English magazine told how several kiwis were trained to look for food immured in thin aluminum tubes. (Kiwis probably have an excellent sense of smell, and their nostrils are at the tip of their beaks.) Well, kiwis quickly got used to eating out of aluminum dishes. Then some of the tubes were filled with earthworms, and the rest with earth. To make it more difficult to find out where the provisions were packed, all the tubes were wrapped in nylon and covered with a thick layer of earth. The next morning it turned out that the birds dug up and pecked only those tubes where there were worms. How did the kiwi manage to smell prey through the ground and through aluminum? Secret. But stranger things happen to worms.

There are thousands of types of worms on planet Earth. Some of them are microscopic, but there are also giant ones - for example, Megascolidesaustralis can grow up to 3 meters in length. Now it is under protection due to the low breeding rate and slow development. In addition, its population has suffered greatly due to the development of agriculture.

However, even these giant worms pale against the background of oceanic worms, the length of which can be comparable to the length of the Olympic pool. There are over 1000 types of tapeworms. Most of them reach 1.8-2.1 m in length and approximately 2.5 cm in diameter, but some specimens reportedly grew up to 60 meters in length.

Most worms serve as food for larger animals. But people have learned to use them in other areas, including, but not limited to: medicine, cosmetics, compost, clothing, and food. (We have also included the larvae of some insects because of their worm-like appearance.)

10 Night Crawlers

It is well known that various ingredients of animal origin are often used in the cosmetics industry. Among these ingredients are earthworm feces. After digging and eating the soil, the worms leave behind their waste. According to skincare manufacturers, this waste does wonders for people's skin.

Night crawlers are one of the most common types of earthworms. They can be found in almost every garden, and they are divided into two types: European and Canadian.

European Night Crawlers reach 7.6 centimeters in length and are sometimes used for catching fish, making compost, or as food for lizards or turtles. Meanwhile, their Canadian counterparts can grow up to 36 centimeters, and they make excellent bait, which even under water stays alive for more than five minutes, attracting fish with their movements.

Night Crawlers feces are even bought and sold online. They are collected and checked for quality. They are then stored in a humid, ventilated area until shipped.

Manufacturers of anti-aging earthworm excrement skin care products claim to be rich in peptides, auxins, kinetins, humates, and cytokinins. Among their benefits are hydration, absorption nutrients, firming the skin, producing collagen and stimulating the growth of healthy cells.

9. Bloodworm

Moth can be found at the bottom of reservoirs, it has a characteristic red color. Nearly all types of fish eat bloodworms, making them an ideal food for even the pickiest of eaters.

Bloodworm is widely used by fishermen and is one of the most valuable marine products. According to experts, 121,000 tons of these worms are used annually in the world as bait, totaling about 7.5 billion US dollars. This is more than three times the annual income American sushi industry.

Connoisseurs say that sea worms cost more than any other seafood you can imagine. They are about four times the price of lobsters: a pound of bloodworm costs more than $80 in the United States.

8. Trematodes

Scientists have discovered that, despite all the harm from these worms, they can be beneficial. They can help in wound healing. They have special natural compounds in the body that promote the growth and healing of blood vessels. Worms use these compounds to heal the wounds they inflict on their host.

7 Butterworms

Butterworms are another species often used in fishing. These are the larvae of the Chilean moth, which are considered pests anywhere but in Chile. The potential threat of contamination by them led to strict import controls, though? worms are still regularly imported into the United States. In order for them not to pupate and multiply, they are irradiated with small doses of radiation.

The main feature of this species is a strong fruity smell that attracts many types of fish. In addition to catching fish, these worms can also serve as bait for more fastidious animals such as iguanas and other reptiles.

6. Meal worms

Meal worms have been used in cooking. These are flour beetle larvae that can be grown right in your kitchen for a high-protein product.

People make fun of this idea. According to Katharina Unger, founder of home worm farm LivinFarms, you just have to think it's shrimp. She states that the worms are so close to some seafood that they should not be consumed by those who are allergic to shellfish.

Livin Farms offers the world's first indoor hives for growing edible insects. Mealworms can feed on vegetable waste, and the hive will provide them with the necessary microclimate for optimal growth. LED indicators will indicate when the worms are ready to be harvested.

Presumably, mealworms can replace meat or other protein-rich foods, which is easier and safer than raising other animals for food. The worms are said to have a nutty flavor and crunchy texture.

5. Dung worms

Vermicomposting (composting with worms) is convenient way recycling of organic waste. Homemade compost is great for plant nutrition. Worms are happy to process organic garbage and food waste into fertilizer for garden soils, while living their normal lives.

While many other types of earthworms can do the same job, none do it better than the dungworms. Some species, for example, cannot live solely on food waste. However, this is not a problem for dung worms. If they are provided with sufficient food and good housing, their numbers can double every 90 days.

Naturally, any organic material decay takes place over time. However, thanks to worms, this process is greatly accelerated. Farmers can also compost some of the manure. If the worms are fed with eggshells, the compost will be enriched with calcium. And if you add coffee slurry, then the fertilizer will be rich in phosphorus and potassium.

In addition, dung worms are able to eat tea bags, bread, all fruits except citrus fruits, vegetables, grains and cereals. It is recommended to avoid feeding them meat and dairy waste and fats. Humidity plays an important role for worms, they need about 240 milliliters (1 cup) of water per day.

4. Larvae of the cheese fly

Italy is known for its delicious food. However, in the eyes of most people, casu marzu cheese, full of fly larvae, is not such a food. This cheese owes its origin to pecorino, a cheese that does not contain any living creatures. Hundreds of years ago, the people of Sardinia decided to fix this.

Casu marzu is made by introducing fly larvae into pecorino cheese to achieve a high level of fermentation. Some prefer to remove the larvae from the cheese before serving it. Otherwise, they must be eaten alive. It is believed that after the death of the larvae, the cheese becomes dangerous. In the EU, sales of casu marzu are banned precisely because of health and safety concerns.

The fats in cheese decompose quickly and make it soft, almost runny. The cheese is filled with ammonia, which can cause a slight tingle when eaten and leaves an aftertaste that lasts for hours. In Sardinia, they continue to make casu marzu and do not leave attempts to return it to the list of EU-approved products.

If you do not have enough larvae in cheese, then they can be used in another way. Their sole purpose of existence is to consume as much food as possible, and their passion for eating dead flesh can be used to heal humans.

Maggot therapy is a method of cleaning festering wounds using the larvae of some flies. This method of treatment has been used for centuries, beginning with ancient tribes and civilizations. It may sound intimidating to put maggots into open wounds, but this has often worked wonders.

The larvae secrete enzymes that coat and break down dead tissue. They then suck up the semi-dissolved substance. In addition, their secretions kill several types of bacteria. As of yet, there are no treatments that can compete with larvae in wound healing.

3. Hookworm

Despite unsuccessful clinical trials, several cases of recovery from allergies, hay fever and Crohn's disease have been reported. However, such side effects like the diarrhea and cramping that these worms sometimes cause can outweigh all of their benefits.

2. Silkworm larvae

Silkworms were first used by humans around 8500 years ago in China. The Chinese were the first to discover that silkworm cocoons could be unwound and woven into beautiful fabrics. Expensive silk was worn exclusively by members royal family. The secrets of silk production have been guarded by the Chinese for thousands of years.

In 300 AD silkworms came to Korea, and then to Japan. By order of Emperor Justinian, the monks secretly transported silkworm cocoons from China to Europe. For several centuries, silk production has spread throughout Europe and Asia.

Over the years, scientists have learned to genetically modify silkworms to produce the most powerful natural fiber in the world. It is impossible to use spiders for the same purposes; if they accumulate in one colony, they begin to eat each other.

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories has modified silkworms to produce spider threads. This genetically modified silk is stronger than steel and can absorb over 100,000 joules of kinetic energy.

One of the special fibers was named DragonSilk and was used to make protective equipment for American soldiers. Tests conducted by the military have shown that its effectiveness is sufficient for the US Army to invest in funding the development of sericulture. The total funds allocated for this purpose amounted to $1.02 million. The company continues to release new types of fibers that outperform the original DragonSilk.

1. Solitaires

Once ingested, the worms attach to the intestinal wall and absorb nutrients, grow continuously, and lay eggs that are discarded in the feces. Some tapeworms live up to 20 years in their host and grow up to 5-10 meters in length.

While most infected people try to get rid of tapeworms, some people ingest them on purpose. One of the symptoms of having a tapeworm is poor absorption of nutrients, so a person, even consuming high-calorie foods, begins to lose weight.

According to scientists, an infected host can lose 0.5-0.9 kilograms per week. Once the target weight is reached, the tapeworm is killed with special preparations. However, this is extremely dangerous treatment, and it's only available in Mexico for $1,500.

In practice, this method does lead to weight loss, but the weight is instantly restored after the removal of the worm. In addition, the worm can cause bloating of the stomach, which is contrary to the desired result. Tapeworms draw vitamins from the body, thereby creating their deficiency in their carrier. In some cases, the use of tapeworms has resulted in death.

Enemies of earthworms

The enemies of earthworms are animals that eat them: birds, arthropods
and their larvae, toads, frogs, newts, moles, hedgehogs, shrews, badgers, raccoon dogs, foxes, fish, wild boars.

How many years do earthworms live? Little is known about this. There is evidence that they lived at home for 5-10 or more years. However, in nature, few worms manage to live so long: their living conditions are very difficult. Sudden changes in temperature and soil moisture lead to mass death these animals. Numerous enemies lie in wait everywhere: worms are very nutritious food, and they have no defense weapon, except for the ability to quickly hide in a mink.

Moles are one of the main enemies of earthworms. Moles feed mainly on worms and are very voracious.
The mole prepares worms for the winter, because it is also active in winter, when earthworms sleep deep in their burrows. The mole builds chambers where he puts bitten, half-paralyzed, but live worms, which are perfectly preserved in a fresh edible form until spring.

“There is no doubt that the mole feels no less pleasure in catching worms than the swallow in catching insects ... Anyone who has seen with what great greed he rushes at his prey, and with what obvious pleasure he devours his unfortunate victim, cannot not to notice that the animal is unusually happy at the same time ... It is hardly possible to understand and absolutely impossible to describe the fury with which the mole eats. He bends his back in the most strange way, pulls his head between his shoulders and uses his front paws to push the worm into his mouth ... Only such inexhaustible energy can support the animal in its lifelong work - to break through the solid earth.

D. Wood

Molehills - small mounds found in fields and in the forest - these are dumps of earth taken out of newly dug or mole-cleaned passages. Moles find worms by smell. Worms, on the other hand, learn about the approach of moles by vibrations of the soil and run away with all their might. The one who hesitates will die.
In a forest where moles live, you can drive worms to the surface by sticking a shovel next to a mink and simulating soil vibrations with a mole. You can see how a worm quickly crawls out of the cork that closes the hole and runs away along the surface in the opposite direction.

The simplest: ciliates and gregarines,
- nematodes,
- insect larvae.

They live in the worms and feed on them all or part of their life, and then leave the body of the worms, living or dead.

Not always in nature, the meeting of predator and prey ends in tragedy. Many circumstances that can be ascertained, and motives that are almost impossible to understand, can make this meeting a peaceful one.

Here is a hungry young toad that did not eat the worm offered to it.
And the worm, trying to hide from the sun, climbed into her armpit, after which he began to study with his tail where he got. Then the toad galloped away, the worm remained to live.

A person also often acts as an enemy of earthworms:

Used for fishing
- reduces forests, plows and destroys the soil, takes everything organic matter harvest for yourself
- sprinkles the earth with chemical fertilizers and pesticides,
- builds cities, on the territory of which it deprives worms of food, compacts the soil, salts it,
- cuts when digging the earth,
- feeds livestock
- in Australia, India, Burma, large worms are used as food and medicine,

Coprolites of earthworms in the summer meadow are relatively few and lost in the grass. Worms, except for burrowing species, move freely mainly in the surface loose layer, depositing coprolites in its cavity. But when deep autumn comes, when birds fly away and forests, fields and meadows seem deserted, earthworms are busy with active work.
Worms dig deep wintering burrows. To do this, you need to let much more dense earth through you than in summer. There is so much excavated earth that it is deposited mainly on the surface of the soil. The results of this grandiose work are clearly visible in the autumn meadow, frozen by frost. A solid carpet of coprolites covering the earth testifies to the stormy surge of life preparing for winter rest.
When snow covers the ground and frosts crackle, only the owners of warm fur coats leave their footprints in the snow. And the worms, comfortably curled up in their round chambers, sleep quietly until next spring.
In many villages of old Russia, there were forbidden autumn days when it was impossible to go to forests and meadows, so as not to interfere with their inhabitants: worms, snakes, frogs, lizards, insects to go to bed for the winter. Now people have lost the knowledge of the life of nature. It often does not even occur to them that there is another life besides them. That animals, no less than they, need favorable conditions and love comfort. Not ours, human, but our own - the one that is needed and available to them.