Aussie Finch Forum

How does one go about worming softbills?
With the insectivorous species (i.e. wrens, chats, robins), would it just be the same as with finches through the water?
What about things like honeyeaters, as I imagine they can just go off their nectar mix instead of water worst case scenario for several hours
Does the dosage rate change?

crazy cuban wrote:How does one go about worming softbills?
With the insectivorous species (i.e. wrens, chats, robins), would it just be the same as with finches through the water?
What about things like honeyeaters, as I imagine they can just go off their nectar mix instead of water worst case scenario for several hours
Does the dosage rate change?

I don't think anyone worms softbills,they have no crop i think and they have a different gut system to finches but others may be able to comment better than me as i haven't kept softbills for several years. Cheers Craig

From what I'm told it is not really necessary to worm softbills, however it wont hurt. My softbills are all in with finches and small parrots and hence have been wormed along with them. I've only recently got softbills so limited experience so I could be wrong.

http://aviculturalsocietynsw.org/_artic ... 091986.htm


Myzo may like to comment

Would the dosage rate to finches be the same to the aoftbills? The main problem I'm seeing is that the honeyeaters will just switch to a nectar mix available and not consume any of the wormer itself.

What about tapeworm?

Mine get wormed along with the finches.

Any bird can potentially be infected with worms, even softbills.
Because softbills are only kept in low numbers, and even fewer are taken to vets, it is hard to get a real handle on how common a problem worms are. However, from my zoo experience softbills certainly can get worms.
As Mike Cannon states in his article, gizzard and tapeworms are the most common culprits but threadworms/hairworms (Capillaria) are also a problem and can be difficult to treat successfully.

The main advantage with softbills is that usually they are not kept in the same density as finches and this in itself decreases the likelihood of worm transmission.
I wonder if the increasing popularity of softbills and mixing them with finches in large planted aviaries may change this.
The worming protocols used for finches are fine for softbills as Tiaris has stated. The question as always is whether they drink enough of the medicated water for this to work.

My Wrens & Chats are usually the first to drink when fresh water is given (probably because they are tamer than most finches) so they get their share of water-based meds.