Worm Your Gamebirds Ahead of Release to Safeguard Performance

Worms represent one of the most consistent threats to gamebird health, capable of causing everything from poor growth and condition loss to gapes and mortality. With release season approaching, gamekeepers and game farmers are being urged to protect all birds with a broad-spectrum wormer before the move to the release pen – and the reasoning is straightforward.

Why Release Pens Are High Risk

Jeremy Marsh, Elanco Animal Health's layer business manager, explains that naïve birds moving into a release pen face an immediate and elevated worm challenge. Because release pens are rarely moved year on year, worm eggs from previous stocks can persist in the ground. Wild birds also have continuous access to the area, bringing further contamination. Woodland and cover settings compound the problem – UV light cannot penetrate the canopy to break down worm eggs on the ground surface, meaning the environment actively harbours infection in a way that open rearing ground does not.

What You Can Do to Reduce Risk

While eliminating worm challenge entirely isn't realistic, there are practical steps that help reduce it. Keeping bird density as low as possible, lifting feeders and drinkers off the ground, and moving them regularly all limit the concentration of contamination at key gathering points. In wet conditions, where worm burdens tend to be higher, these measures become even more important.

Timing the Treatment

Routine worming of laying hens and young birds during rearing should be extended to include a treatment of poults before they are caught up and moved to the wood. Gapeworm is one of the most significant threats, with a lifecycle of around 21 days. Treating with a broad-spectrum anthelmintic such as Flubenvet™ – which eliminates all life stages of all major worm species – ahead of the move to the wood breaks that cycle before birds enter the high-risk environment of the release pen.

The Bigger Picture

Worm control isn't just a health issue – it's a performance issue. Birds carrying a significant worm burden will grow more slowly, show poorer feather condition and be less equipped to cope with the stress of release. The cost of treatment is modest compared to the return on a healthy, well-performing release. Speaking to your gamebird vet about the right protocol for your operation – timing, dosing and any resistance considerations – is always the best starting point.

Flubenvet is a POM-VPS product. Seek veterinary advice before use. Use medicines responsibly.