You are right to be concerned. What you described seems to be an intestinal worm as you suspect, and not an earthworm. Don't just ignore it and hope that it will go away, as suggested. Many serious breeders worm their ducks and chickens. I do mine at least twice a year. Most use ivermectin, as it has the broadest coverage, and it appears to be very safe. I'm not going to give you a dosage, as it's not approved for either species. That's your vet's responsibility, and to explain to you the precautions when using any medication off label. Don't think of it as an expensive office visit, think of it as an investment in your education, that you can use over again in the future. Explain that you have a flock, and ask for a dose by weight for all the birds. Bring along a stool sample. I'm assuming that you're too intelligent to take the advice that "we've never done it in so many years, so it must be unnecessary". Some old timers still think that vaccinating dogs and cats is a bunch of bull. Sure, they'll survive, but overall they'll do better if they are treated for intestinal parasites, just like most other livestock. Piperazine is good for round worms, but it is limited with other worm species. You're smart to notice that ducks drink more, and this makes worming them with anything in the water more tricky, as they get a higher dose. Most doses in water are calculated for chickens, and I don't know a reliable source that has scientifically calculated one for waterfowl. You're better off dosing each individually anyway, either orally or by injection, so that you're sure that each got the proper amount. Good luck.

I use a recipe from the Iowa State Fair's Blue Ribbon Cookbook: Ingredients: 2Lb Boneless Beef Chuck, cut into 1" cubes. 1 medium (About 1.5 Lbs) Beef soup bone. In Iowa, these are from the leg shank. 1 Carrot, pared & quartered 1 Celery Stalk with green leaves attached cut in half or thirds depending on the size. 1 Medium onion Quartered 1 Bay Leaf 1 Teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper About 8 cups water 2 Cups home made beef stock or 14.5oz store bought beef stock. 12 ounces egg noodles. NOTE! Store bought noodles just don't work well with this recipe! I make my own using 1 egg, 2 cups flour, pinch of salt & 1/8 teaspoon white pepper. (see Below) If needed for thickening: 2 Tablespoons Flour 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup water Method: In a large,heavy bottomed stock pot or ceramic lined cast iron pot, add the first 8 ingredients: beef cubes, salt, pepper, bay leaf, soup bone, celery, carrot, water to cover (about 8 cups). Cover the pot and heat over high heat until it reaches a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the beef cubes are fork-tender about 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and using a slotted spoon, remove the beef cubes and place in a bowl. Remove the soup bone and trim any lean meat, cut into bite-sized pieces, and add to the beef cubes. Discard the bone. I usually remove the marrow and add to the stock or give the whole bone to a worthy dog. Cover the bowl of meat and refrigerate. Strain the remaining stock with a sieve into a bowl or Large measuring cup discarding the vegetables and bay leaf. Measure the liquid and make a note of how much you have. Pour the liquid into a large mixing bowl and refrigerate. When cold, use a tablespoon or large spoon to skim the congealed fat off the top of the broth and discard the fat. Cover the remaining broth and refrigerate. All of the previous steps can be done ahead of time, even the day before. 30 Minutes before serving: In a large pot, add the reserved broth, and enough other stock to total 10 Cups of liquid. stir to blend. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the Noodles to the boiling stock/broth. boil uncovered until slightly soft (about 8 minutes) add the beef cubes, boiling briefly until heated through. If the broth looks thick enough, like a thin gravy, you are done. If it is too thin, make the thickening out of the ingredients listed above. By adding them to a seal-able jar, cover and shake vigorously until smooth and all clumps are gone. Add this thickening sauce to the pot and simmer briskly until the broth thickens. (About 2 minutes) Serve immediately. In Iowa, they are served over mashed potatoes, but are delicious by themselves. Egg Noodles: On a large surface, put the 2 cups of flour in a mound, making a well in the center. Break the egg into the well, and using a fork, stir the egg only until well mixed. add the salt and white pepper to the egg. Continue stirring more and more of the flour into the egg until a dough ball begins to form. Knead until smooth, and roll out thin, dusting the board with flour to keep from sticking until the dough is about 1/8". Cut the dough into 4" strips, placing one on top of the other adding a light dusting of flour between each layer. Once all the strips are stacked, turn so you can cut the 4" side into the desired thickness. (I like about 1/4 to 3/8" thick noodles.) The finished noodles will be 4" x 1/8" x 1/4". Place the noodles on a large cookie sheet and dust well with flour to keep them separated until they are dried out, about 2-3 hours. Shake the majority of the flour off before adding the noodles to the broth.

tishtoshnm -- As with many gluten-free books, they use more high-glycemic starches and all-purpose gluten-free flour mixtures than I care to consume. I tend to use more almond and coconut flour for baked goods. You are right, my "shoestring" is definitely much smaller than the author's (LOL). To give credit where credit is due, she does the math with many of the recipes in the book to prove her "shoestring" theory - based on making her recipe or buying a g-f frozen version. Personally, I can live without a gluten-free baked pretzel - at any price. Some foods you just can't make a good gluten-free substitute, so I don't waste my time/money. There are a lot of meat-related and vegetable recipes, but most people who are gluten-free don't need a recipe for glazed carrots or pot roast. The only recipe I've tried was for Arepas: (makes 10-12) 1 c. precooked cornmeal flour (P.A.N.) 1 c. grated mozzarella cheese 1/8 t. kosher salt 1 c. plus 2-4 T. tepid water 1/4 c. vegetable oil (I use coconut oil) In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal flour, cheese, and salt. Add 1 cup of water and stir to combine and incorporate the water into the flour mixture. Add more water by the tablespoonful if necessary for the dough to come together. Once the dough has come together, cover the towel with plastic wrap and allow it to stand at room temperature for 3-4 minutes. The cornmeal flour will continue to absorb water, and the dough will stiffen as it stands. After the dough has stiffened, wet your hands and divide the dough into 10-12 portions of about 3 T. each. With wet hands again, form the first piece of dough into a ball, then flatten into a disk about 1/4-inch thick and 2-1/2-inches wide. Repeat with each piece of dough. Pour the oil into a 12-inch skillet with at least 2-inch high sides, and heat the oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. While the oil heats, prepare the first portion of dough for frying. Wet your hands again and press all around the edge of the disk, eliminating any cracks. Flatten along the side, smoothing as you go. When you fry the Arepas, if you have successfully eliminated all the cracks, steam will build up inside and they will puff and swell. It takes some practice, but it's well worth the effort. When the oil is ready, place each portion of dough carefully in the pan, and fry until golden brown, turning over once during frying and frying for 4-5 minutes per side. Do not crowd the pan. Fry in batches. Drain Arepas on towels before serving. With a wet serrated knife, slice the Arepas in half horizontally and serve warm or at room temperature. (Grainlady note: I slice them open before wrapping the leftovers for the freezer. In fact, I use my English Muffin "fork" for the task. I like to toast the inside on a dry griddle after they are thawed, apply the filling of choice - we often make ham and cheese - then grill the outside to melt the cheese inside and warm the ham. I also use them with poached eggs (using one-half of an arepa, toasted), shredded pork/beef/chicken sandwiches, egg salad, tuna salad...... I always wish I would have know this recipe for my mother, who had Celiac disease. She would have loved these little beauties. :-) -Grainlady

I'm sorry, I've been off line, my 27 year old daughter had a stroke, and then the doctors discovered a hole in her heart. She's home now, recovering, and I've been babysitting with her two children, ages 2 and 3. So, I've been tired... You sure have some faith in my rebel ways, LOL. I do tend to sidestep the guidelines when I think the risk is very small/miniscule/minute/nearly non-existent. I also know it drives the food safety experts completely batty. You do, realize, of course, that it's a risk anyway, no matter how small and that no one can guarantee the safety or quality of a recipe that was never designed to be canned? That's my disclaimer, gotta add it, as the risk is yours to take. Anyway, if I were set on canning this, I'd probably cook the chicken with the seasonings and can in the broth. The problem is that if the chicken is already cooked, it may be far overcooked after processing for 90 minutes or so. It also will not be just simply sauteed with seasonings, it'll be pressure cooked, more like boiled. I don't see much difference in adding the garlic, ginger and curry paste and adding onions, garlic and/or other seasonings to soups or chili, which can be canned. The coconut oil is an unknown to me, I don't use it or can with it. All meat has some fat content, so it might be OK. Maybe. I think I'd can the seasoned meat like I'd can chicken in broth with vegetables, then add the coconut milk and noodles when reheating. I'm not optimistic about the final quality of the product if you do this, though, as I believe the chicken will be overcooked (I don't can chicken for that reason, only broth) and the cooking methods are far different. Good luck, I hope it turns out better than I expect it will. Some things just don't can well, unfortunately. I think I'd be more likely to chop the garlic and ginger, mix it with the chili paste and freeze single soup-pot portions, you could even do that along with the appropriately portioned and prepared chicken if freezer room isn't an issue. I'd can my chicken broth for storage and then take out a package of the chicken, cook that, add the broth and then the rest of the ingredients. You'd cut out the prep time, partially. Oh, and if you do decide to can the chicken, be sure to bring it to a boil and boil for 10 minutes before adding the coconut milk, just for good measure. Yeah, I know, that'll cook the chicken even more. (sigh) Thanks for the recipe, too, it sounds delicious! Annie