Complications caused by roundworms Ascaridia dissimillis is the common intestinal roundworm parasite of turkeys. The life cycle is very similar to that of ascaridia galli, the common roundworm of chickens. Ascaridia spp. are responsible for poor weight gains, low productivity and can open the door for primary and secondary opportunistic pathogens. Severe roundworm infestation of the gut often leads to development of necrotic enteritis. In recent years, ascaridia dissimillis infestations have been associated with excessive liver condemnations due to larvae migration from the intestine to the liver.
Affected turkeys weigh three to four pounds less at market age.
At the adult stage, female roundworms produce thousands of fertile eggs each day in the small intestine of the turkey. These eggs pass to the litter in droppings where the egg provides protection for the developing ascarid. Under optimal conditions of temperature and humidity, embryonated eggs in the litter become infective after 12 days in the summer and 20 days in the winter. The worm load can vary widely based on such factors as age of the host, degree of immunity, season, and such management factors as biosecurity, litter conditions and deworming programs. Recent studies on a life cycle of ascarids showed that they develop in a pyramidal population.