Progress Report* Series No. 4 
Revised July 1948
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT 
STATION
of The Alabama Polytechnic 
Institute, Auburn, Ala.
* * * * * * M.J. 
Funchess, Director * * * *. 
.
CONTROL of WORMS in HOGS
Several kinds of worms infest hogs.
The most important is the common round
worm, or ascarid, which is found in the
small intestines. It is a grayish white
worm, 8 to 10 inches long and 4 inch
thick. The female lays millions of eggs
in the feces, which are passed out onto
the ground and eaten by other hogs with
their feed and water. The adult worms do
very little damage, but the young worms
pass through the liver and lungs, causing
extensive injury before returning to the
in test ines.
SYMPT OMS
Symptoms of worms in young pigs 2 to 3
months old are: slow growth, 'thumps,' pot
belly, cough and development 
of pneumonia,
rough hair coat, and general unthrifty
appearance. Old hogs seldom show any symp-
toms.
CONTROL
Irevention is more important than
treatment, because the young worms 
bury
themselves in the tissues and treatment 
is
effective only for the mature worms. 
Hogs
should not be raised in the 
same lots or
pens year after year. Neither should 
they
be allowed access to stagnant 
wallows,
ponds or swamps. The ideal place for 
a sow
to farrow and raise pigs is in 
a clean
pasture, or on forage crops where 
the
soils can be cultivated thoroughly 
after
each litter 
is raised. 
Cultivation 
of the
soil exposes the eggs and young 
worms to
the sunlight, which kills 
them in a few
ho u r s.
TREATMENT
Treatment will remove the rounu ,-,ns
that are in the intestines at the time
of treatment. It will also remove 
some
of the other intestinal parasites 
that
may be present.
Pigs should be treated as early 
as
possible after weaning. They are first
confined in a small lot, which can be
cleaned after the treatment, and feed
is withheld from the pigs for 24 hours.
The medicine is then given to each pig
in the form of a capsule or tablet.
Capsule Method
Especially prepared worm capsules 
or
tablets and the necessary instruments
needed for administering them can be pur-
chased from a local veterinarian, 
a local
feed store, or from almost any good stock-
man's supply house. If prepared 
capsules
are not readily qvailable, local 
druggists
can probably fill the following prescrip-
tion, which the Agricultural Experiment
Station has found effective:
,Calomel ........... ......... 
2 grains
Santonin ...................... 2 grains
Areca nut ..................... 5 grains
Oil of chenopodium ........... 5 drops
Sodium bicarbonate ............ 
7 grains
This mixture, put in a capsule, is the
proper dose for a shoat from weaning age
to 100 pounds. A balling gun and mouth
spreader will be helpful. These cost about
$1. The pig is placed on a box or table
and its jaws are opened with the spreader.
After placing the capsule in the balling
gun, it is inserted in the pig's mouth
and passed back of the tongue; the cap-
sule is then pushed out, and the pig's
mouth is closed immediately. The capsule
should be greased with vaseline to pre-
vent its sticking in the pig's throat.
If a balling gun is not available, the
treatment may be administered by hand.
* Formerly Mimeogi aph Series.
** Prepared jointly by the Department
of Animal Pathology, School of Veteri-
nary Medicine, and the Department of
Animal Husbandrv.
With the pig held, head up, between the
operator's knees, the left hand is 
used
to grasp the pig's under jaw and to 
force
the mouth open, while the capsule is being
forced down the pig's throat with the
fingers of the right hand. Care should be
taken to prevent the pig from biting the
operator's fingers.
Mass Treatment
Mass treatments, which are easier to
administer, may be used, although they
are not as effective as the capsule method.
Oil of chenopodium with castor oil.
Oil of chenopodium with castor oil is very
good if fed in a thin slop after fasting
the pigs for 24 hours. One dram of oil
of chenopodium (American wormseed) in one
pint of castor oil will be sufficient to
treat 30 pigs weighing 25 to 30 pounds
each. The dosage of this mixture for a
25-pound pig is 1 tablespoonful; for a
100-pound shoat, 3 tablespoonsful.
Phenothiazine. Phenothiazine is an
effective treatment against nodular worms
and fairly effective against roundworms.
This drug is sometimes poisonous to hogs
and should be used with care. Pigs under
3 months of age are apparently more likely
to be poisoned than those over 5 months
old.
A dose should not exceed one-tenth gram
per pound live weight, or 4 grams for each
pig weighing approximately 40 pounds. One-
fourth pound phenothiazine is sufficient
to dose 35 3
0
-pound pigs, or 25 40-pound
pigs, or 20 50-pound pigs. The drug should
be thoroughly mixed with the grain or can
be given in milk or slop, or any feed
that is customarily given to the animals.
Give it at one feeding only. Be sure there
is plenty of trough room, and if possible
divide the pigs in groups of 2 to 5 of
approximately the same age and weight.
BE CAEFL ABT OVER-DO~I.
Sodium fluoride. Sodium fluoride is
very effective against the large round-
worm in swine. Use one part of a technical
grade of sodium fluoride to 99 parts, by
weight, of IRY FEED. Pigs should be 
divid-
ed into small groups of 2 to 5 with plenty
of trough room. Mix a quarter of a pound
of technical grade sodium fluoride with
25 pounds of ground dry feed or 1 pound
sodium fluoride to 99 pounds of dry feed.
The pigs should be confined and allowed
access to the sodium fluoride 
grain mix-
ture until they eat about what they will
clean up in one feeding. THIS TREATMENT
SHOID NOT BE USED FOR PIGS 
THAT ARE NOT
ACCUSTOMED TO EATING GRAIN. It is ad-
visable to treat pigs at 8 to 12 weeks of
age and again when 4 to 6 months old.
DO NOt USE SIWR F1URIEE IN MI( OR SKP.
S(DIM FU1XIE IS POIS(LW AND T SHOUDM
BE KEPT AWAY FROM THE KITCHEN AND OT OF
REACH OF CHILDREN OB CARELESS PERSONS.
For further details consult your lo-
cal veterinarian or your County Agent.