Deworming a sick chicken with wry neck

[Tanya22]

Hey everyone! My chicken (rooster, 5 & a half yrs old) has been pretty sick the past one month and i've basically been hand feeding him 3 times a day. I've tried treating him for breathing issue with antibiotics, but it hasnt worked. His neck is twisted (wry neck), his head droops, he stumbles backwards while standing and he sits most of them time and sleeps (he's vaccinated against mareks though).
Right now he is on supportive care of multi-vitamins and bcomplex. His poop is healthy and he does cecal poop in the morning. He crows as well.
Recently, I learned that gapeworms can be responsible for some issues that can be mistaken for respiratory infections. I generally deworm my rooster with albendazole and he is due for a deworming since a long time. Is it okay if I deworm him in this condition? I check his crop daily and im able to hand feed him well enough to fill his crop and only then do I give him any vitamins/medication. Please let me know if I should proceed with deworming him with albendazole or not?

 

[coach723]

Correct dosing of Valbazen (albendazole) is by body weight.
Weight in lbs / 2.2 X 20 mg / 113.6 = dose
So a 6 lb bird would get .48 ml (just round it to .5 ml) this is based on the concentration in Valbazen liquid.
Link here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...s-for-poultry-waterfowl-and-game-birds.75490/
Depending on your product, and the concentration, it may be different.
This thread, post #10, shows the math, so should help you figure the dose for what product you have:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/deworming-with-valbazen-questions.1229128/#post-19721376
Another reference here:
https://www.poultrydvm.com/drugs/albendazole

Dosing of albendazole in general is 20 mg per kg of body weight.

You can give vitamins while using albendazole, they won't interact.

Pictures of his legs might help. Some birds have pigment spots on the legs, so could be just that, unless it's something new, or they look raw or irritated. Scaly leg mites can cause raised scales and over time there will be a crusty build up.
There are some pictures here:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/scaly-leg-mites-in-chickens/

 

[Eggcessive]

Since you are in India, can you post a photo of the albendazole label that you are using?

 

[Eggcessive]

The dosage that Coach723 gave above is for albendazole 113 mg per ml. Your product is 25 mg per ml, so dosage would need to be recalculated.

 

[coach723]

How much does he weigh?
Albendazole dose is 20 mg/kg. Example: If he were 6 lbs, that would be 2.72 kg, at 20 mg/kg the correct dose would be 54.4 mg of albendazole (2.72 x 20 mg). Your product contains 25 mg of albendazole per ml. 54.4 mg divided 25 mg = 2.176 ml, and I'd round that up to 2.2. So correct dose of your product would be 2.2 ml. Hope that makes sense (and everyone feel free to check my math!)
Some of his scales are lifted, and some look like their might be some crust under them. It won't hurt to oil up his legs good and then apply petroleum jelly over them a few times a week. If there are mites, that will smother them.

 

[Eggcessive]

The instructions on your package are for cattle. Follow the dosage provided by Coach723 in post 12.

 

[Eggcessive]

I will let @coach723 and you discuss dosages but albendazole is only given once and in 10 days for all types of worms, except that it does not treat tapeworms well. You may be thinking of fenbendazole that is given for 3-5 days depending on which type worms.

 

[coach723]

The math is correct, 2.8 ml
Do two doses 10 days apart. That will treat everything except tapeworm.

 

[coach723]

Wanted to add, that is a fairly large volume to dose, so draw up your dose, and give it no more than .5 ml at a time and let him swallow in between, until the entire dose is given. To minimize the chance he aspirates any. And don't squirt it forcefully into his beak.

 

[coach723]

The medication doesn't have to be given with food. I usually worm my birds first thing in the morning before they've had food or water. That way the first thing that gets to the worms is the medication. If worms are his issue, then hopefully if he starts feeling better, he will start eating better on his own.