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?

 

[Tanya22]

@Eggcessive Hello! Tagging you here since I saw you on the thread regarding gapeworm and it made me wonder if that could be the issue with my rooster too.

 

[Eggcessive]

Gapeworm is pretty rare. Is your rooster allowed outdoors, or is he a house chicken? Albendazole should take care of gapeworms if those are a problem, but many use fenbendazole for 3 consecutive days if that truly is the problem.

 

[Tanya22]

Gapeworm is pretty rare. Is your rooster allowed outdoors, or is he a house chicken? Albendazole should take care of gapeworms if those are a problem, but many use fenbendazole for 3 consecutive days if that truly is the problem.

He's a house chicken though he does hang out with the pigeons who visit our house to have food. I've stopped that for now as I was told that it maybe a biosecurity risk for him.
I've never used fenbandazole before and have been treating him since childhood with albendazole only.. is it okay to switch?

 

[Eggcessive]

I would just use the albendazole if you wish. Gapeworm is rare, and is spread by eating the Surinam cockroach who Carrie’s it. I think it may be more of a respiratory issue than gapeworm. But other worms, such as capillary (threadworms) can cause issues with breathing. The albendazole used at the correct dosage, and repeated in 10-14 days would treat that.

 

[Tanya22]

I would just use the albendazole if you wish. Gapeworm is rare, and is spread by eating the Surinam cockroach who Carrie’s it. I think it may be more of a respiratory issue than gapeworm. But other worms, such as capillary (threadworms) can cause issues with breathing. The albendazole used at the correct dosage, and repeated in 10-14 days would treat that.

Thank you so much! Im actually nervous about getting any new medicines in him. I'll be getting the Albendazole tomorrow though I really doubt he would have eaten any bug.. he's not really been interested in any bugs since he was a baby.
But I will deworm him still. The dose given at the back of the albendazole pack is 30-45 ml per 100 birds, so I'll give 0.4 ml to him through dropper. Will that be fine? And should I not give him any vitamins on that day?

Also, Im thinking of getting something for leg mites for him.. I dont know if he actually has them since recently his bumblefoot healed quite nicely (non-infectious), but I've been trying to read up on anything that could be causing him issues. His legs have a few scales that are raised, but there's nothing black underneath them. However, there's some dark areas on his legs.. again they dont look like mites, but for now I've applied vaseline all over his legs.. have you ever dealt with this?

 

[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?

 

[Tanya22]

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/

Thank you so much for all the links! I'm attaching pics of his legs. Please see and let me know if it's mites or something else..

 

[Tanya22]

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

This is from the old pack. I've to get the same one today.. Please let me know if it's okay.