EMERGENCY WITH CHICKEN

[SamanthaChickenLover]

Okay, so, my chicken is a white leghorn (female). We've had her for about a year now, and never has she before had any medical problems. Just recently, we noticed her foot was bloody and "beat-up" so we picked her up, and washed off the blood. There wasn't much we could do, so we just kinda let her heal herself up. A couple of days later, she suddenly just DISAPPEARED! Knowing we have raccoons around, we assumed that they had gotten her. A few days had passed since her "death", and there was still no sign of her. Today, I went to go feed our chickens, and I seen she was there too! We thought this was the end of our struggles, but this was only the beginning. She wouldn't eat, drink, or do anything other than stand there, trying to breathe. She is trying so hard to breathe, that she CAN'T eat or drink! She just stands there, stretching her neck out, and opening her mouth on a continuous loop. Now that I think about it, I seen her doing this in her coop before, but thought it was alike to cats when they smell something such as another cat and they just sit there with there mouth open for a small bit of time until they move on (haha). I brushed it off as funny, and went on my way. Now, I wish I would've payed attention sooner, as I fear it is too late to do anything about it. We read an article stating to add a teaspoon of vinegar to there water, and we did this so the others won't become contaminated with what we read appears to be a gape worm. She, obviously, cannot drink the water, as she is TRYING TO BREATH. May ANYBODY please help??? I don't know how to save my chicken!!!

 

[Pyxis]

Gape worm is rare in chickens, but it does sound like what you're dealing with. The treatment for gapeworm is Safeguard liquid goat wormer at a rate of 0.23cc/mL per pound for 5 consecutive days, or Valbazen at 0.08cc/mL per pound for 3 consecutive days.

Vinegar in the water isn't going to do anything as a preventative. Instead, you should just assume the rest have it too and also treat them. Better safe than sorry.

Another possibility is a respiratory disease, but if the only symptoms so far are the gaping and trouble breathing, that sounds more like gapeworm than a respiratory disease, which usually have other symptoms involved such as sneezing, coughing, nasal discharge, bubbly eyes, etc.

 

[Kiki]

I am sorry your bird isn't feeling well.
Sounds like you may be dealing with a respiratory disease.

Is a vet an option?

 

[casportpony]

Welcome to BYC! Would it be possible for you to post a video of her? To post video, upload to youtube or vimeo then paste the link here.

Edited to add:
I did just treat one with gapeworms with Valbazen which is why I would like to see a video.

If it's not gapes, it's probably a respiratory infection, for which you will need antibiotics.

 

[SamanthaChickenLover]

Thank you so much!

Welcome to BYC! Would it be possible for you to post a video of her? To post video, upload to youtube or vimeo then paste the link here.

Edited to add:
I did just treat one with gapeworms with Valbazen which is why I would like to see a video.

If it's not gapes, it's probably a respiratory infection, for which you will need antibiotics.

I would take a video, but it will be VERY bad quality as all I have to record with as a computer at the moment... is that okay?

 

[Kiki]

Sure...go ahead and post it so we can see.

 

[SamanthaChickenLover]

Gape worm is rare in chickens, but it does sound like what you're dealing with. The treatment for gapeworm is Safeguard liquid goat wormer at a rate of 0.23cc/mL per pound for 5 consecutive days, or Valbazen at 0.08cc/mL per pound for 3 consecutive days.

Vinegar in the water isn't going to do anything as a preventative. Instead, you should just assume the rest have it too and also treat them. Better safe than sorry.

Another possibility is a respiratory disease, but if the only symptoms so far are the gaping and trouble breathing, that sounds more like gapeworm than a respiratory disease, which usually have other symptoms involved such as sneezing, coughing, nasal discharge, bubbly eyes, etc.

I was wondering, where can I buy this stuff, and which one do you think would be better? Thanks!

 

[SamanthaChickenLover]

I AM SO SORRY! I FORGOT TO SHARE THE VIDEO WITH YOU ALL, AS I HAD TO HELP MY INJURED MOTHER WITH TASKS AND SUCH! I THEN HAD TO FINISH A PROJECT, THEN GET SLEEP. I AM SO SORRY!!! HERE IS THE VIDEO LINK:

 

[SamanthaChickenLover]

Sure...go ahead and post it so we can see.