Help! What's wrong with my chicken?

[Bchicken]

This is the second day she's doing this, please help!

 

[NorthTexaschick]

I am wondering if this is gapeworm.

 

[GardenWeasel]

It looks like gape worm to me. Is she also stretching her neck upward like a big yawn? I have this problem all spring summer and fall when my girls do a lot of free ranging and getting worms and such. Also wild birds spread this. I wormed mine with Safe Guard goat wormer the first time but have switched to mixing tons of cayenne pepper in a wet mash twice a week. Would you like more info?

 

[downsm75]

It looks like gape worm to me. Is she also stretching her neck upward like a big yawn? I have this problem all spring summer and fall when my girls do a lot of free ranging and getting worms and such. Also wild birds spread this. I wormed mine with Safe Guard goat wormer the first time but have switched to mixing tons of cayenne pepper in a wet mash twice a week. Would you like more info?

I would

 

[GardenWeasel]

Not a ton of gape worm info out there but from various sources I have gleaned some. One treatment is safeguard goat wormer 3cc per gallon of water for 3 days. Even if you have to lock them up make sure it is the only source of water. Do not use during molting, don't know why but would follow that. Eggs are tainted with med for 10 days but can be fed back to chickens or not. Clean up droppings as much as possible as chickens cough them up and reinfest. I now use a cayenne pepper treatment of approximately 1 Tb per 2 cups of feed or heavily dose rice or other treats. I now do this weekly or more if I start to see any gaping. I lost a few birds to this and it is a sad death if you don't know what to do. Gape worms are in their throats and some worming products don't address this. I don't know where I found the cayenne pepper treatment but I have not lost any more birds to this although it does seem to reoccur through the months there is free ranging going on. I think it maybe a regional thing as locals seem to have heard of it.

 

[Judy]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/354363/gapeworm-safeguard-wormer#post_4298994

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/460588/gapeworm-update-have-meds-now-what#post_5825517