PLEASE HELP!! Very worried about sneezing/gaping chickies.

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Sure sounds like gape worms to me again. You may want to check the vet again, sometimes there arent seen , are deep down , or they slung them out .
They shake their heads to sling them out, the other birds see the worm and eat it, then they have them.
But all the symptoms sound parasitic to me? Do they have diarrhea or anything too or just wht you mentioned?
 
We haven't seen any worms, and none of the girls seem to have trouble breathing. No diarrhea...she has actually been dehydrated, and I'm pushing fluids. Her head is now shaking and she's gaping and twitching, almost like she's having a seizure or stroke. The doc says she's in critical condition, and will either get better or die in the next 24 hours or so. They suspect pneumonia.

So far no strange behavior from the other girls (just occasional gaping and sneezing). I have them on duramycin for their milder symptoms, which will hopefully help them fight off whatever they might have.

I noticed the pine shavings had some mold growing in the bag where it had gotten wet. Could pine mold do this?
 
I can't hold any of them down to check again for worms - how do you do it without hurting them? How do you control their instinct to pull away and snap their beak closed? ALSO, how do you SEE into their throats? I've tried holding them, prying their beak open, right by the window where there is a lot of light, but so far all I get are ticked off chickens and a view of the roof of their mouth, if I'm lucky.
 
yep mold can cause all types of problems, just depends. As for checking the throat, they arent gone like it, you just have to hold them, tilt the head back and open the month, once open, stick your finger tip in the corner so they cant close again, it's far easier with 2 people, then shine a flash light down there, you should be able to see then. They will be most visiable after a good hacking, sneezing, head shaking fit, as they are slinging them out by doing that.
I have a feeling it's either them, or a resulting respitory problem from the bedding/mold.
Good luck and best wishes on them all!
Aubrey
 
I've removed ALL bedding from them, and have them all on clean towels (no dryer sheets in the laundry - eliminating any chemicals that could affect them).

The Boy just got home and I'll take them all out and see if I can't get a good look down their throats now that I have an extra set of hands (we only took the one BR, Delilah, to the vet - she didn't see any lesions or worms). Hopefully the removal of the bedding and the duramycin will take care of anything respiratory, and we'll check again for worms.

The littlest one is REALLY sick. Twitching, head shaking, and what look like convulsions or siezures of her neck and head. Wings drooping, eyes look sleepy. BUT...she's eating a lot, and letting me get fluids and the oral antibiotic down her throat. Right now I'm trying not to get my hopes up - she's 13 days old, and we could easily lose her to this. She has also started pecking at nothing, and doing the dust bath thing (ruffling up and scooting around flapping wings) where there is no dust. It almost seems neurological, like she's having delusions.

I sure would like to know what's killing my girls.
 
Do they have room in the brooder to move away from the brooder lights to a cooler area if they want? Is there enough fresh air getting to them?
 
They all (except for the little quarantined one, who seems to need it warmer) have open-air "runs" made out of expanded metal over towels. This gives them a bigger space to get exercise, and an option to get out from under the lights. The little one's box fluxuates from 85-90 degrees, and I either move the light closer or farther depending on her behavior.

The others are free to move in/out of their brood and "run" as they please.

I've taken ALL the pine shavings out of their brood boxes just in case and replaced with thick towels with paper towels over them (for some cushioning for their feet until we can get new fresh shavings).
 
The dust bath deal is just normal instinct behavior, just trying to clean it's self. No worries there, but you could be on to something, it could be a neurological problem. Do yall have a USAD Poultry Lab in or around your area? If so, ask the vet to take a blood and fecal sample and send it in to them. This is what they specialize in, unfortunatly, most vets dont know too much in the way of our babies in the birds business, but a poultry lab will nail it.
This way, you'll know exactly what to treat for, and I hate to say it, but worst case, if you sould loose the sickly one, freeze it, and send the whole bird to them for examination. This way, if you know for sure what it is, it can be prevented or quickly treated if the others start to show signs.

The more I've thought about it, if still just the one is sick and none of the others, it could very well be a neurological ailment.....
 
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