10 month old chicken with gapeworm

[Levi Partridge]

- 10 month old Jersey Giant hen

prognosis is gapeworm
medication has been administered already (about an hour ago) but the chicken is still responding very little, though she's still strong enough to keep her neck up

beak is open as is apparently a standard effect

What should we expect? Any vague probabilities from those with experience? Is there any other action you can suggest we take?

Thanks

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. Where are you located (what state or country?) Gapeworm is one of the rare worms in chickens. Is your chicken eating or drinking anything? Is there any way you could post a video to YouTube and post a link here? What medication have you given for treatment?

Gaping can also be a sign of a respiratory infection. What symptoms have you seen so far? Chickens with gapeworms have such trouble breathing, that eating or drinking are too difficult. Your local vet could look at some droppings and check for gapes and other worms. A good treatment is fenbendazole—SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer 1/4 ml per pound given for 5 consecutive days. A 5 pound chicken would get 1 1/4 ml. The video below from YouTube looks like a hen with gapeworms:

 

[21henmom]

- 10 month old Jersey Giant hen

prognosis is gapeworm
medication has been administered already (about an hour ago) but the chicken is still responding very little, though she's still strong enough to keep her neck up

beak is open as is apparently a standard effect

What should we expect? Any vague probabilities from those with experience? Is there any other action you can suggest we take?

Thanks

How did this turn out? I have a hen with similar issues, although she isn't gaping like the one in the video. She is still standing and eating and drinking, but I see that she is having some labored breathing. Where did you find the medication?

 

[21henmom]

Welcome to BYC. Where are you located (what state or country?) Gapeworm is one of the rare worms in chickens. Is your chicken eating or drinking anything? Is there any way you could post a video to YouTube and post a link here? What medication have you given for treatment?

Gaping can also be a sign of a respiratory infection. What symptoms have you seen so far? Chickens with gapeworms have such trouble breathing, that eating or drinking are too difficult. Your local vet could look at some droppings and check for gapes and other worms. A good treatment is fenbendazole—SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer 1/4 ml per pound given for 5 consecutive days. A 5 pound chicken would get 1 1/4 ml. The video below from YouTube looks like a hen with gapeworms:

I have a 2 year old Australorp with some respiratory symptoms. She isn't gaping like the hen in the video, but she is somewhat labored. Comb is darker than normal. She has had this problem for a while, but she got worse over the weekend. I think the treatment for poultry lice could have made the issue worse. Permethrin is what we used.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How did this turn out? I have a hen with similar issues, although she isn't gaping like the one in the video. She is still standing and eating and drinking, but I see that she is having some labored breathing. Where did you find the medication?

I have a 2 year old Australorp with some respiratory symptoms. She isn't gaping like the hen in the video, but she is somewhat labored. Comb is darker than normal. She has had this problem for a while, but she got worse over the weekend. I think the treatment for poultry lice could have made the issue worse. Permethrin is what we used.

Did you use dust or spray?
Can you post a video of her - upload to youtube, provide a link.

Is this girl laying eggs regularly? Do you notice any swelling/bloat or fluid in the abdomen?

 

[21henmom]

Did you use dust or spray?
Can you post a video of her - upload to youtube, provide a link.

Is this girl laying eggs regularly? Do you notice any swelling/bloat or fluid in the abdomen?

We used spray. I know she is laying, but I'm not sure how often. It's hard to tell when most of my ladies are laying brown!

I found out this evening that there is a vet clinic about 10 miles from here that now has an avian vet! I want to know what it is and I feel like the more I experience the more I can learn-- even by taking her to the vet. Going to call tomorrow. But I need to get a YouTube channel to upload chicken videos.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

We used spray. I know she is laying, but I'm not sure how often. It's hard to tell when most of my ladies are laying brown!

I found out this evening that there is a vet clinic about 10 miles from here that now has an avian vet! I want to know what it is and I feel like the more I experience the more I can learn-- even by taking her to the vet. Going to call tomorrow. But I need to get a YouTube channel to upload chicken videos.

That would be good if you have a vet that can see her!

 

[21henmom]

That would be good if you have a vet that can see her!

So Peep went to the vet in a cat carrier. She was the third hen the vet had seen today so I didn't feel so crazy. Still not 100% sure what is wrong. Her lungs are clear, digestion sounds are good. She saw some plaques at the back of her mouth she thought could be a fungus? Wanted to treat with metronidazole but it is prohibited in chickens. Something about selling eggs or eating the bird. Strange because people take that drug for specific types of infections. Gleet maybe??? Since we couldn't use that we went a different route- an oral anti-inflammatory on the off chance the lice treatment could have made it worse (her breathing did get much worse after). Going to take a stool sample in tomorrow to check for gapeworm. I think that's smart because everyone would need to be treated if it's positive. On a brighter note, the lice are gone. Will just need to retreat everyone Saturday.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would go ahead and let the vet treat with metronidazole. It is more important to treat this disease that not. You can toss eggs for month or just not eat her eggs. The plaques in the back of the throat may be a protozoa, not fungus, called canker or trichomoniasis. In the US, we can buy metronidazole online as Fish Zole. Dosage is 250 mg daily for 5-6 days.
http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/digestive-problems/index.aspx

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/canker

 

[21henmom]

I would go ahead and let the vet treat with metronidazole. It is more important to treat this disease that not. You can toss eggs for month or just not eat her eggs. The plaques in the back of the throat may be a protozoa, not fungus, called canker or trichomoniasis. In the US, we can buy metronidazole online as Fish Zole. Dosage is 250 mg daily for 5-6 days.
http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/digestive-problems/index.aspx

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/canker

I was willing to treat, but she wouldn't prescribe. Guess I can do it myself! Is it liquid?