can a chicken get gapeworm witout being exposed to actual worms?

Kelii00

In the Brooder
6 Years
Apr 28, 2013
10
1
24
My hen 'parrot' died about 3 most. ago. She seemed to have the symptoms of gapeworm. Sneezing constantly elongating her neck and wheezing for air. We gave her tylan on the back of her neck for about 4 days, her symptoms never improved. She died at night probably from suffocation :(. Now 3 mos. later the rest of my flock has started sneezing and shaking their heads, just every once in a while not all the time. Anyway we don't have earth worms or slufpgs, just LOTS of roaches where I live...so I am just wondering if there is any other way a chicken can get gapeworm? Maybe from a cockroach? Idk. that may be a stupid thought lol.
 
My hen 'parrot' died about 3 most. ago. She seemed to have the symptoms of gapeworm. Sneezing constantly elongating her neck and wheezing for air. We gave her tylan on the back of her neck for about 4 days, her symptoms never improved. She died at night probably from suffocation :(. Now 3 mos. later the rest of my flock has started sneezing and shaking their heads, just every once in a while not all the time. Anyway we don't have earth worms or slufpgs, just LOTS of roaches where I live...so I am just wondering if there is any other way a chicken can get gapeworm? Maybe from a cockroach? Idk. that may be a stupid thought lol.
Bumping this thread because im interested =)
 
As far as I know, gapeworms can be carried by multiple insects, including earthworms, snails, grasshoppers, cockroaches, and beetles. But gapeworms can also be found in association with dead birds, or in the environment. There is a possiblity that your chickens have gapeworm, even though they haven't eaten any worms.

If you want to be sure that your flock is free from gapeworm, treat with a wormer that kills gapeworm. Valbazen, SafeGuard, and the Worminator (it is what I use; it contains Flubenvet) are the only worms that kill gapeworm that I can think of. Most of the wormers mentioned can be found at livestock supply stores, and the Worminator can be ordered online from here: http://www.twincitypoultrysupplies.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=584. To check if your birds have gapeworms, if any more die, cut open the throat and look inside the windpipe. Gapeworms appear as red worms, often with a forked appearance.

However, I think that it is more likely that your birds have a respiratory disease. What dosage of Tylan did you use? For Tylan50, the correct dosage is 1cc for large-fowl, .5ccs for bantams, injected once daily for 5 days. The Tylan200 dosage is .5ccs for large-fowl, .2-.3ccs for bantams, injected once daily for 3-4 days. And, just so you know, Tylan is more effective when injected into thicker muscle, like the breast or thigh, so injecting into the neck might not have worked that well.

You could also try an oral antibiotic, such as Oxytetracycline (sold under names like Terramycin, Duramycin-10, LA200, and Tetroxy HCA-280). The Oxytetracycline dosage is 1/8 teaspoon powdered Oxytetracycline per cup of drinking water for 7-14 days. During antibiotic treatment, do not give probiotics or dairy products, though after treatment, those are fine to give.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom