Chicken Gasping for air

[Arielle777]

I discovered one of my chicken gasping for air a few weeks ago. At first I suspected it was a respiratory problem. I isolated her and first off noticed her crop was hard. I then suspected an impacted crop. She's been on a diet of wet pets and I've been giving her lots of grit with the occasional soft foods and veggies. I also suspected gapeworm and have given her a few doses which she seems to have been responding better with. It seems so worsen with activity. I've have felt a lump in her throat over the past few weeks and have been trying to massage it which seems to help, but the lump seems to move and now feel like it's more at the top of her throat by her waddles. She has no other symptoms and is acting fine besides the occasional hiccup. Her crop is back to normal but I tried letting her roam a bit today and noticed she was immediately breathing heavy again even though I haven't heard any wheezing the past two days or so. What does this sound like to you guys? And if it's gapeworm, how long does it typically take to recover, and how much does he can I give her and how often? The lump is a lot smaller now, so I suspect it's gapeworm. The dewormer is all natural ingredients so I would imagine it would take a lot to give her too much? I also tried putting VetRX on her comb and wattles to help with her breathing but it didn't seem to do much.

 

[nuthatched]

What's her diet? Does pet mean pellets? If so, what kind?
Unfortunately, natural dewormers won't work, if you really believe you have a gapeworm issue, you need a real wormer such as fenbendazole.
Most natural wormers are snake oil or rarely low dose poisonous plants, so quite the opposite, too much can kill.

 

[Arielle777]

Yes, meant to say pellets. Good to know about the dewormer, thanks! At first I thought it might be just something obstructing her throat because we have a lot of pine needles in the yard and straw in the barn. Her poop looks healthy, so I'm not sure how to tell for sure if it's gapeworm. Thank you for your reply!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I discovered one of my chicken gasping for air a few weeks ago. At first I suspected it was a respiratory problem. I isolated her and first off noticed her crop was hard. I then suspected an impacted crop. She's been on a diet of wet pets and I've been giving her lots of grit with the occasional soft foods and veggies. I also suspected gapeworm and have given her a few doses which she seems to have been responding better with. It seems so worsen with activity. I've have felt a lump in her throat over the past few weeks and have been trying to massage it which seems to help, but the lump seems to move and now feel like it's more at the top of her throat by her waddles.

The lump is a lot smaller now, so I suspect it's gapeworm. The dewormer is all natural ingredients so I would imagine it would take a lot to give her too much?

Can you get a video of her actions/breathing?

Upload video to youtube and provide a link.

Does she have any lesions or Canker inside the beak?

Her crop is emptying overnight?

How old is she, does she lay eggs?

I'd work on hydration and see that her crop is emptying. Feel of her abdomen below the vent between her legs, is there any bloat or feeling of fluid?

If you do suspect Gapeworm, treat with Safeguard Liquid Goat dewormer at a rate of 0.25ml per pound of weight give orally once daily for 5 days in a row. Gapeworm is fairly rare, so you could still be dealing with something else.

 

[Arielle777]

This is a video of her today. The wheezing is off and on and way better then a few weeks ago, but a weird pattern of clucking. She's only about a year old and still laying of course. Her mouth looks healthy from what I can tell but can't open her beak enough to try to see any gapeworm. Thanks for taking the time to reply, much appreciated. Follow up question, how long do you recommend leaving her in a cage in the coop before reintroducing her to the flock again once she's better?

 

[Arielle777]

Can you get a video of her actions/breathing?

Upload video to youtube and provide a link.

Does she have any lesions or Canker inside the beak?

Her crop is emptying overnight?

How old is she, does she lay eggs?

I'd work on hydration and see that her crop is emptying. Feel of her abdomen below the vent between her legs, is there any bloat or feeling of fluid?

If you do suspect Gapeworm, treat with Safeguard Liquid Goat dewormer at a rate of 0.25ml per pound of weight give orally once daily for 5 days in a row. Gapeworm is fairly rare, so you could still be dealing with something else.

Here is a second video. Her crop seems to be emptying fine from what I can tell but now that you mention it I know she's pooping but the smell went from a normal chicken poop smell (those who have chicken know the smell) to more of like a strong urine smell the past week, not sure if it's correlated but I thought it was weird. Never smelled that from chicken droppings.

 

[Eggcessive]

You cannot see gapeworm without cutting ope the trachea after death. It is very rare. Chickens with gapeworm can hardly breathe and struggle for air, and are unable to eat and drink. SafeGuard liquid goat wormer given at the dosage given above for 5 days is the treatment for gapeworm and other chicken worms, except tapeworms. She may have had a respiratory issue, but doesn’t sound bad now. Cannyou check her crop first thing in the morning to see if it is empty and flat before she eats or drinks? Urine smell from droppings is the kidney waste (white urates.) I would begin to put her back with the others. Watch for pecking though and stay around in case they bully her. I usually leave my sick chickens with the flock for comfort. Here is a link with pictures of what gapeworms look like inside the trachea during a necropsy:
https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/2112e/

 

[Arielle777]

Yeah I tried letting her in the backyard yesterday thinking she was over it and the other chickens immediately starting ganging up on her and just after walking around for about 20 minutes seemed exerted and gasping more. I've been reading other things that say to re integrate them in a cage frost in the coop, but the to be in the barn all day gets hot so I'm wary of doing that

 

[Wyorp Rock]

This is a video of her today. The wheezing is off and on and way better then a few weeks ago, but a weird pattern of clucking. She's only about a year old and still laying of course. Her mouth looks healthy from what I can tell but can't open her beak enough to try to see any gapeworm. Thanks for taking the time to reply, much appreciated. Follow up question, how long do you recommend leaving her in a cage in the coop before reintroducing her to the flock again once she's better?

I'd re-check her crop first thing to make sure it's emptying.

Treat her for worms and check her over for lice/mites.

You didn't mention when her last egg was and if she has any bloat/fluid in the abdomen...

She may benefit from an antibiotic like Tylosin IF deworming doesn't help.

She may have some reproductive issues going on, it can be hard to know.
If the flock is picking on her, that's a hard one to deal with. I normally leave my birds with their flock, but if they are bullying her, you may need to provide another space sectioned off within the coop/run so she's not so isolated in the cage, can move about some and find some shade, etc. In hot weather being caged is not ideal.

How old is she, does she lay eggs?

I'd work on hydration and see that her crop is emptying. Feel of her abdomen below the vent between her legs, is there any bloat or feeling of fluid?

If you do suspect Gapeworm, treat with Safeguard Liquid Goat dewormer at a rate of 0.25ml per pound of weight give orally once daily for 5 days in a row. Gapeworm is fairly rare, so you could still be dealing with something else.