Gagging Chicken, then Death...Any Thoughts?

[BarredBabe]

Hoping for some feedback from anyone with any experience with a gagging chicken... My littlest pullet, Xena, suddenly passed away today with very little warning. We're so devastated.

She was sneezing a bit yesterday, but nothing really out of the ordinary, but when I came out to check on them this afternoon, I noticed she was stretching her neck out and opening her mouth very wide every 10 seconds or so. I couldn't see anything in her mouth, didn't feel anything in the throat, and the crop was completely empty. However, I noticed that she felt disturbingly light when I picked her up. I brought her inside and tried to give her some dry crumble and water w/ electrolytes, but left the room for an hour, and came back to find her dead.

What could this be? I'm terrified it's a bug that's been passed to my other birds, but they all seemed fine as of bedtime. The only think I've been doing differently lately is experimenting with some fermented feed (water, grower crumble, and ACV), as they don't seem to be growing much. Could that have somehow done something to her? I have one other hen currently in "hospital" for what I think is a bad cold, but there's none of the overt gagging that I saw in the dead bird today.

Any help or advice would be so appreciated; this is my first flock, and I feel horrible that I might not have seen something in time or accidentally did something to cause Xena's demise...

 

[Annasg]

I had a hen that was doing the same. My Farmers Co-Op suggested DI-METHOX. My bird is doing fine now

 

[Sophia5]

I'm sorry about your chicken!

But could possibly be gape worm?

Symptoms are:
Gasping, wheezing, loss of appetite, weakness, emaciation and grunting due to difficulty breathing.

Although I hope it isn't.

 

[BantamLover21]

I'm sorry about your chicken!

But could possibly be gape worm?

Symptoms are:
Gasping, wheezing, loss of appetite, weakness, emaciation and grunting due to difficulty breathing.

Although I hope it isn't.

Sounds like it certainly could be gapeworm. I would worm all of your other chickens with a wormer that kills gapeworms. Choices include Valbazen, Safeguard, or (the one I use), the Worminator. You can find the Worminator here: http://www.twincitypoultrysupplies.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=584 The dosage for the Worminator is 2 drops for large fowl administered orally. Its egg withdrawal period is only 24-48 hours, and it kills all worms except tapeworms.

 

[BarredBabe]

Thanks, everyone for your input! UPDATE:

I suspect it was gapeworm for several reasons at this point. I came out to clean the coop this morning and found a poop with what appeared to be two long white worms in it (odd, considering gapeworms are reddish). No idea if that's a gapeworm, roundworm, or other, but everyone's getting wormed now for sure. This may even be the explanation as to why I have a bunch of 5-6 month old hens, and not a single egg as of yet.

However, this leads to a new question...if everyone is supposed to be wormed on the reg, like the directions say, how does anyone ever get to eat any chickens or eggs? The directions in the Wazine I bought says it needs to be repeated every 3 days, and since there's a 30 day withdrawal period, what's the point?

 

[cafarmgirl]

Thanks, everyone for your input! UPDATE:

I suspect it was gapeworm for several reasons at this point. I came out to clean the coop this morning and found a poop with what appeared to be two long white worms in it (odd, considering gapeworms are reddish). No idea if that's a gapeworm, roundworm, or other, but everyone's getting wormed now for sure. This may even be the explanation as to why I have a bunch of 5-6 month old hens, and not a single egg as of yet.

However, this leads to a new question...if everyone is supposed to be wormed on the reg, like the directions say, how does anyone ever get to eat any chickens or eggs? The directions in the Wazine I bought says it needs to be repeated every 3 days, and since there's a 30 day withdrawal period, what's the point?

I would use something other then Wazine, it's only going to get rid of round worms and there's a whole lot more chickens are going to pick up. If your going to have to dispose of eggs anyway you might as well use something effective, like Valbazen or Safeguard.

It's a good idea to deworm on a regular schedule. I deworm twice a year, once in the summer and again in Dec. Deworm the whole flock and repeat the dose in 10 days. Egg's should be discarded for 10 days after the last dose. So yes, you will loose some eggs during those times but it's well worth it to keep your birds healthy and keep parasite loads under control. I don't know about you but I personally do not want to be eating eggs from worm infested birds anyway! It's rare but there are cases where worms have shown up in the eggs.

 

[BarredBabe]

yeah, i think you are right...im heading to the store now to return the wazine (apologize for the typing, doing this via phone) im thinking of getting the Panacur paste, but all theyve got at TSC is the equine stuff, and i have no idea of the dosage...id also think about the ivermectin, but as i onlyhave six hens, dont know if i should get the drop on liquid, the waterbased stuff, or injectable, and the dosage for all those...any thoughts?

 

[BantamLover21]

Thanks, everyone for your input! UPDATE:

I suspect it was gapeworm for several reasons at this point. I came out to clean the coop this morning and found a poop with what appeared to be two long white worms in it (odd, considering gapeworms are reddish). No idea if that's a gapeworm, roundworm, or other, but everyone's getting wormed now for sure. This may even be the explanation as to why I have a bunch of 5-6 month old hens, and not a single egg as of yet.

However, this leads to a new question...if everyone is supposed to be wormed on the reg, like the directions say, how does anyone ever get to eat any chickens or eggs? The directions in the Wazine I bought says it needs to be repeated every 3 days, and since there's a 30 day withdrawal period, what's the point?

I wouldn't use Wazine. It only kills roundworms, not gapeworms, cecal worms, tapeworms, or any other type of worm that chickens can get. And, as you mentioned, the withdrawal period and necessary treatment times are ridiculous. If you saw worms in your chickens droppings, though, your birds definitely need to be wormed. If you can't find another wormer nearby, order one online. I don't think that regular intestinal worms caused your chicken's gagging and death, but worms are still a serious problem, and should be treated for anyway.