Gape worm - Safeguard not working - suggestions?

[dawg53]

I didn't know that chickens require a higher dosage than goats. What I have been doing is adding the safeguard for goats to their water for 3 days, waiting 10 days and repeating. This isn't for treatment of problems, I just worm them this way 2 x a year hoping to prevent problems. If the chicken has gape worms, you will be able to see them if you look. I don't think giving safeguard in any form for just one day would be effective. Am I wrong?

You'll be able to see gapes if you cut the chickens windpipe open. One dosing of any wormer against gapes is useless, might as well cull the birds.

 

[cbenson6820]

When you worm dogs with safeguard, that is when you do it for 3 days in a row.

I'm sure ivermectin injectable would knock them dead and valbazen would probably work too.

 

[CumberlandView]

casportpony: Thank you so much. Now I understand the dosage. Noticed you have a heeler and ponies. I'm looking at a heeler but wondering if he/she would try to run my horses. Is yours good with your chickens?

dawg53: Your point seems to be the crux of my problem - I didn't dose multiple times within a small enough window. This is new to me so I'm learning. A previous worming thread on BYC didn't make that particular point clear. Thank you.

The good news is my hen is hanging on and surviving my newbie worming mistakes. She eats and drinks so clearly isn't at death's door. As long as she's willing to fight, I will hang in there too. I've had chickens for 10 years and this is my first issue with worms of any kind.

Even stranger to me is that none of the rest of the flock has gape worms.

 

[dawg53]

I doubt it gapes anyway, they're rare in chickens. Also she wouldnt be eating/drinking. She may have something stuck in her crop. Try giving her an eyedropperful of olive oil orally, massage down her throat to her crop. She'll either pass or puke whatever is stuck, if that's what it is.

 

[CumberlandView]

I've wondered myself if it is gapes or not. I've wracked my brain but her symptoms seem to be gape worms. At one point, I thought she was totally cured and within a week she was gasping again. I put Corid in their water, just in case but none of the other birds are sick, have gapes or whatever the heck this is.

Two summers ago I lost an entire flock of newly hatched Guinea fowl exhibiting this same behavior. Solumet didn't save them although that's what the vet told me to use. I have to wonder now if it might have also been gape worms but the vet never mentioned the possibility.

Thank you for your suggestion. Olive oil is easy and innocuous.

 

[mama23]

For chickens, Safeguard is effective when given at the rate of 50mg ( .5cc) per kilogram by mouth, but you have to repeat in ten days.

Hi Kathy, I plan to purchase Safeguard (100mg/mL) for treatment of gapeworms. Would you give this dosage (1cc)daily for 3-5 days for gapeworm? My hens are 4 1/2 lbs. I've found varying info of treatment/retreatment of gapes and I want to treat this effectively. My vet found some in a stool sample I submitted yesterday.

Just need to know if that is adequate treatment for gapes in particular and how many days in a row I do this, as well as if I need to retreat.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would give them 1.25 or 1 1/4 ml orally for 5 straight days. It is good that you got a fecal test to confirm them.

 

[mama23]

I would give them 1.25 or 1 1/4 ml orally for 5 straight days. It is good that you got a fecal test to confirm them.

Thank you! I just treated her yesterday with ponazuril for coccidia. Would waiting until Thursday to treat be enough of a break for her liver? I think she's around 3 years old.

 

[Eggcessive]

How many days are you giving the ponazuril? I think it is similar to toltrazuril for coccidia, but I am not aware of how it works or if they are hard on the liver. When there are symptoms of gapeworm, that it pretty serious, and I would be tempted to treat it soon. You may need to check with a vet about whether to use both. @casportpony may have an opinion.

 

[casportpony]

How many days are you giving the ponazuril? I think it is similar to toltrazuril for coccidia, but I am not aware of how it works or if they are hard on the liver. When there are symptoms of gapeworm, that it pretty serious, and I would be tempted to treat it soon. You may need to check with a vet about whether to use both. @casportpony may have an opinion.

I know nothing about ponazuril, but I do use toltrazuril and Safeguard at the same time.