Gape worm - Safeguard not working - suggestions?

[mama23]

Gapeworms are one of the more rare ones in chickens. Most of us don’t ever see them. Here is a little information about them:
http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/merial/Strongls/strong_4.htm

Thank you that's exactly what I needed to know. I think that's the case with my two hens. They are my original "ground zero" and I think the new girls picked this up here. I've only had them three weeks and this just started. I know where they came from and they didn't have this. Should I treat my two asymptomatic girls if they appear fine? Over the last year they occasionally will sound raspy like losing their voice but otherwise nothing. That happens for one day only and has occurred maybe three times in one year. The 4 new girls are kept separate and I am cautious about shoe wear in their area to not track anything(its likely in the soil and my girls are used to it and they aren't). One of my two hens has a history of fatty liver and I almost lost her in September. I'm afraid to use chemicals on her. That's why I'm hesitant to mess with them if they seem fine. What are your thoughts?

 

[dawg53]

Is it possible for some birds to be immune to gapeworm or at least be able to keep it at bay? I'm completely new to this worm.

No chicken is immune to worms. Neither are dogs, cats, including humans. ONE female worm lays thousands of eggs a day and are excreted in feces onto the soil. Chickens always peck the ground, in doing so, they pick up worm eggs and they are swallowed.
The gapeworm is a type of roundworm. You need to take a look at the roundworms lifecycle in order to understand how they survive.

 

[mama23]

Today the others are showing symptoms with continuous yawning so I'm glad I decided to treat them this morning. How long does safeguard take to work? The girl I treated yesterday (the first one to show symptoms) is still chirping/coughing a lot after two doses. She's still eating normally but holds her eyes closed with head in the air a lot. She only started with it yesterday so it hopefully hasn't gotten out of control yet.

 

[casportpony]

How long does safeguard take to work? The girl I treated yesterday (the first one to show symptoms) is still chirping/coughing a lot after two doses.

The one I treated was better in 3 days.

 

[FluffTheDuck]

I deworm my chickens with cantaloupes. It works! My chickens have never had worms!

 

[FluffTheDuck]

Oh, it's gape worm! I thought you were talking about poop worms.. Sorry

 

[mama23]

The one I treated was better in 3 days.

She's chirping/sneezing every few seconds now. Almost nonstop. It seems she is worse.

 

[casportpony]

She's chirping/sneezing every few seconds now. Almost nonstop. It seems she is worse.

Is she still eating and drinking?

 

[mama23]

Is she still eating and drinking?

Yes she has not lost her appetite yet. I have been reading through old posts on here and saw this starts with a regular sneeze. She was sneezing a few days back so maybe she's more like on day 4/5 of this. She has had sludge poop for about a week now. Solid but not formed. This has improved some but not all the way gone yet.

 

[dawg53]

I deworm my chickens with cantaloupes. It works! My chickens have never had worms!

None that you can see, right?