Gape worm?

[duck55]

Hi All,
I've got a nasty feeling our small flock of 12 chickens has succumbed to a gape worm infestation. At least 4 of them are showing symptoms and one has died. I have Flubenvet Pellets. Are these OK to use on 7 week old chickens? Their ages range from 7 week up to 22 weeks.

 

[Isaac 0]

Sorry for your loss.

Are you aware Gapeworm is quite rare in chickens? You can deworm for it, but that's more time spent treating the wrong thing, while the main problem advances and gets worse. A respiratory disease would be more common.

Could you post a video of the chickens? To post a video you'll need to upload it to a video platform like Youtube or Vimeo, then copy/paste the link here. How long have they been doing this? What's the temperature in they're pen? Are they eating or drinking, producing poops? Are they exhibiting any other symptoms, such as sneezing, eye or nasal discharge, are they're any lesions or plaque deposits in their mouth? You are located in the UK I'm assuming?

I have no advice regarding the Flubenvet question, all I can say, is given their condition administering something orally instead of via feed would be better since it's unlikely they will eat all the feed. The dosing info, should be on the bag.

 

[duck55]

Sorry for your loss.

Are you aware Gapeworm is quite rare in chickens? You can deworm for it, but that's more time spent treating the wrong thing, while the main problem advances and gets worse. A respiratory disease would be more common.

Could you post a video of the chickens? To post a video you'll need to upload it to a video platform like Youtube or Vimeo, then copy/paste the link here. How long have they been doing this? What's the temperature in they're pen? Are they eating or drinking, producing poops? Are they exhibiting any other symptoms, such as sneezing, eye or nasal discharge, are they're any lesions or plaque deposits in their mouth? You are located in the UK I'm assuming?

I have no advice regarding the Flubenvet question, all I can say, is given their condition administering something orally instead of via feed would be better since it's unlikely they will eat all the feed. The dosing info, should be on the bag.

Hi,
Thanks for the reply. Yes based in the UK. I'll try to get videos. At the moment they are eating, drinking and pooping OK. There is one the seems to "yawn" on a regular basis and a couple that sound wheezy and are coughing/sneezing every now and then. There is also some head shaking intermittently with the birds concerned. It's been going on for about a week now. No discharge or anything I can see in their mouths. Temperature was around 24 degrees C / 75 degrees F. Hopefully we are just over reacting, but somethings going on.

 

[dawg53]

It's not gapeworm if they're eating and drinking. You're dealing with respiratory disease. The head shaking is due to the bird trying to loosen mucus in the trachea in order to breathe properly.

 

[Isaac 0]

I would agree with Dawg, that it's most likely a respiratory disease.

Maybe someone else will come along, but I'm unfamiliar with what kind of respiratory disease are most prevent in the UK, and what are the antibiotics of choice there. What might be best, is if you contact once of your diagnostic veterinary labs their, so you can send some swabs in, and see exactly what respiratory disease you're dealing with so you can better choose an antibotic tailored to that disease.

 

[duck55]

Thanks for the replies. I'll do some digging regarding the antibiotics available here. Do any of you guys give a regular "tonic" for prevention?

 

[dawg53]

Personally, I dont give antibiotics for prevention, except worming my birds with a wormer. If my birds were to get a confirmed case of a respiratory disease, I would cull them in a heartbeat. Why? They would be carriers for life and anytime they are stressed, symptoms reoccur. They will also spread the disease to newly acquired birds. Once antibiotics are started, they will eventually become ineffective and another more powerful antibiotic would be needed. It's due to bacterial resistance over time. If it's a virus, antibiotics are ineffective.
Then there are withdrawal periods for antibiotics, not to mention that sick birds rarely lay eggs.
You can close your flock if you wish. No new birds in, no birds out. No selling or giving away eggs to be hatched. Some respiratory diseases are passed through eggs.
It would be best to get a necropsy performed on your sickest chicken and then you'll know for sure what you're dealing with. Then you can decide what proper antibiotic to use or cull.

 

[duck55]

Personally, I dont give antibiotics for prevention, except worming my birds with a wormer. If my birds were to get a confirmed case of a respiratory disease, I would cull them in a heartbeat. Why? They would be carriers for life and anytime they are stressed, symptoms reoccur. They will also spread the disease to newly acquired birds. Once antibiotics are started, they will eventually become ineffective and another more powerful antibiotic would be needed. It's due to bacterial resistance over time. If it's a virus, antibiotics are ineffective.
Then there are withdrawal periods for antibiotics, not to mention that sick birds rarely lay eggs.
You can close your flock if you wish. No new birds in, no birds out. No selling or giving away eggs to be hatched. Some respiratory diseases are passed through eggs.
It would be best to get a necropsy performed on your sickest chicken and then you'll know for sure what you're dealing with. Then you can decide what proper antibiotic to use or cull.

Hi,

Thanks for replying. By tonic, I meant vitamins, apple cider,minerals etc. Doesn't sound too good for my flock. I think we will keep them closed off and we don't intend to sell or breed from them.