Gapeworm dosage not high enough?

[thatgirlmaude]

I have a buff Orpington hen that weighs about 4 lbs, a few days ago I took her to the vet because she was gaping, breathing a bit hard and also had a limp. The vet checked her stool and said the gaping was from gapeworm, the limp was unrelated. He gave her an antibiotic shot for the limp and sent me home with fenbendazole (0.5mL for 3 days) and told me to treat my whole flock for gapeworm. She was eating and drinking like normal and it wasn’t hard to give her the medicine, but the 3 days is up, she’s still gaping and isn’t eating very much now. After reading through the threads it seems like she wasn’t on a high enough dosage for her weight? Should I up the dosage and proceed or is that too long to give her the fenbendazole? Should I try ivermectin or is there a time frame I have to wait before using another medication? The vet isn’t in on the weekend and that’s the only avian vet we have here. Any help is appreciated!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How much does she weigh?

This is the dose for treating Gapeworms. https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ochin-bantam-laying-hen.1414056/post-23222717

Personally, I would treat like she had more than just Gapeworm and dose her .23ml per pound of weight give orally once a day for 5 days.

I would also make sure her crop is emptying overnight and if it's not, then start treating for crop issues as well.

 

[Kiki]

Can you take a short video of her and upload it to YouTube?

 

[thatgirlmaude]

How much does she weigh?

This is the dose for treating Gapeworms. https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ochin-bantam-laying-hen.1414056/post-23222717

Personally, I would treat like she had more than just Gapeworm and dose her .23ml per pound of weight give orally once a day for 5 days.

I would also make sure her crop is emptying overnight and if it's not, then start treating for crop issues as well.

The vet said she weighed just over 4 lbs, but we can always weigh her again.

Is there a limit on how many days consecutively I can give her safeguard? She’s already had a lower dose (0.5mL) for 3 days.

We checked her crop last night and again this morning, it felt empty.

 

[thatgirlmaude]

Can you take a short video of her and upload it to YouTube?

I had my boyfriend take a video and post it, she’s not making any rattling noises or anything, just the gaping, but it’s not constant and seems to be worse when she lays down.

 

[Kiki]

I had my boyfriend take a video and post it, she’s not making any rattling noises or anything, just the gaping, but it’s not constant and seems to be worse when she lays down.

Can you make her try to walk? Pictures of her legs too please.

 

[Kiki]

The vet said she weighed just over 4 lbs, but we can always weigh her again.

Is there a limit on how many days consecutively I can give her safeguard? She’s already had a lower dose (0.5mL) for 3 days.

We checked her crop last night and again this morning, it felt empty.

If you don't use enough of the warming medication then it's pointless... It's like you're not even using it at all.

If you're using safeguard you must use 0.23 ml per pound.

 

[Kiki]

But....again I don't believe you are dealing with gapeworm.

When was the last time you brought any bird home?
Have you lost any birds in the last few months?

 

[Eggcessive]

I would increase the dosage to 1 ml and give it for 5 full days, in addition to what has already been done. I agree that she doesn’t look like she has gapeworm. Birds with that gasp severely, non-stop and cannot eat or drink.

 

[thatgirlmaude]

But....again I don't believe you are dealing with gapeworm.

When was the last time you brought any bird home?
Have you lost any birds in the last few months?

The vet put her stool sample (fresh in the office, because birds have zero shame) under a microscope and said it was gapeworm. We lost one of our other hens right before we took this hen to the vet. It’s been about 6 months since we brought a new bird home.