Gapeworm or Respiratory? Please Help!

[Rachnicko]

I have a sick booted bantam hen. She is 2 years old. she free ranges in the garden with the other 6 chickens we have.

Yesterday I noticed that she sounded funny, as if she had something stuck in her throat. Her “voice” was more high pitched than normal. She also sounded like she was trying to crow or clear her throat a couple of times. I checked her out and she seemed to have a lump under her beak between her wattles, but I couldn’t see anything in her throat.

Today, she woke up with her crop still full. She was acting quite lethargic for a couple of hours so I had her indoors. Her poops were quite sloppy but small.
Then she wanted to lay so became more active. She laid her egg then went back to quite lethargic, and she had a few occasions where she seemed to try to cough/sneeze.

I have taken her to the vets this morning, but they weren’t much help. They said whatever it is seems localised in her throat, and gave me some Loxicom as an anti inflammatory and pain relief. They suggested possible gapeworm, for which I have Flubenvet.

Since getting her home, she has got worse. She is now doing the gaping / trying to crow thing quite regularly (every few minutes). She has coughed up some bloody mucus from doing this too.

She is indoors and isolated and I have given her some homemade electrolytes water, some of the Loxicom, and some Flubenvet mixed with olive oil.

I have no idea if I should mix Flubenvet with oil but seemed the quickest way to get it into her, as she is quite listless at the moment and won’t eat

I am in the UK, and we have been having a couple of nice spring days weather, about 15degrees.

Any thoughts or help?!

 

[Rachnicko]

Here is some of the “bloody mucus” she had coughed up - could this be gapeworm? Or her internal lining?

 

[ChicNmom]

I haven't experienced gapeworm and from what I hear it isn't that common at least not in the US.

I would put on some gloves and get a magnifying glass to see if that is an actual worm or bloody mucus. It also sounds like she has a crop issue that could also be causing her some trouble. I would try to massage that through and get the crop working.

Did the vet look in her throat or do an x-ray? I am wondering if she has something lodged inside since it came on suddenly.

 

[Rachnicko]

Thanks for your reply.

Those “worms” are already down the toilet but I’m keeping a close eye on her, so if there’s any more, I’ll try and identify. I did move them around in the tissue and they stayed kind of ‘worm like’ but I couldn’t see a Y shape as there apparently is with gape worm.

The crop feels better, but she hasn’t eaten anything today, so it could just be moving slowly. It was full this morning but not hard. Just normal firm full crop feeling. Seems to be moving anyway.

She did a more normal poop on the way back from the vet, but nothing for a couple of hours.

I really don’t know what the vet looked at. We are not allowed in, due to Covid, so just the pets get collected from the car. They didn’t x ray (as she wasn’t gone long, and I am sure they would have charged me extra). They are more of a cat/dog vet though, as it is bank holiday weekend and no farm vets were open.

Any idea if the Flubenvet is ok mixed with oil?
She is still just stood, and then does the gaping/crowing every so often.
I am trying to get her to drink, but she doesn’t even want to do that now

 

[Rachnicko]

From what I have read though, gapeworm can be associated with wild pheasants, and we do get them visiting the area occasionally.