Gapeworm symptoms and treatment?

[007Sean]

It's true that gapeworms are rare in chickens. There are more common worms that I'd worry about rather than gapeworms. Large roundworms and capillary worms are killers.
Respiratory disease symptoms are often mistaken for gapeworm symptoms. Respiratory diseases in poultry are very common. Remember biosecurity to protect your flock.

X2 on BIOSECURITY

 

[nerfworthy]

X2 on BIOSECURITY

I feel ignorant for asking, but what do you mean by biosecurity?

 

[Kiki]

I feel ignorant for asking, but what do you mean by biosecurity?

When you to a place outside of your yard be sure to change your clothes, wash your hands, change shoes...before you go back into your chicken area.
When you go to a feed store or other places other chicken owners frequent you can easily pick up a chicken disease and bring it home with you.

http://animalsciencey.ucdavis.edu/avian/pfs26.htm

eta:
http://extension.uga.edu/publicatio...&title=Biosecurity Basics for Poultry Growers

 

[Chickenbrainiac]

Gapeworm Symptoms in chicken: Gasping (gaping), yawning, gurgling / respiratory distress, head shaking, loss of appetite, and eventually coughing and choking.

Treatment: Flubenvet 1% 60g is licensed for treating gapeworm. For heavy infestations (high epg or ‘eggs per gram of faeces’ determined by laboratory worm count) usually on heavily used ground or with high stocking density, it is usually necessary to worm again a little before the prepatent period (the time it takes from being laid as a worm egg to being a mature worm of egg laying age) to reduce high infection levels. Rotating the pasture really helps to break this cycle.

 

[Eggcessive]

Flubenvet or flubendazole is a product that is available in the UK, but not in the US. Albendazole (Valbazen) or fendbendazole (SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer) are used more commonly here in the US to treat it over several days. I have never seen a case of gapeworms, but from the videos I have seen, the chicken struggles to breathe. A fecal test by a vet could diagnose it.