Gapeworm

Gapeworm is rare, but if you give the Safegard 1/4 ml orally for 5 straight days, then that is how it is treated. More often gaping is due to being overheated, a respiratory disease, or a crop blockage. Chickens with gapeworm usually cannot eat or drink due to struggling to breathe. If you see any eye watering or nasal drainage, sneezing, or other symptoms, then it could be a bacterial, viral, or fungal infection instead of gapeworm. Capillary worms which are also treated by the SafeGard, can cause breathing problems.

 

My friend had a hen die a few years ago from gapeworm. She came from some big shot breeder in Minnesota and was ill from the time she arrived.

My friend decided she had a cold- and kept treating her with AlkaSeltzer cold relief until some time later when she found the hen dead with worms coming out of her mouth. What a horrible thing.

She always treated her birds with some concoction rather than take to the vet. Consequently I don't try to talk to her often. Her attitude makes my blood boil. I should mention she only has 3 house chickens not a big flock and she spends heavily cooking human foods for them instead of any nutritional layer product. Money that could be spent on a vet instead.

 

As said Gapeworm is rare...

And also as said similar 'gaping' symptoms are quite common in viral and bacterial respiratory diseases and they are by far more common...

A proper diagnosis done by a vet experienced with poultry is the best course of action vs tossing darts at a wall...

 

There are few 'legal' antibiotic approved for chickens that are used for human egg production in the US... But, IMO don't let that deter you from using 'unapproved' antibiotics just observe a period where you toss all the eggs, generally 2 weeks to 4 weeks after the last treatment...

With that said most farm supply stores will sell Tylan 50 for goats and other animals, in most states you can get animal syringes without a hassle and in many other states you can even buy insulin syringes at the local pharmacy for insulin injections, just asked and the pharmacist and he/she should hook you up with some, don't be shy or nervous to asked, if they give you a funny look or ask if you are diabetic just explain you need them to give your chickens antibiotics... They should only be a few bucks for a bag...

That said giving shots can be intimidating but it's not really that hard, there are several tutorials online that give step by step, probably some videos as well... I inject into the breast at about a 45° angle so the needle is only about 1/4" deep and inject slowly, alternating each side with each injection... Some people prefer to give it orally using a blunt syringe and squirting it down the throat, personally I find giving a shot easier and more precise...

Dosage of Tylan 50 for standard breed chickens is 1/2cc aka 1/2ml orally or injected once a day for 5 days... If you are using a 1ml insulin syringe like those sold for insulin at Walgreens, Walmart and CVS pharmacies it should be marked 1ml on the side and have a 0-100 'units' scale or a 0-40 'units' scale on the side, fill it half way to either the 50 unit or 20 unit mark respectably depending on the syringe... If you are in doubt post a picture and ask as the syringe markings do vary...

Be aware there is also Tylan 200, if you use that the dosage is 1/4 as much or about 0.125cc for standard chickens, since it's much harder to measure in those small amounts most people use Tylan 50 and it's generally easier to find...

There are of course powdered antibiotics you can mix with water, and made for poultry but dosage is to be blunt incredibly hit or miss when mixing with water, if the bird is not eating and drinking normally they likely won't be getting a decent dosage of medication either from the water... This is why I like injecting, it's guaranteed that they get the entire dosage...

 

I live in Houston, TX where it recently topped 100 degrees. Around 90 mine started "gaping". I thought it was worms, treated them twice, and just realized that they were probably just hot. I added several new dust baths, extra shade, and more roaming options and they're fine now.

 

you can usually tell for sure if a chicken has gapeworm by sweeping a Q-tip down their throat.
if it comes back with red stringy worms, it's time to treat the flock with Flubenvet