Gapeworm

[renk777]

Hi all, I have a pullet that was close to laying. Last week, we found her sister dead for no apparent reason. Looked as though she just fell over and died. The remaining sister was the larger of the 2 and has always looked healthy. But from when we got her back in late March, she's always had this sort of wheeze/rattle. Initially, I treated her for respiratory infection holistically and the sound decreased but every now and again, I'd hear it. And no one else caught it. So I considered gapeworm but aside from the noise, no other symptoms were there. I watched her closely throughout the months and couldnt figure out why she'd occasionally make a noise. I noticed one day that she gurgled after she drank. Having once owned a dog with a congenital defect, I chalked it up to that...that somehow, she had a deformity that made her a little gurgly after drinking. I just would have assumed a respiratory infection would have spread to others and/or intensified (prompting abx) or killed her months ago and gapeworm....from what I've read, it's a quick turnaround from when adults enter trachea and the rattling is present and the bird expires. As in days to weeks. Not months. But when her sister passed, she got really depressed and listless. And yesterday, I noticed her gaping. It was too late to run to the store because everything closes early due to covid so I found a recipe with honey and essential oil to combat the gapeworm (if it was that) and also give her some energy if it wasn't. I planned to run out to TSC this morning for tylan and panacur to address both possibilities but when I checked on her before leaving, she was pretty much dead :'( I brought her inside,and tried to get a little food and another mix others have used successfully into her but to no avail. She was on her way out. So i placed her downstairs in our empty brooder so that she'd be comfortable in the dark in a space she felt safe. She passed soon after I know you're not supposed to put meat in the compost but we did with her sister for sentimental reasons...one day, she'll return to the garden she loved scratching around in. I thought to do the same with Emma but then it dawned on me that if it was gapeworm, the eggs might stay alive in the soil. Definitely don't want that. Not even sure it is gapeworm though...as I tried looking down her throat and swabbed and saw nothing. Though there is lots of room for human error there... not sure I was doing it right. Anyone know how long gapeworm (in any stage) can survive in the soil? I can't just toss her body in the trash. Makes me sick to even consider it. Also, does anyone know of any other reason a bird might have these symptoms and be 'healthy' for months before a very rapid demise?

 

[Isaac 0]

Sorry for your loss.

Your best bet finding out why she may have passed, would be to her send her body to your state veterinary necropsy lab. Some states offer it for free, or for a minimal free.

For more information please read here.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-send-a-bird-for-a-necropsy-pictures.799747/

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf

 

[renk777]

Sorry for your loss.

Your best bet finding out why she may have passed, would be to her send her body to your state veterinary necropsy lab. Some states offer it for free, or for a minimal free.

For more information please read here.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-send-a-bird-for-a-necropsy-pictures.799747/

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf

I'll check it out. TY!

 

[humblehillsfarm]

First off, in my opinion holistic treatment of respiratory infections are at best good for prevention, not treatment. You should try antibiotics. I am fortunate to have a poultry vet, so I source my antibiotics from him. If you don't have that option, I'd do some digging on OTC antibiotics for respiratory infections, bearing in mind that not all respiratory issues are bacterial. Many, if not most, are viral. The only way to know is if the antibiotics work. Second, you can't go wrong with deworming your flock. There are no adverse side affects typically, and that can help rule out gapeworm. So if deworming and antibiotics have no effect, then you have a viral infection.

https://the-chicken-chick.com/control-treatment-of-worms-in-chickens/ <-- info for deworming

 

[Isaac 0]

First off, in my opinion holistic treatment of respiratory infections are at best good for prevention, not treatment. You should try antibiotics. I am fortunate to have a poultry vet, so I source my antibiotics from him. If you don't have that option, I'd do some digging on OTC antibiotics for respiratory infections, bearing in mind that not all respiratory issues are bacterial. Many, if not most, are viral. The only way to know is if the antibiotics work. Second, you can't go wrong with deworming your flock. There are no adverse side affects typically, and that can help rule out gapeworm. So if deworming and antibiotics have no effect, then you have a viral infection.

https://the-chicken-chick.com/control-treatment-of-worms-in-chickens/ <-- info for deworming

From what I have gathered, the OP doesn't have any birds left.

 

[renk777]

First off, in my opinion holistic treatment of respiratory infections are at best good for prevention, not treatment. You should try antibiotics. I am fortunate to have a poultry vet, so I source my antibiotics from him. If you don't have that option, I'd do some digging on OTC antibiotics for respiratory infections, bearing in mind that not all respiratory issues are bacterial. Many, if not most, are viral. The only way to know is if the antibiotics work. Second, you can't go wrong with deworming your flock. There are no adverse side affects typically, and that can help rule out gapeworm. So if deworming and antibiotics have no effect, then you have a viral infection.

https://the-chicken-chick.com/control-treatment-of-worms-in-chickens/ <-- info for deworming

I both agree and disagree. I think it depends on the overall health of an animal. Years ago, I treated our flock foe coccidiosis holistically while I waited 2 days for Amazon Prime to deliver Corid. In the end, I never needed the Corid. The holistic treatment worked. Back in Jan, I'm pretty certain my family had covid. It was before it was being reported as in the US. Text book symptoms including my 7 yr old collapsing and red, itchy toes. We had the fever, the night sweats, the migraines, the digestive issues, the exhaustion, and the incessant cough. Dr ruled out strep and flu..said we just had some random virus. He knew better than to prescribe anything with me but left the door open as he always does that if and when I was ready, to call. We treated holistically and were each over whatever it was within a week. Yeah, it sucked while we had it but we're not a statistic either so there is that. When I initially treated the pullet holistically, i was prepared to go the route of Abx if she didnt improve. I always tell people there's a time and place for everything ..including meds. I just always prefer holistic first as we've found that in most cases, they work and we don't need the meds and their side effects. But I do resort to meds when it appears more natural methods aren't working. The thing is, she seemed to improve with the holistic treatment and the noise was very occasional. When she drank, it seemed. Her eyes were clear and bright, she felt solid and heavy, her feathers were shiny and she had no discharge anywhere. Hindsight is always 20/20. Had TSC been open last night, she would have been medicated last night as I was ready to go the allopathic route. An occasional noise is one thing...gaping is another. I am in touch with the necropsy lab in NJ...waiting for a call back. I don't think I'm dealing with a respiratory infection but I do think some sort of worms could be the issue. But if I treat entire flock,I want to treat specifically for what they have and not just throw random wormers at them. We've had chickens for years now and aside for the coccidiosis the first Spring we adopted them (RAINED. EVERY. DAY. UGH), we just don't have illness. But we take preventative measures to boost health/immunity. I'm so sad and I hate not knowing what caused her to pass...and so fast

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I both agree and disagree. I think it depends on the overall health of an animal. Years ago, I treated our flock foe coccidiosis holistically while I waited 2 days for Amazon Prime to deliver Corid. In the end, I never needed the Corid. The holistic treatment worked. Back in Jan, I'm pretty certain my family had covid. It was before it was being reported as in the US. Text book symptoms including my 7 yr old collapsing and red, itchy toes. We had the fever, the night sweats, the migraines, the digestive issues, the exhaustion, and the incessant cough. Dr ruled out strep and flu..said we just had some random virus. He knew better than to prescribe anything with me but left the door open as he always does that if and when I was ready, to call. We treated holistically and were each over whatever it was within a week. Yeah, it sucked while we had it but we're not a statistic either so there is that. When I initially treated the pullet holistically, i was prepared to go the route of Abx if she didnt improve. I always tell people there's a time and place for everything ..including meds. I just always prefer holistic first as we've found that in most cases, they work and we don't need the meds and their side effects. But I do resort to meds when it appears more natural methods aren't working. The thing is, she seemed to improve with the holistic treatment and the noise was very occasional. When she drank, it seemed. Her eyes were clear and bright, she felt solid and heavy, her feathers were shiny and she had no discharge anywhere. Hindsight is always 20/20. Had TSC been open last night, she would have been medicated last night as I was ready to go the allopathic route. An occasional noise is one thing...gaping is another. I am in touch with the necropsy lab in NJ...waiting for a call back. I don't think I'm dealing with a respiratory infection but I do think some sort of worms could be the issue. But if I treat entire flock,I want to treat specifically for what they have and not just throw random wormers at them. We've had chickens for years now and aside for the coccidiosis the first Spring we adopted them (RAINED. EVERY. DAY. UGH), we just don't have illness. But we take preventative measures to boost health/immunity. I'm so sad and I hate not knowing what caused her to pass...and so fast

I feel like for people I agree with you on the holistic side of things, but since poultry can't tell us what is wrong, and so many issues with poultry our contagious within a flock, my personal stance is to nip it in the bud before there is a chance of spreading, by any means possible. I had a hen pass spontaneously too and I suspected gapeworm and treated then entire flock after her passing. That was within a month of even owning the chickens, first time chicken owner. I am so sorry something like that happened to yours. It's awful losing a good bird.

Edit: I missed reading that the second bird passed, too. I'm sorry my lack of oversight there.

 

[renk777]

From what I have gathered, the OP doesn't have any birds left.

I have 15 LF and 6 bantams. All healthy and showing no signs of illness throughout this bird's life of occasional noise...which was her only symptom. 5 of the LF are younger than these 2 were and I would think, vulnerable to parasites and infection due to young age and change in environment. No clue what happened to the sister as she was as healthy as the rest. Eating and scooting around fine the morning she passed. As for the noisy one, I was always examining her because I never had peace about the noise...it just didnt fit the bill for all the things it could be. And i don't like to treat just to treat. My dad had a pill for every symptom and he was so unhealthy It's odd too that it's the sisters. Sold to me as Bielefelders but they look nothing like Bielefelders...they look like Welsummers. But the seller doesn't have Welsummers at all and breeding pens are isolated and all bieles. She did get new Bielefelders in and I suspect perhaps my 2 were out of them because they didn't look quite right to me with regards to coloration . But they were young and i had never had Biele pullets before so I thought perhaps the crele pattern comes in with adult plumage. Regardless, I can't help but wonder if they are pure Bielefelder if somehow, the genetics that eliminated/hid the crele pattern, are somehow tied to some sort of weak or lethal gene. The rest of our birds are just too healthy and both an infection and gapeworm result in death fairly quickly if left untreated. We've had her for months without issue...

 

[renk777]

I feel like for people I agree with you on the holistic side of things, but since poultry can't tell us what is wrong, and so many issues with poultry our contagious within a flock, my personal stance is to nip it in the bud before there is a chance of spreading, by any means possible. I had a hen pass spontaneously too and I suspected gapeworm and treated then entire flock after her passing. That was within a month of even owning the chickens, first time chicken owner. I am so sorry something like that happened to yours. It's awful losing a good bird.

Edit: I missed reading that the second bird passed, too. I'm sorry my lack of oversight there.

I understand your perspective fully. Losing this bird is making me adjust my views a bit for that reason ❤