Gapeworm?

[Arielwisdom]

Hi Everyone! Could someone give me some advice on this illness?

My Brahma hen (approximately 2yo) has been gaping, out stretching her neck, lethargic, not eating much, clearing throat/coughing for MONTHS now.

I can only suspect Gapeworm but from research it seems it’s kinda rare. I really thought she would pass away on her own over the last few months and she didn’t. I was going to cull her but thought I’d give her a shot at curing her with Safeguard paste (started today).

I’m able to look in her throat when she gasps but I don’t see any worms. Her throat kinda seems swollen.

I had cases of Mereks in 2020 from a hatchery and she’s one of the few that survived it. This is NOT how the others passed from the disease though & I haven’t had any pass from the disease in more than a year.

No other birds are showing these symptoms so I don’t believe it’s contagious.

Do you suspect Gapeworm or something else?

I’ll try to attach a video on YouTube and then link it.

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you see any white or yellow material inside her beak or throat when she is gaping? Does she shake her head? Have you seen signs of a respiratory disease in your flock (sneezing, head shaking, nasal drainage, or rattly breathing?) Gapeworm is rare, but to treat for it, you should give the SafeGuard 0.25 ml (1/4 ml) per pound of weight for 5 straight days. Get a weight to know how much to give.

How does her crop feel—empty and flat, full, doughy, puffy soft or firm? What do you feed?

 

[Arielwisdom]

Can you see any white or yellow material inside her beak or throat when she is gaping? Does she shake her head? Have younseen signs of a respiratory disease in your flock (sneezing, head shaking, nasal drainage, or rattly breathing?) Gapeworm is rare, but to treat for it, you should give the SafeGuard 0.25 ml (1/4 ml) per pound of weight for 5 straight days. Get a weight to know how much to give.

How does her crop feel—empty and flat, full, doughy, puffy soft or firm? What do you feed?

Thank you for the response.

The answer is no to all those questions. She does cough or sneeze when she’s eating, like it’s difficult to swallow her food. But there’s no other symptoms of respiratory illness. No discharge or anything from her nose.

Her crop feels pretty empty. I feel All Flock from Orshleans. Right now she’s also getting Poultry Cell in her water.

 

[Eggcessive]

How does her comb color look to you? Make sure that she is drinking water.

 

[Arielwisdom]

How does her comb color look to you? Make sure that she is drinking water.

Normal-ish. It’s a dark red. Sometimes it looks almost purple like she isn’t getting enough air.

 

[metarachel]

I have a hen going through the same thing. I treated with Safeguard and there was some improvement a couple days in and then it went back to how it was. How did your hen fare?

 

[Arielwisdom]

The safeguard didn’t work. I decided to have my husband put her down one weekend before we left town. Came home and she was very much still alive. Whatever is wrong with her throat prevented a successful death for her so I thought maybe she’s meant to live. That was 4 months ago and she’s still alive. She still breaths the same. It’s pitiful. I honestly don’t know what to do because I thought surely she will pass away on her own but she hasn’t.

She still eats and drinks and runs around the yard but her comb is tinted purple from I suppose not enough oxygen. It’s like her windpipe is hardened or stretched. I dont know how to describe it.

 

[metarachel]

The safeguard didn’t work. I decided to have my husband put her down one weekend before we left town. Came home and she was very much still alive. Whatever is wrong with her throat prevented a successful death for her so I thought maybe she’s meant to live. That was 4 months ago and she’s still alive. She still breaths the same. It’s pitiful. I honestly don’t know what to do because I thought surely she will pass away on her own but she hasn’t.

She still eats and drinks and runs around the yard but her comb is tinted purple from I suppose not enough oxygen. It’s like her windpipe is hardened or stretched. I dont know how to describe it.

Someone on another thread had a similar problem and took her hen to the vet and it turned out she has some kind of congenital issue with her epiglottis that makes it floppy and can cause breathing difficulties. Someone else's hen had a heart defect that was causing fluid to back up into her lungs and giving her basically the same symptoms. I suspect both your hen and mine have one of these two issues as well--my girl is having some really good days where she's almost 100% "normal," maybe coughing/sneezing once or twice the whole day, and other days where she makes noise more or less nonstop. I don't think she's in pain, though she probably is a bit uncomfortable on her bad days, and she keeps eating and drinking and roosting and dustbathing and preening and all that, so we've decided at least for now to just let her be. Like you, we do expect her to die young, but who knows... maybe both our girls will surprise us.

 

[Arielwisdom]

Someone on another thread had a similar problem and took her hen to the vet and it turned out she has some kind of congenital issue with her epiglottis that makes it floppy and can cause breathing difficulties. Someone else's hen had a heart defect that was causing fluid to back up into her lungs and giving her basically the same symptoms. I suspect both your hen and mine have one of these two issues as well--my girl is having some really good days where she's almost 100% "normal," maybe coughing/sneezing once or twice the whole day, and other days where she makes noise more or less nonstop. I don't think she's in pain, though she probably is a bit uncomfortable on her bad days, and she keeps eating and drinking and roosting and dustbathing and preening and all that, so we've decided at least for now to just let her be. Like you, we do expect her to die young, but who knows... maybe both our girls will surprise us.

Interesting. I feel those are possibilities. I feel like whatever she has is something I’m not going to be able to cure. It’s also not contagious because she’s been with her flock this entire time and it hasn’t spread.

 

[metarachel]

Interesting. I feel those are possibilities. I feel like whatever she has is something I’m not going to be able to cure. It’s also not contagious because she’s been with her flock this entire time and it hasn’t spread.

Exactly, and same. She's in good hands. May you both enjoy the time she has