Gapeworm???

[AnimalsComeFirst]

Hi all
Some of you may know of my Barred rock hen, Gloria. She is a rescue chicken who we have had for over a year now. She is a lovable and fun girl, but I've been noticing some weird things about her that worrys me. I researched "Gapeworms" and found that alot of the symptoms match to Gloria. But i've also read that gapeworm will eventually kill a chicken, yet i've had her for over a year and all this time she has had this problem. (I feel bad now, I didn't know this was serious when I first got her.)

I stopped at the farm and supply store and looked through the chicken treatments and found "Wazine-17", a poultry dewormer. Would you guys say that gets rid of gapeworm or any kind of worm that might be bothering my little girl? Also, are there any other treatments against gapeworm? (I read that "Flubenvet" works wonderful on gapeworm, but I can only find it sold in the UK, except one online store in the US for $40 for a tiny jar of this stuff.)


Symptoms:
Spits saliva
Shakes head
Gaping
Drools into water and food and sometimes can't eat because of drooling
Makes loud "honking" noises when shaking head
Bubbles form around eyelids (I don't think that's serious, but I'm listing everything that's odd.)

Pros:
Poop is normal
Is eating and drinking
Weight is normal
Walks around and sunbathes and preens.

Cons:
Sleeps and rests alot (that may be from old age)
Leg problem (may be a weird case of scaly leg mites or a scab that is being extremely hard to get rid of.)

Thanks in advance, any advice, tips or expierience is GREATLY appreciated.
~ACF

 

[dawg53]

You are correct, if it was gapeworm she would be dead by now. It's not gapeworm. Wazine only gets rid of large roundworms. It's possible there could be something stuck in her esophagus or crop. Try giving her an eyedropper full of olive oil to drink. Pull her wattles down and her mouth will open. Squirt a little olive oil in her mouth at a time and immediately release the wattles so she can swallow it on her own. Do not shoot all of it into her mouth at once. Continue this procedure til the eyedropper is empty. The reason you do this is because you dont want the olive oil going down the windpipe, she would aspirate. After administering the olive oil, massage her neck in a downward motion to her crop. She will either puke up or pass whatever is stuck.
If she continues the behavior after a few days, you might be dealing with a respiratory issue. Bubbles around the eye are a good indicator of a respiratory disease, possibly MG.

 

[AnimalsComeFirst]

Hi, thanks for the quick reply, and sorry for my *not* so quick reply...
It took me over a HOUR to get a tiny eyedrop full of olive oil down that birds neck! That Gloria... is something else. Seriously.

Anyways, got it down and massaged her crop.... nothing came up. Did it for 2 minutes, hanging her head towards the ground. Nothing. So, I looked up MG and I truly believe thats what it is. I have never EVER heard of it till now, so I thank you! I'm gonna order this medication, cause according to my research, Tylan works good to get rid of MG. http://www.amazon.com/Elanco-Tylan-50-100ml/dp/B00061MQIM/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1333405887&sr=8-4

Thanks again, Gloria may be *normal* again once these meds arrive!

 

[dawg53]

Hi, thanks for the quick reply, and sorry for my *not* so quick reply...
It took me over a HOUR to get a tiny eyedrop full of olive oil down that birds neck! That Gloria... is something else. Seriously.

Anyways, got it down and massaged her crop.... nothing came up. Did it for 2 minutes, hanging her head towards the ground. Nothing. So, I looked up MG and I truly believe thats what it is. I have never EVER heard of it till now, so I thank you! I'm gonna order this medication, cause according to my research, Tylan works good to get rid of MG. http://www.amazon.com/Elanco-Tylan-50-100ml/dp/B00061MQIM/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1333405887&sr=8-4

Thanks again, Gloria may be *normal* again once these meds arrive!

You're purchasing the right stuff to treat MG. But that's it, tylan is a treatment and not a cure for MG. There is no cure for MG. She will always have the disease and it's contageous, she will remain a carrier of the disease for life. Undue stress can set off much worse symptoms. MG can also pass through eggs. Therefore the rest of your birds are at risk of getting MG. It can also be carried on your clothing and shoes, strict biosecurity measures must be adhered to. You'll need to maintain a closed flock; none in, none out and no selling eggs to be hatched.
You can give the tylan 50 injectable orally rather than injecting if you wish. Use a syringe with a needle to withdraw it from the bottle. Then give it to her orally, 1/2cc once a day for 5 days. You can go to 7 days if you want, but no more than that. You should see improvement the third or fourth day, but continue to the fifth day.

 

[AnimalsComeFirst]

You're purchasing the right stuff to treat MG. But that's it, tylan is a treatment and not a cure for MG. There is no cure for MG. She will always have the disease and it's contageous, she will remain a carrier of the disease for life. Undue stress can set off much worse symptoms. MG can also pass through eggs. Therefore the rest of your birds are at risk of getting MG. It can also be carried on your clothing and shoes, strict biosecurity measures must be adhered to. You'll need to maintain a closed flock; none in, none out and no selling eggs to be hatched.
You can give the tylan 50 injectable orally rather than injecting if you wish. Use a syringe with a needle to withdraw it from the bottle. Then give it to her orally, 1/2cc once a day for 5 days. You can go to 7 days if you want, but no more than that. You should see improvement the third or fourth day, but continue to the fifth day.

Thanks, your info is much appreciated!

 

[n8ivetxn]

Any update on Gloria? Did the Tylan help?