gapeworm?

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Yes, that is the book. Maybe the doom and gloom is just cya? Anyhow. Dawg53 here are symptoms of my chicken: stretches neck then makes a chewing motion and swallows. Crop was soft and full in the morning. Has a bit of a sour smell to her. Her stomach makes gurgling noises every now and then. Makes a loud squeak almost like a dog toy or a small dog yap. Small skinny poops with traces of blood. Keeps opening her mouth. I haven't swabbed her throat or crop yet. Will do that today. Any guesses?
 
PertyGertie said:
Yes, that is the book. Maybe the doom and gloom is just cya? Anyhow. Dawg53 here are symptoms of my chicken: stretches neck then makes a chewing motion and swallows. Crop was soft and full in the morning. Has a bit of a sour smell to her. Her stomach makes gurgling noises every now and then. Makes a loud squeak almost like a dog toy or a small dog yap. Small skinny poops with traces of blood. Keeps opening her mouth. I haven't swabbed her throat or crop yet. Will do that today. Any guesses?
Click to expand...
Gapes live in the trachea, and I wouldn't recommend sticking anything in there, lol.

http://parasitipedia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2653&Itemid=2942
"Diagnosis can be confirmed in young birds through direct observation of the trachea against a strong light (after displacing the neck feathers and pulling the skin): adult worms can be seen inside the trachea. Characteristic eggs can also be detected in samples of the feces or of tracheal mucus."

I have not tried checking for them this way, but it might work on if one has a bright enought light source.

Of all the chickens I had, and there have been many, I've only had to treat for gapes once, and I did that with Safeguard at 0.5ml per 2.2 pounds for five days even though she was 100% better after three days. You should also read up on capillary worms:

http://parasitipedia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2649&Itemid=2938
"Capillaria annulata and Capillaria contorta are the most damaging species. They can seriously harm the lining of the crop and the esophagus, especially in turkeys end pheasants, but also in chicken up to 4 months old. The lining of the crop and the esophagus becomes inflamed and swollen, which can make swallowing impossible for affected birds. Fatalities are frequent in cases of heavy infections."

-Kathy
 
FYI, Safeguard at 0.5ml per 2.2 pounds for 5 days will also treat capillary worms.

-Kathy

Edited to add:
Not saying your bird has worms, but if she were mine I would worm her.
 
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Here are some pics of her feces. Not sure if this may be another way to determine what's wrong with her. Found a local vet that treats chickens and she has an appointment on Monday. Want to start more aggressive treatment now because I know time is of the essence.
700

700

700
 
PertyGertie said:
Here are some pics of her feces. Not sure if this may be another way to determine what's wrong with her. Found a local vet that treats chickens and she has an appointment on Monday. Want to start more aggressive treatment now because I know time is of the essence.


Click to expand...
I tend to treat pretty aggressively, more so than most. Is that what all of her poop looks like? If so, and if she were mine, I would de-worm, start on Corid and *maybe* an antibiotic. Can you post a picture of her?

-Kathy
 
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Worming her is where I would start. She looks perky and she's eating, which are good signs. Worm with Safeguard at 0.5ml per 2.2 pounds orally five days in a row. Ignore the directions on the bottle, they're for goats, and goats get 1/10th the amount (5mg/kg for goats vs 50mg/kg for chickens).

-Kathy
 

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