Help, think my bantam Cochin has the Gapes

[FowlWitch]

Can you post a video of her? Upload to youtube and provide a link.
A photo of her poop may be helpful as well.
I'm sorry she is not well.
Have you added chickens to your flock in the last 30days?

She may have Gapeworm, but it would be good to explore a few other things as well. When is the last time she laid an egg, does she have any bloat/swelling or fluid in the abdomen? Is her crop empty first thing in the morning before she eats/drinks?

You can treat Gapeworm with Valbazen or Fenbendazole (Safeguard).
Valbazen would be given at a rate of 0.08ml per pound of weight for 3 days in a row, then repeat in 10 days.
Safeguard (Fenbendazole) is given at a rate of 0.23ml per pound of weight for 5 days in a row.

I'd like to keep a stock of medications handy for my birds. Would this product work for gapeworm?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011ONQVJ0/?tag=backy-20

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'd like to keep a stock of medications handy for my birds. Would this product work for gapeworm?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011ONQVJ0/?tag=backy-20

It will. Gapeworm is fairly rare.
You can also use Fenbendazole or Albendazole as described in post#2 to treat Gapeworm.

 

[Cbf]

Ok, today I fed everyone the pumpkin/oatmeal. Not a favorite but she seemed lots better. No labored breaths. Even came running when I tossed out bits of a hotdog roll to them.
Still has diarrhea and some of the others seem to be getting dirty butts as well. Should I still give her the deworming meds? How to stop the diarrhea?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

See if she will eat her normal food.
To firm up poop you can give her a little white cooked rice with buttermilk.

 

[Cbf]

See if she will eat her normal food.
To firm up poop you can give her a little white cooked rice with buttermilk.

Ok I’ll do that. Thanks again for all your advice.

 

[BonBon51]

I'd like to keep a stock of medications handy for my birds. Would this product work for gapeworm?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011ONQVJ0/?tag=backy-20

Don't bother with the DE, it's useless in food and potentially harmful if dusted or sprinkled around.
Diarrhea might be due to a change in food.

Concerned about comment about DE being useless and potentially harmful if dusted or sprinkled around. Tell me more.

 

[Fishkeeper]

DE isn't known to significantly impact pests. Sometimes it can have an effect when very thickly scattered around, but a small amount of it in food won't do anything significant to the pests.

Additionally, it's extremely fine dust that's easily suspended in the air, and very sharp-edged. It's known to be dangerous if inhaled, and that's to mammals! Birds are much more vulnerable to airborne dangers than humans, as anything they inhale basically doesn't get breathed back out. It's easy for DE to coat the insides of a bird's lungs, where it's harmful, so it should never be used around them. It shouldn't really be used around any other animals, either, including humans who aren't wearing masks.

 

[Mosey2003]

Concerned about comment about DE being useless and potentially harmful if dusted or sprinkled around. Tell me more.

DE has become extremely popular, with blogs claiming it kills pests and internal parasites. I believe it has some mild action on small bugs with soft exoskeletons that move across it over the ground, but that is it. It does NOT do anything for internal parasites. Moreover, it's already added to most commercial feeds as a desiccant (helps keep the feed dry) so adding more isn't of any value.

I remember when it became a popular "natural" choice to add to horse's feed years ago, yet it's recommended that humans wear a respirator when using it because the extremely fine particles can actually cause silicosis if inhaled. It's a respiratory irritant. There is no way that I'm adding something to an animal's feed bucket when it's recommended I wear a mask to use it. It makes NO sense. Same reason I refuse to spread it in the chicken yard, where their faces are so close to the ground and they actively scratch.

Anything DE is claimed to accomplish can be accomplished with other, safer products that have actually been proven to work. Sweet PDZ or lime for the bedding, poultry dust or spray permethrin or Elector PSP for external parasites, and actual anthelmintics for internal parasites (Safe Guard goat liquid and Valbazen cattle liquid being my preferences).