Help! Worms

Wafflevixen

In the Brooder
5 Years
Dec 8, 2014
10
0
22
I have a bearded polish hen that started acting lethargic and rapidly losing weight. All the internet searches pointed to things like a stuck egg or impacted crop. I had given her warm baths, massaged her, and checked for issues with no luck. She drinks and eats when I help her, but not on her own.

I was feeling very puzzled until I noticed a worm show up in her water dish tonight. It was about two centimeters long and looked like a little earthworm. A little research later pointed to gizzard worms.

Anyone have experience with these? What sort of time frame do I have here? Anything I can do for her tonight? What can I purchase for her for treatment tomorrow? How can I keep this from happening to my other chickens?

Right now she is quarantined with water and basic feed. I managed to get her to eat a few high calorie treats earlier today. She is very thin.

Thanks in advance!
 
Gizzard worms are more common in ducks and geese. You probably saw shed intestinal lining which is normal on occasion. However with the symptoms you described; capillary worms can also cause shed intestinal lining. I recommend that you purchase valbazen liquid cattle/sheep wormer. Administer the liquid using a syringe without a needle. Dosage is 1/2cc given orally undiluted to standard size birds, 1/4cc for smaller birds. Repeat dosing again in 10 days.
It's best to use valbazen as a first time wormer because it slowly kills worms over several days, no need to worry about dead worm blockages causing toxic dead worm overload like other wormers.
Valbazen kills all known types of worms chickens can get. It would be best to worm all your birds. You might have to order it online, here's two links:
http://www.wholesalekennel.com/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=29
http://www.jefferspet.com/products/valbazen-broad-spectrum-dewormer
 
Gizzard worms are more common in ducks and geese. You probably saw shed intestinal lining which is normal on occasion. However with the symptoms you described; capillary worms can also cause shed intestinal lining. I recommend that you purchase valbazen liquid cattle/sheep wormer. Administer the liquid using a syringe without a needle. Dosage is 1/2cc given orally undiluted to standard size birds, 1/4cc for smaller birds. Repeat dosing again in 10 days.
It's best to use valbazen as a first time wormer because it slowly kills worms over several days, no need to worry about dead worm blockages causing toxic dead worm overload like other wormers.
Valbazen kills all known types of worms chickens can get. It would be best to worm all your birds. You might have to order it online, here's two links:
http://www.wholesalekennel.com/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=29
http://www.jefferspet.com/products/valbazen-broad-spectrum-dewormer

X2. Good info. Zap those nasty little parasites!
 
Thank you for the advice!

It was definitely a live, wriggling worm that came out of her. It matched the exact description of a gizzard worm, that's why I assumed that's what it was.

I purchased some Ivermectin since it was readily available locally. (I live in a small town.) But I will look into Valbazen for future uses.

I medicated my hen yesterday morning and this morning she seems to have improved. I'm hopeful that she will pull through.
 
Welcome to BYC!

If you can't get Valbazen, get some liquid Safeguard for goats/cattle. The most effective dose is 0.23ml per *pound* for five days. Don't know if that dose will treat gizzard worms, but it will treat capillary worms, which could be what you saw.
big_smile.png


-Kathy
 
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Tube feeding, also known as gavage feeding, is an essential part of avian supportive care. Sick birds are often presented with a history of anorexia. Glycogen stores may be depleted within hours in the granivore (including psitacine, passerine and galliform species) secondary to a relatively high metabolic rate. Another important indication for gavage feeding is a documented drop in body weight of 5 to 10%.
http://www.lafebervet.com/avian-medicine-2/avian-nutrition/tube-feeding/

-Kathy
 
Thanks again. I'll continue to monitor my hen. She seems to be feeling a lot better.

One other symptom that I find odd that she still has. It's hard to get her to drink without prompting her to. When she does drink, her throat area makes very loud airy noises as it goes down.

Other than that she is eating on her own and hopefully on her way to recovery.
 
I'm glad you posted this I also have a polish hen that is very skinny and lethargic five years old treated with safeguard once and then 10 days later he weeks ago seem to help but she's back to being semi-lethargic almost seems miserable in the cold weather appear in New England. Yesterday I repeated safeguardand think I might give her several doses in a row for five days to see if that helps.
 
Thanks again. I'll continue to monitor my hen. She seems to be feeling a lot better.

One other symptom that I find odd that she still has. It's hard to get her to drink without prompting her to. When she does drink, her throat area makes very loud airy noises as it goes down.

Other than that she is eating on her own and hopefully on her way to recovery.
Maybe you should dampen her dry feed. Make it a little wetter than cookie dough. The more water you can get in her like that, the less times she will have to drink.
 
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