how to open a chicks mouth

[goldeneggtees]

Hi, if you wanted to look down a chickens mouth to see if it had gape worms, how in the world do you do it? I tried with my really tame gal and couldn't get her to open it for nothing.

 

[Cuban Longtails]

I pry the beak open with my finger nail. I have to hold the baby's head still to do it. I usually just hold as much of the chick in one had and pry with the other.

 

[chickbea]

Having someone help you hold the bird is a good idea - have them hold the head firmly just below the ears, and you pry the beak open with your fingernails. Or, switch places depending on which of you has the longer fingernails.

 

[Wynette]

What they said.

In order to check for gapes (per my avian vet), take a q-tip and GENTLY swirl it going down the throat slight, and swirl it coming back out; if they have them, you'll see skinny red worms on the q-tip. The inside of a chicken mouth is an interesting place:

 

[goldeneggtees]

wow! what a picture! Thanks for the info. Sounds like it may be a job for 2 people. I'm just way too wimpy to try that with a hen all by myself. I'd be afraid of hurting it!

 

[PineBurrowPeeps]

Okay, I've got 100 chickens easy and I've never heard of gape worms... What on earth are they, how do you get them, and what do they affect?

 

[goldeneggtees]

Quote:
Look for it in the search function of the site as I'm new to it too! I just noticed a few of my hens panting a bit and wanted to make sure all was ok and saw gapeworm as a possible cause. I think I'm on here too much, I'm always coming up on new disease and illnesses and quite frankly, they scare me!

 

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:
I can't remember now where i read about it, or i would give you a link. But here's the skinny (as i remember it). Gape worm larvae or eggs are carried by earth worms and maybe slugs. So your chicken eats an earth worm that is carrying gape worm babies. After digestion, the gapeworms hatch or mature in the intestines of your beautiful innocent bird and make their way back up to the trachea. In the trachea, a male and a female will join for an everlasting conjugal visit with their conjugal parts attached to each other and their mouths attached to the walls of your chicken's trachea, forming a "Y." Somehow (and i didn't quite internalize this part of the process) the original nasty squatters create more and more that build up in the trachea and suffocate your lovely darling. I'm not sure if this is why it's called "gape"worm, but the chicken will tend to hold her mouth a"gape" gasping for air. Isn't that disgusting! blech!

 

[casportpony]

oops

 

[Suzie]

The easiest way to open the mouth is to pull down on the wattles and the mouth opens instantly.....then you can insert your q-tip.

Suzie