Impacted crop and worms?! Help please!

[RussianChickens]

I second kathy!

You can deworm with ivermectin pour on for cattle an swine. I do this with my birds. Get the smallest bottle from a farm store (its usually locked in a case so ask for help at the desk)

Go to pharmacy and get .5cc diabetic syringes, if they ask for why you need them tell them its for giving chickens medicine, take the needle off if you can, other ways be careful and squirt .5 cc onto the Bare Skin under each wing.

So thats .5cc under each wing of the bird. You can follow up with the same dose a few weeks later.

Won't hurt anything to do this. But its a way of getting a wormer into them w/o feeding it.

 

[casportpony]

Ivermectin abstract:

Source: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1439-0450.1989.tb00635.x/abstract
Summary

To evaluate the use of ivermectin as a bird anthelmintic, 29 White Leghorn hens naturally infected with Ascaridia spp., Heterakis spp. and Capillaria spp. were treated with 0.2, 2 or 6 mg/kg intramuscularly or 0.2 or 0.8 mg/kg orally. Faecal samples were collected before treatment and at autopsy, 2, 6, or 16 days after treatment, when the intestines were also examined for helminths. None of the treatments gave satisfactory anthelmintic results.

Maybe the pour-on works better, but I don't know.


-Kathy

 

[RussianChickens]

Yes I've heard that.

Something else you may try is Valbazen pour on.
I plan to get some of that for my own chickens. My local store doesn't carry it so I went with ivermectin. I don't believe I have a large infestation however. So I suppose trying both would be most beneficial.

I've heard a lot about chicken worming. I hear people say pour on works better. I have no way to test my chickens so I can't ever be to sure.
It's 6 one way half a dozen the other. I figure anythings worth a shot, wont hurt.



I think Valbazen has a pour on too. Try that. I believe the dose in the same but look it up first.

 

[casportpony]

I forgot to say "give yourself a pat on the back for getting the proper tubing supplies, most people aren't willing to do that". And welcome to BYC!

-Kathy

 

[Chiquechicken]

The crop completely cleared last night and I fed her a little bit of chopped spaghetti, applesauce and egg crumbles (which she devoured) she seems to be doing quite a bit better and no more sign of maggots so far, though she's still a bit lethargic. Thanks for info about deworming...how do I know whether or not to do that?

Also, this may seem like a silly question but since she can eat on her own should I continue with the syringe? She's still terribly emaciated and the skin on her chest is all wrinkled...how do I know if she is still dehydrated/getting enough liquids?

 

[casportpony]

The crop completely cleared last night and I fed her a little bit of chopped spaghetti, applesauce and egg crumbles (which she devoured) she seems to be doing quite a bit better and no more sign of maggots so far, though she's still a bit lethargic. Thanks for info about deworming...how do I know whether or not to do that?

Also, this may seem like a silly question but since she can eat on her own should I continue with the syringe? She's still terribly emaciated and the skin on her chest is all wrinkled...how do I know if she is still dehydrated/getting enough liquids?

You can let her eat easily digestible food, like crumbles, eggs, pasta, applesauce, but keep an eye on her crop. If she were mine, I would weigh her, worm her with fenbendazole 10% (Safeguard or Panacur, liquid or paste) at 50mg/kg by mouth and continue tubing, but I would tube baby bird food mixed with water or Pedialyte. I tube based on weight at 30ml/kg (30ml per 2.2 pounds of body weight) every 6-8 hours. If she's strong enough and able to stand, walk etc, you could probably increase the volume and tube just twice a day. I have one hen that weighs about 1kg, but her crop can hold 120ml, so she gets tubed baby bird food/water twice a day. If they spend most of their day sitting, they are more likely to vomit if you put too much in, so play around with it, you'll figure it out.

A vet once told me that they rarely come back from being so thin, and I think he's right, I think I've only been able to save one. But if worms have caused your hens problems and you're willing/able to continue tubing, I think you might have a good chance of saving her. Once you start tubing baby bird food she should start pooping normally and that will tell you if maybe you need to start her on an antibiotic. Even as thin as she is, her poop should look normal while being tubed food and water.

-Kathy

 

[Chiquechicken]

Continued tubing but I think she might have been just too weak from being broody and not eating much before all of this started? She passed away this afternoon. She was my favorite chicken so Im pretty sad, but at least I did my best to save her.

 

[Mehjr10]

Sorry to hear that she passed. They sometimes just go too far to save. And you did at that..

 

[casportpony]

Continued tubing but I think she might have been just too weak from being broody and not eating much before all of this started? She passed away this afternoon. She was my favorite chicken so Im pretty sad, but at least I did my best to save her.

I'm so sorry you lost her... You did your best to save her, way more than most are willing/able to do.

Take care of yourself,

Kathy

 

[Chiquechicken]

Thanks again for all the help! It was great to have an experienced hand guiding me through! Thankyou!!