Incurable gapeworm?! Please!

[Bogtown Chick]

I'm not entirely sure on the recommendations for gapeworm as I've only dealt with cecal worm problems. But on mine I gave it to my chickens then waited 10 days and gave again to get any new worms that may have hatched from eggs. So i'm guessing a similar life cycle for gapeworm...although I would "google" or BYC search on other gapeworm threads to be entirely sure...

Where's Dawg?

LOL.

Maybe pm him on that dosage and any follow up wormings.

 

[dawg53]

I have not sliced open the trachea because the chicken is still ALIVE. And where do I get valbazen?

How do you know that your chicken has gapeworms? They are rare in chickens.
When a chicken opens its mouth, it could be because they yawn...just like people. Or, they might have food stuck in the esophagus and are adjusting their neck and yawn. Or, they are simply adjusting their crop when they yawn. Or, they might have a respiratory disease.
Birds with gapeworm will not eat nor drink and dont survive long because the worms are suffocating them to death. The birds stretch their necks up...trying to breathe and make grunts and honking sounds. They will also shake their head and neck s to try to loosen the worms.
There are two ways to tell if your birds have gapeworms: Get a fecal sample done at a vet, preferably from a bird that's showing symptoms and have them look for gapeworm eggs in feces under a microscope. Secondly, have a necropsy performed.

 

[chickenoverlord]

Gapeworm is the only thing that describes her symptoms. Head shaking, gaping, hissing noises when she breathes, weight loss, sneezing. Is it even worth trying to treat? The hen is already 4 1/2 years old.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Gapeworm is the only thing that describes her symptoms. Head shaking, gaping, hissing noises when she breathes, weight loss, sneezing. Is it even worth trying to treat? The hen is already 4 1/2 years old.

Those symptoms are also common in respiratory diseases.

 

[dawg53]

Covey Rise Plantation is the expert on gapeworms, he's dealt with them enough. Here's a link, read his posts 13 & 14:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/602699/worming-chickens/10#post_7931055

 

[casportpony]

If you have Safeguard or Valbazen there's no harm in trying... I would treat the same way with either wormer, .2ml per 2.2 pounds for three days in a row. There is a published article that says Safeguard is effective against gapes when dosed like this, but I haven't seen anything about Valbazen, so that recommendation is just my extrapolation on how it might be used for gapes.

-Kathy

Disclaimer: Never had a confirmed case of gapes, nor have I used Valbazen.

 

[casportpony]

Or you could try the way dawg suggested, lol.

-Kathy

 

[sutherland]

It certainly sounds like gape worm but as far as I knew it only effects young chickens up to say about 3 to 4 months. I had a few of my chickens get it this year I lost three young girls about 3 months old at the time I also managed to save 7 of them. I have a fairly large flock and not a single older girl got it not even the ones that were about 5 months old. I seperated them as soon as I noticed something was up and like I said lost 3 saved 7 so it does not mean for sure they r going to die. Seems to me the best thing is Seperate them make sure they have food and water I gave my crumble the little start and grow I give to babies it smaller so thy got it down easier also I put them in a insulated building and kept any drafts away from them. It got so bad for a couple of them there eyes were sealed shut so I had to wash them to get them open but they r alive and happy today back in the big coup with the rest of them. It is causes my the chickens eating worms and slugs and snails. Who would have known that was bad for a young chicken . The worms r attracted to wet areas which is y I ended up with it I was mulching my chicken coup with straw and turns out that isn't a good idea. I hope this helps you or someone in the future good luck.

 

[ten chicks]

Gapeworm is the only thing that describes her symptoms. Head shaking, gaping, hissing noises when she breathes, weight loss, sneezing. Is it even worth trying to treat? The hen is already 4 1/2 years old.

These symptoms also indicate respiratory issues,as previous mentioned by other forum members. You may want to consider treating her for a respiratory infection instead of gapeworm.

 

[sutherland]

I think because the hen is 4 1/2 years old there probably right as far as I know it only effects young birds