Intro, & hen with gape worm????

[Linda Undernehr]

My kids and I have 13 laying hens and a production red rooster. The hens are production & Rhode Island reds, buffs, an austrolorp, a banty, a leghorn, and a black sex link. We've had them about 4 years and add a few new store bought chicks every year when we have a broody. Most of ours are pets. They free range in the day. We get a big kick out of them, and enjoy all their different personalites. Thanks for your forum. I often use it for chicken info, but now have an ongoing problem to ask advice on.

 

[Sara Ranch]

It looks like the message wasn't finished before it was posted. Your subject line says gape worm. Why do you think a chicken has gape worm?

 

[Linda Undernehr]

My daughter's pet banty hen started doing the neck stretching, breathing through her mouth thing. She looks just like one on You Tube gasping through her mouth and doing a high pitched sneeze, then once in a while flipping her head like she's trying to sling something out of her throat. This has been going on for almost a month. I read all the threads I could find about it. We've given her small pea sized doses of Safe-guard horse wormer (fenbendazole) alternating that with ivermectin (horse paste). She'll seem better for a couple days and start "gaping" again. She can eat and drink, but doesn't eat much dry food. She'll gobbled chopped up grapes and clover and grasses. She'll eat some bread crumbs and pick at scratch. We've given her vinegar (w/mother) in her water off and on too. Her poo was a little runny at first, but is solid now. We've had her in isolation since seeing the first symptoms. Her comb was bright red at first, but is now a little paler more pinkish. She wants to rejoin her flock so badly, but I'm afraid to infect them all. We did give the others a preventive dose of the Safe-guard. So far nobody else is showing symptoms. Any suggestions? Do you think it's ok to turn her loose even though she is still breathing from her mouth a lot, though not stretching her neck and "gaping" like she was or making that high pitched sneeze. Any advice? Has anybody out there had a chicken survive gape worm?

 

[Sara Ranch]

I add apple cider vinegar to all of the animal's water, daily. Just seems to help keep the bad stuff away.

I don't have answers for the rest of your questions.

I do know that my baby chicks often open their mouths like they want to say something, but no sound comes out. At least not that I hear. They are getting more vocal though, as they get older.

As for their poo, it changes based on a lot of things.

Someone else will chime in that has more information to share. Hang in there...

 

[Linda Undernehr]

Thank you, Sara. We give vinegar about once a month, but we'll go ahead and give her more to see if that helps.