My whole flock has eyeworms! Help!

[KCChickenMomma]

I have 30 chickens and 16 guinea fowl and all of them have worms in their eyes and their sinus cavities. I treated with ivermectin, drops in the eyes, in the mouth and topically twice ten days apart. No results. I tried vetRX and again no results. It makes the worms uncomfortable so they leave the eye, that's the only reason it works for some. I'm going to use Fenbendazole next. The safeguard for goats 10% solution. I'm in CA and the stupid people that run the state have restricted just about everything. I believe that the fenbendazole should work though because the eyeworms are a type of roundworm. I was thinking that I should do the 5 day treatment. I don't think these are the typical eyeworms that I've seen online. My birds don't have the same symptoms. I'm going to try to attach a video. I've got one girl that's off feed and not doing well. I've already lost one. I am pretty sure the worms suffocated her when I was treating her. She couldn't breath and then she was gone. Maybe her heart. Idk, but I don't want to loose another one. They are my babies.
I've also dusted my 2.5 acres and gotten rid of every crawling thing I can besides the earthworms, at least the ones that are too deep to get to. I've cleaned and continue to clean the poop up on the whole property. The only thing I haven't been able to get rid of the wild birds. I have put up deterents around the coop but I've got a lot of trees on my property and the wild birds like it here. 30 years here and we've never had this problem. I am not sure if anyone in San Diego County has. The vet that saw one of my ladies didn't know what to do. (Not an avian vet) I cannot afford the avian vet. I've sent an email with a video hoping for a response but almost all vets in CA won't advise without payment. I am doing everything I can to combat these awful things but I could use some advice. Does anyone have any experience or suggestions for me? I'm open and willing to try anything. It's so hard to see then suffering and not be able to help them.
Thank you in advance.

 

[MysteryChicken]

@Wyorp Rock
@Eggcessive

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you see the eye worms in the eyes? What do you see? Eye worms are rare, and the Surinam cockroach is the host. Many people misdiagnose a respiratory disease with eye worm. Have you seen any sneezing, congestion, or other signs. You can confirm eye worms in the droppings by taking in some fresh droppings to a vet for a fecal float.

@dawg53 is a good source for treatment of eyeworms. He recommends Valbazen for both the eyes and given orally. Dosage is 0.5 ml given orally once and again in 10 days for most 4-6 pound chickens. For the eye, mix one part Valbazen with water, and put into each eye, and repeat in 10 days. SafeGuard will not treat them.

 

[KCChickenMomma]

Can you see the eye worms in the eyes? What do you see? Eye worms are rare, and the Surinam cockroach is the host. Many people misdiagnose a respiratory disease with eye worm. Have you seen any sneezing, congestion, or other signs. You can confirm eye worms in the droppings by taking in some fresh droppings to a vet for a fecal float.

@dawg53 is a good source for treatment of eyeworms. He recommends Valbazen for both the eyes and given orally. Dosage is 0.5 ml given orally once and again in 10 days for most 4-6 pound chickens. For the eye, mix one part Valbazen with water, and put into each eye, and repeat in 10 days. SafeGuard will not treat them.

Oh yes, I've definitely seen them. Super creepy!
I scoured my place for that roach. I found 2 bugs that might be it but that's it. Only 2. From everything I've read, and I've read a lot trying to figure this out, anything that eats the feces from the birds can be a secondary carrier. I think a wild bird had them, pooped here, a bug ate the poop and then one of my chickens ate the bug. This all started after some heavy, heavy rain and the chickens discovering the nightcrawlers. We have so many, thousands here because of the wet soil and the debre from all the trees. At first I was excited, free protein. Because of the wet soil they're right at the top so it's very easy for the girls to get to them. I think that's where they got them from. Of course there's no way for me to eradicate every nightcrawler on 2.5 acres. But I am putting up a fence around the coop to try and contain the birds so they don't get reinfested when I treat them again. Inside the fenced area I've dug up almost every square inch. They're not going to be getting any more nightcrawlers there. Or anything else for that matter.
I read about valbazen. I finally figured out it's a wormer for dogs and cats but the only kind I can find is not in liquid form. Do you know of something that will ship to CA? That's another problem I've had to deal with. They reatrict everything here. The latest one is you can no longer get injectable ivermectin in this state. Apparently CA doesn't want people to have healthy livestock.
Attached is a picture of the bug I found. I submitted to a page on Facebook for id but no replies. Idk what it is.

 

[Eggcessive]

I don’t think eyeworm eggs are spread by other bugs or birds. The Surinam cockroach is the usual host of their eggs. This cockroach is usually found outdoors in tropical regions and may live in greenhouses. It is almost an inch long as an adult. Here is some info and a picture about the Surinam cockroach or greenhouse cockroach:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surinam_cockroach

Scroll down to albendazole and Manson eyeworm:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/helminthiasis/helminthiasis-in-poultry

Albendazole is the generic form of Valbazen which is a sheep and cattle wormer. Do you have any friends with cattle farms nearby? Maybe a relative in another state could send you some, or a local vet could be of help. It has to be shaken well and it settles out in the bottle. So it has to be given orally. For the eye, it can be mixed with half water and instilled with a syringe or dropper.

 

[KCChickenMomma]

I don’t think eyeworm eggs are spread by other bugs or birds. The Surinam cockroach is the usual host of their eggs. This cockroach is usually found outdoors in tropical regions and may live in greenhouses. It is almost an inch long as an adult. Here is some info and a picture about the Surinam cockroach or greenhouse cockroach:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surinam_cockroach

Scroll down to albendazole and Manson eyeworm:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/helminthiasis/helminthiasis-in-poultry

Albendazole is the generic form of Valbazen which is a sheep and cattle wormer. Do you have any friends with cattle farms nearby? Maybe a relative in another state could send you some, or a local vet could be of help. It has to be shaken well and it settles out in the bottle. So it has to be given orally. For the eye, it can be mixed with half water and instilled with a syringe or dropper.

Thank you so much for responding. I really appreciate it. Here is an article that explains a lot about eyeworms. Of course nothing helpful about treatment, purely educational. After reading this I got a better understanding of these nasty things. Every other I've read online is for individual birds. I've got them in all my birds so there's not much help with that. I've sent an email to an avian vet with a video of the birds attached. My vet referred her to me and she's been waiting to here back from him but he's a slacker and nothing yet. She will advise me once she talks to him. Getting him to call her is the problem. I'm thinking I'm going to make an appointment with him and make him call her in front of me. Idk what else to do.

https://vetspace.2ndchance.info/bir...isions-vision-problems-and-eyeworms-in-birds/
I looked up Albendazole. I'm not sure if that is a good treatment for these worms because they are round worms, not tape worms. You said that fenbendazole will not treat then though so I'm at a loss. The ivermectin is similar to the Albendazole and it didn't work at all. Should I try both? That sounds like a bad idea to me after typing it lol. I'm so frustrated and worried. Or maybe I should just use vetRX. Hahaha that's a treatment people use. I don't get that at all. It's not a wormer. All I know is I've got one refusing to eat anything for 3 days now. Her crop is so empty it's sad. She won't last long like that.
On another note, I breed guineas. They're seasonal layers and now is the time. Can I hatch the eggs out if they have eyeworms? Can I hatch the eggs out during and after I give the wormer, whichever one I use? It's basically my only source of income for the whole year. I'm thinking I'm pretty much screwed for this year.
Thanks again for your help!

 

[KCChickenMomma]

Gre

I don’t think eyeworm eggs are spread by other bugs or birds. The Surinam cockroach is the usual host of their eggs. This cockroach is usually found outdoors in tropical regions and may live in greenhouses. It is almost an inch long as an adult. Here is some info and a picture about the Surinam cockroach or greenhouse cockroach:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surinam_cockroach

Scroll down to albendazole and Manson eyeworm:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/helminthiasis/helminthiasis-in-poultry

Albendazole is the generic form of Valbazen which is a sheep and cattle wormer. Do you have any friends with cattle farms nearby? Maybe a relative in another state could send you some, or a local vet could be of help. It has to be shaken well and it settles out in the bottle. So it has to be given orally. For the eye, it can be mixed with half water and instilled with a syringe or dropper.

Great news! I sent a message to @dawg53. He responded and I have all the info I need. Also, I checked at TSC and they have the valbazen. Thank you so much for all your help. I am so grateful! I'm going down to get it and will be starting treatment today. Thank you!

 

[EggBank]

Did it work?

 

[Seaslug]

I wanted to write that a vet whom I know through DockDogs and is located in CT posted that, for the first time, her practice is seeing cases of eyeworms. I'm not sure if this is the same parasite as mentioned above because she said that these are passed along by fruit flies and they believe they are seeing cases of them because of increased damp & warm conditions. She wrote that animals present with symptoms similar to pink eye but it does not clear and that the vets can see the worms in the third eyelid of animals. She said she could have retired happy without ever seeing a case -- apparently they are rather gross. Since I had just read this post (although it is 2 years old) I thought I would repeat her information as a FYI. I hope no one has any reason to need it.