please look at my chicken video

[PoultryPedia]

I see that you can get generic Ivermectin pour-on for $17 at http://www.amazon.com/Durvet-Ivermectin-Pour-On-250ML/dp/B000HHOEIU, or $15 for "Iver On" at a Tractor Supply Co. store (See http://www.tractorsupply.com/livest...r-on-250-ml-cattle-pour-on-medication-2207056 for info).

I found a post by melissa508 on BYC: "I've always used the iver pour on for cattle for parasite control. I would use 1/2 cc on the neck & tail area for my chickens, this stuff has always worked great for mites & lice & worms."

Giving this wormer to chickens is "off-label use", meaning FDA hasn't approved that, and there are no established withdrawal times for using eggs or meat. Some people recommend waiting 30 days after treatment to eat any eggs.

Heatherberry--
From all the places I read, you've put on plenty of Ivo to take care of the worms. The ivermectin will circulate in her bloodstream, and I think worms should die within a day or 2. I don't know how quickly effects of her gapeworm infestation will subside--I imagine it will take her body a bit to absorb dead worms and repair damage. Feed her extra good nutrition while she's recovering such as vitamins and electrolytes, cooked egg yolks, unflavored yogurt, and green vegetables, in addition to her regular food.

Definitely treat all your chickens. Gapeworms are picked up from wet ground, poop, etc. All your chickens have probably picked some up.

I read it is apparently helpful to put the birds somewhere you don't usually keep chickens for a day or two after treatment. When the wormer makes worms and eggs come out of chickens' systems, you want worms to land somewhere the chickens won't usually be so they won't get picked up again. After waiting a day or two, put the chickens back in their normal living areas.
[Note: I personally am not sure if this is really helpful since it seems worms being excreted during treatment should be dead, and normal living areas will almost surely have some live worms in them even after you clean them.]

If you can, clean the floor in chickens' normal areas.
Also, sprinkling Food-grade Diamataceous Earth (available cheaply at many gardening stores) on the floor and surrounding ground will do a lot to kill off parasites that are there--I'm guessing including gapeworms.

 

[Wynette]

Can I ask how you "know" it's gapeworm if you have not swabbed to checK? It's important to know what you are treating, as most wormers do not treat all species of worms.

 

[PoultryPedia]

Heatherberry--How is your hen doing?

 

[Heatherberry]

UPDATE

I didn't ever swab the throats no, I didn't know for sure. I guess i treated by process of elimination. I treated for upper resp. first. Obviously that wasn't it because it didn't go away.


So, the deal now is I treated the one Buff that has been sick with Ivomectin. It really didn't look like it was working until today. She is not breathing through her mouth now and she is not honking like a goose as much. In fact hardly at all. However, contrary to the advice I did not treat the other three girls because I am the kind of person who doesn't even myself take meds unless i am dying, let alone go around medicating my animals unnecessarily. This morning my barred Rock was acting strangely. Jumping in the air, croaking, scratching her head. Pretty much the same stuff. So we went ahead and treated all the girls.

I hated to do that but it appears that it was Gape worms. I let them range freely and they eat the earthworms all the time so it is a high possibility for us. We are in the deep, wet, hot south I guess I should anticipate all kinds of stuff.

So, i guess we are all goo. After looking at alot of the other stuff people are dealing with on here my situation isn't so bad. They have never stopped eating or anything.

Thanks for all the help we are on the mend I believe.

 

[77horses]

Good to hear your hen is doing much better!

I think we have the same problem with one of our Red Star hens. She's been breathing like yours for a while, and one time the rooster mounted her and she couldn't stand up for a minute or so afterwords.

Poor girl! No idea why that happened, but now I think she has Gapeworm as well. I think I will also swab her throat to confirm if she does have it...If she does, I'll try the garlic method that SpeckledHills mentioned and see if that works. That would be easier than going out and buying a dewormer.


Again, happy to hear that your hen is doing much better!

Hopefully ours will have the same result.

 

[Heatherberry]

Had I known at the beginning that it was Gapes, I would have done the garlic thing. I did add fresh garlic to a mixture of foods I made the other day, however, she was so far a long in the infestation I felt she needed wormer to really get rid of the suckers and save her life really. She is not laying eggs yet she is too young, so I will not have to worry about the eggs being contaminated.

I hope the garlic works.

 

[justbugged]

Just a heads up. Often before you know that you have problem with something like worms, you will have birds dying. Worms in chickens often have no symptoms. If you can see worms in the poop, the birds are already overwhelmed with worms. If one bird has is they all have worms. I found this out the hard way. I will now treat my birds for worms annually. I am in a very cool climate area of the country, so I don't have a lot of problems that are common in hotter areas of the country. I don't believe in treating just for the sake of treating, but I would rather not have my dear birds dying of something so common like worms.

 

[Heatherberry]

Well, everybody my chicken is at it again. Croaking and breathing throuhg her mouth. Treated her 8 days ago for Gapes. Should I treat her again? Should I give her Tylan. I don't know what to do. I am truly lost at this point. I am so baffled and frustrated. She truly got better. She never completely quit honking but I thought it might be damaged throat and irritated.

Now I really don't know. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[mmaddie's mom]

I wish I had some answers... so sorry.

 

[Wynette]

does she have rales (can you hear an almost crackly sound when she breathes)? If so, I recently noted that Peter Brown (he's a renowned chicken health expert) on his website recommended to someone dealing with a respiratory infection to treat with 1 tsp. of water soluble Tylan in the water ALONG WITH 1 tps. of water soluble LS50 - per gallon.

You need to really think about whether you want to treat this or cull. I don't mean to sound uncaring, but if you are able to get her over this, she'll likely then be a carrier of whatever disease she has, and will, for the rest of her life, infect any other chickens she's with. It's a super tough decision, but sometimes it's truly best, for the sake of the rest of your flock and any future additions, to remove the sick one permanently. I wish you the VERY best of luck, and I do hope she pulls through!