Poorly hen - I think it’s a reaction to the wormer - any suggestions?

[anvia]

Hallo all
Soooooo - the story.... last week I wormed our entire flock with a 7 day course of Flubendazole, we have a variety of breeds and some ex battery ladies - One of our ex batts was very poorly with worms & she perked up immediately after being wormed which had us all fairly optimistic about her chances - but she’s declined rapidly in the last 48 hrs.
It’s also been unusually hot here & I know the heat has been an issue for the birds. I believe I’m dealing with recovery from intestinal damage from the worms & recovery from the toxicity of the wormer plus dehydration and heat stress. We had hoped to wait for cooler weather to worm them... but we had to make a judgement and with no cooler weather in sight we decided it had to be done despite them suffering with the heat. Not ideal I know.

So, she’s in hen intensive care - she is feather light, puffed up, floppy pale comb now beginning to turn purple. She is still eating and chatting away, breathing is fine - she looks to be at deaths door but seems remarkably perky & chatty about it.
Sooo, she has her normal fermented wet feed, natural yogurt, water with added shell max (vitamins & cacium), water without & wet cat food available to her and she is eating all three but she’s not drinking enough for my liking (although all her food options are wet) and she has very watery poo. She’s had a bath which she enjoyed, but it’s cooler now and I don’t want to risk chilling her by bathing her again - No idea when she last laid an egg - they’ve all gone off lay with the heat.

I am frankly amazed she’s still with us this morning, & she’s far too perky to give up on yet (if I thought she was suffering we would cull her) - I can’t think what else we can do for her?
I’m tempted to think I should view this as an overdose of flubendazole... which I understand works by interrupting how the parasites manage glucose & they then starve to death. I can’t find anything on treating a flubendazole overdose it’s all about egg withdrawal ect..

Has anyone got any experience with this this or any helpful suggestions?

 

[Wishing4Wings]

If a bird has a heavy worm load, I've read that worming them with a strong or broad spectrum medication can cause problems when the worms die off all at once... sort of clog up the works. Not sure if flubendazole kills all types of worms and is causing the problem. Keep supporting her in her recovery. If she's eating and pooping (crop is emptying and all plumbing systems go) then I think her chances are good. Keeping my fingers crossed for her.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would give her water with electrolytes and vitamins, in case she is dehydrated from the heat. If your flubendazole was given into your feed as directed on the label properly in the correct dose over 6 days, I would think that is not the problem. I would look at something else, such as a reproductive disorder or crop problem as possible problems. How does her crop feel especially in the early morning before she eats, and is her lower abdomen enlarged? How does her poop look?

 

[anvia]

I would give her water with electrolytes and vitamins, in case she is dehydrated from the heat. If your flubendazole was given into your feed as directed on the label properly in the correct dose over 6 days, I would think that is not the problem. I would look at something else, such as a reproductive disorder or crop problem as possible problems. How does her crop feel especially in the early morning before she eats, and is her lower abdomen enlarged? How does her poop look?

Thanks for the reply - she was the worst affected by the worms - I am confident in that.
She is actually looking a little better today - her comb is red, not purple anymore. She’s drunk some water - pure water not the water with vitamins in - she’s refusing that. She’s had some cat food and some fermented feed and settled down for a snooze.

The wormer was mixed in their feed - but I do wonder if she got more than the others due to body weight & dehydration in the heat. Her poo is very watery - green lumps & white liquid too what I would call wormy / digestive problems type poo. Her crop is fine - it’s filling and emptying normally - my first thought earlier in the week was crop problems - so I have been checking on her crop for the past few days - it all seems normal to me - and she is still eating. Her abdomen seems fine too - being ex commercial I appreciate she’s probably more prone to egg problems - but I can’t find any signs of internal laying or fluid build up - no yolk traces or blood in her poo that I can see....
No idea when she last had an egg - I only have a couple laying - definitely not her, it’s been far too hot here for them all.

She is so light though. She really hardly weighs anything. She is fully feathered - no bald patches or feather loss.

I’ve found the defra data sheet for flubendazole and got a bit further - a reaction would take the form of digestive problems & it has a half life of 2 days. The last dose was Monday - so it’s only been four days so it’s still in her system.

 

[Eggcessive]

You may want to mix some water in a small bowl of food to get more fluids into her. Hopefully, she will feel better soon.

 

[dawg53]

There are only two types of worms that could cause toxicity or blockage if there's a massive worm die off; large roundworms and tapeworms. I suspect large roundworms because they are more common infecting chickens than tapeworms. Besides, flubendazole does not treat tapeworms.
As far as any other worms causing blockage or toxicity, they are too small and are either absorbed as protein or rarely excreted unseen in feces except maybe cecal worms.

Due to the heat you're experiencing, it's imperative to keep her hydrated. I'm confident she'll pull through and be fine.

 

[anvia]

There are only two types of worms that could cause toxicity or blockage if there's a massive worm die off; large roundworms and tapeworms. I suspect large roundworms because they are more common infecting chickens than tapeworms. Besides, flubendazole does not treat tapeworms.
As far as any other worms causing blockage or toxicity, they are too small and are either absorbed as protein or rarely excreted unseen in feces except maybe cecal worms.

Due to the heat you're experiencing, it's imperative to keep her hydrated. I'm confident she'll pull through and be fine.

Thanks for your reply- she’s still with us, still eating & drinking. Still refusing the water with vitamins....
In terms of toxicity from worms dying off what happens? & how does it affect the hen? - this is all new to me.
I’m not seeing evidence of tapeworm segments in her poo - but could her symptoms be tapeworm? She is so lightweight.... I’m concerned she’s wasting away.

 

[dawg53]

Thanks for your reply- she’s still with us, still eating & drinking. Still refusing the water with vitamins....
In terms of toxicity from worms dying off what happens? & how does it affect the hen? - this is all new to me.
I’m not seeing evidence of tapeworm segments in her poo - but could her symptoms be tapeworm? She is so lightweight.... I’m concerned she’s wasting away.

Toxicity is in the form of all the worms fecal discharge which is toxic to chickens. Chickens become lethargic, wont eat nor drink, feathers are ragged looking/unkept, no preening, weight loss, then possibly death.
Worms slowly starve a chicken to death, that's what you were seeing, weight loss is part of it.
If you didnt see tapeworm segments in feces, dont worry about it. If you see any, let us know. Your main concern is getting your sick hen healthy again. Dont give up on her.

 

[anvia]

Toxicity is in the form of all the worms fecal discharge which is toxic to chickens. Chickens become lethargic, wont eat nor drink, feathers are ragged looking/unkept, no preening, weight loss, then possibly death.
Worms slowly starve a chicken to death, that's what you were seeing, weight loss is part of it.
If you didnt see tapeworm segments in feces, dont worry about it. If you see any, let us know. Your main concern is getting your sick hen healthy again. Dont give up on her.

Thank you - that makes sense - any idea how long she is going to take to overcome the discharge & toxicity - poor girl. Presumably she has to excrete it? Is there anything else I could be doing to help her?