Possible gape worm in duck?

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Ravynscroft said:
Treating for worms first is better than tossing an antibiotic at her to see if it sticks, IMO... and deworming for gapes will show major improvement in 24-48 hrs if that is what you're dealing with... with antibiotics you need to find out exactly what type of respiratory issue to determine which one will work...

I'm like you, I don't want to give my birds anything unless absolutely necessary, but I DO have gapes here, and my ducks are the most susceptible to them... your ducks symptoms sound just like mine when they get overloaded... and I can tell you from experience that swabbing their throats with a qtip DOES NOT show you the gapes...

My advice is to isolate her and start her on a good broad spectrum dewormer, for gapes I recommend Safeguard (fenbendazole 10%) liquid for goats... get a needleless syringe with a barrel small enough to give it directly to her... dosage is 0.23cc/mL per pound, for 5 consecutive days for gapes... cup your hand around the back of her head using your fingers to keep her bill open... insert syringe to the left side of her mouth angled to the side of her throat and let the tip slide down as far as you can get it, this will put the tip past her trachea so there isn't danger of her aspirating it... this sounds awful, but it's easier than it sounds... and you really want to make sure she gets the full dose...

If it is gapes, I strongly suggest trying the dewormer ASAP... once their breathing gets labored and they stop eating/drinking, time has become short... I understand about the vet bill, Safeguard is much cheaper... hope this helps... :hugs :fl
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A couple of days ago I heard a high pitched chirping sound coming from my best duck. I figured she had swallowed something wrong and didn't worry about it. Today, she was doing it again. She doesn't have any other symptoms. Does that sound like gapeworm? If so, should I worm all five ducks or just her?
 
cheezenkwackers said:
A couple of days ago I heard a high pitched chirping sound coming from my best duck. I figured she had swallowed something wrong and didn't worry about it. Today, she was doing it again. She doesn't have any other symptoms. Does that sound like gapeworm? If so, should I worm all five ducks or just her?
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Since I have become aware and watch my flock closely now for worm overload signs, yes, I have seen/heard vocal changes start before the more obvious signs... sometimes they get hoarser, some get squeakier, and some make an odd chirp/sneeze sound...

If it has you worried, I would go ahead and deworm, and yes, the whole flock... use the dosage and instructions in my previous post you quoted... even if they don't have worms, Safeguard is safe to use and much better to try first, IMO...

Good luck, hope it helps! :fl
 
How is she doing today, Sophia? Geesh, something is always happening when you've got a good sized flock(s). Amber walked up to one of our dogs yesterday, and he got a hold of her. :( She was the sweetest, bravest, most adventurous hen out of them all. Also dealing with a duck that has a cyst under her eye. :/
 
DiamondSwan said:
How is she doing today, Sophia? Geesh, something is always happening when you've got a good sized flock(s). Amber walked up to one of our dogs yesterday, and he got a hold of her. :( She was the sweetest, bravest, most adventurous hen out of them all. Also dealing with a duck that has a cyst under her eye. :/
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She’s been doing great for the past couple months, although I noticed yesterday, and today she was panting a little bit. She wasn’t super healthy when she hatched so I’m wondering if it’s something she was born with because she’s always had breathing issues and I’ve seen her pant before. The only reason I was thinking it was something else earlier this year is because of how long it was going on for. But she was fine after about 4 days. I’m wondering if maybe she’s asthmatic or something along those lines because there are two common factors I’ve noticed when she starts panting and it isn’t hot; 1. It’s allergy season and 2. She’s been running up and down the hill.

I’m so sorry to hear about Amber. And I hope your duck’s cyst heals up and she’s okay!
 
Lamaremybabies said:
She’s been doing great for the past couple months, although I noticed yesterday, and today she was panting a little bit. She wasn’t super healthy when she hatched so I’m wondering if it’s something she was born with because she’s always had breathing issues and I’ve seen her pant before. The only reason I was thinking it was something else earlier this year is because of how long it was going on for. But she was fine after about 4 days. I’m wondering if maybe she’s asthmatic or something along those lines because there are two common factors I’ve noticed when she starts panting and it isn’t hot; 1. It’s allergy season and 2. She’s been running up and down the hill.

I’m so sorry to hear about Amber. And I hope your duck’s cyst heals up and she’s okay!
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Yeah, sometimes it's really hard to know what you're dealing with in ducks and chickens because they're so good at hiding the symptoms. The sick birds would get picked on, so they do it for survival. I've also noticed with Pekins, that they get tired really easily and aren't as active as my smaller ducks because they're so heavy. Gill (one of my Pekin drakes) kinda has a hard time getting around because he's so big. My Pekins pant more than the others and need to rest more often.


Thanks. :hugs:)
 
DiamondSwan said:
Yeah, sometimes it's really hard to know what you're dealing with in ducks and chickens because they're so good at hiding the symptoms. The sick birds would get picked on, so they do it for survival. I've also noticed with Pekins, that they get tired really easily and aren't as active as my smaller ducks because they're so heavy. Gill (one of my Pekin drakes) kinda has a hard time getting around because he's so big. My Pekins pant more than the others and need to rest more often.


Thanks. :hugs:)
Click to expand...

Yeah, she’s a very small pekin. But that still makes sense. She’s acting perfectly fine today so I don’t know. :confused:
 

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