Problem

[jeancordelia]

4 month old pullets yesterday one was standing alone stretching her head with her beak open like she wasn't getting any air. I massaged her throat and later she drank a little and ate some, but it continued. Today separate and continuing. Every once in a while something between a squawk and a cough. Today one more is opening her bill and starting to stretch her neck also.
I went to the store and bought Wazine. Put it in their water.
I just moved here, coons are prevalent. I have been letting them out to play for about a month. They dust bathe and peck around all the time. Have been very happy. Maybe roundworms? Any other ideas. All have been healthy, I brooded them myself from my own eggs. No new chickens in. I am in northern Utah. Weather is excellent and they are in at night. No stresses since the move a month ago. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks much

 

[ChicKat]

4 month old pullets yesterday one was standing alone stretching her head with her beak open like she wasn't getting any air. I massaged her throat and later she drank a little and ate some, but it continued. Today separate and continuing. Every once in a while something between a squawk and a cough. Today one more is opening her bill and starting to stretch her neck also.
I went to the store and bought Wazine. Put it in their water.
I just moved here, coons are prevalent. I have been letting them out to play for about a month. They dust bathe and peck around all the time. Have been very happy. Maybe roundworms? Any other ideas. All have been healthy, I brooded them myself from my own eggs. No new chickens in. I am in northern Utah. Weather is excellent and they are in at night. No stresses since the move a month ago. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks much

Perhaps it would help to take a look into Gapeworm. One of the symptoms is when the chicken appears to be gasping for breath...hence the name. Wazine will not help --because the Gape Work lives in the tracheal area -- only the eggs would pass through the intestine. The type of wormer you get would have to enter the chickens blood stream.

Here's a wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gapeworm

In the chicken health handbook Gail Damerow recommends thiabendazole or levamisole for treatment.

 

[jeancordelia]

Thank you
I now have a third one having trouble. They have been in with my older hens about 10 days to two weeks. The older hens are fine, but the rooster I notice has been shaking his head vigeroulsy for about two weeks. Just now and then. I was starting to think some kind of parasite in the airways. It sounds like this may be the problem. I lean towards Ivermectin. I have used it on various animals before and it does wonders for parasites. If it is in their airway how do they expel them once the are dead? I've diluted it and given it orally to canaries and injected it on sheep. Which would you think better. Also if you think that I should try to get the other medication, where would you suggest I try? Also thank you so much, I had not ever heard of this particular worm.
Jean

 

[ChicKat]

Hi Jean,

I use something a bit similar since we have a cattle ranch and I have access to Cydectin. I talked to one of our vets who said that the active ingeredients are basically the same--in all the '-mectin' products,. (Giant bottle something like $300--400--- It is administered by weight...so a 2200 pound bull needs a lot, a 1000 pound cow needs less but still a lot and a 300 pound calf not so much. So we buy the giant bottles for the herds. I teeny chicken -- a few drops. It is also an "off label" use.

It may have been the Gape that one of my hens was showing that made me get on a regular and vigorous worming program. I use it as a "pour on" -- and I put about 5-6 drops on the back of the neck skin after getting all the feathers out of the way. (It is purple BTW). It's important to not get it in the fluff....Because then the fluff feathers could absorb it all, and it wouldn't get on the skin. On the other hand, it may have been the eye worm.... That particular chicken had everything (which I didn't know existed either!!)--- That hen BTW is fine now and lays about 5-eggs per week. Since both of those parasites 'drink blood' I wanted a blood-borne method to worm my flock. In this part of TX it is a paradise for parasites...there is never a hard-freeze on the ground to kill them or any eggs....and there is seldom even a hard frost.

So, in my case, administering the skin route-- she was able to get rid of any with no problems. There is always a risk however. If you have given it to canaries successfully, then your methods would work superbly with the products you have used...which ever route you choose for administering IMO.

And since the possibility of parasite eggs on your premises (earth worm is one of the hosts or vectors for this one right? --) a regular worming program may be something you want to consider.

Hope it clears up fast.

 

[jeancordelia]

Thanks
I used Wazine the other day so I have waited a day to do the Ivermectin. All the young ones are showing signs now. They sort of make a funny noise, like a squawk but short and kind of muffled. Kind of like a noise they make sometimes when one dies. I am going to go out now and do like you said, a few drops on the back of the neck and leg band them at the same time. I have always confined mine due to predators. I lived in Arizona. I and they enjoy their being able to be out, but I may clean up the bedding in the hen house and keep them in. It would resolve a lot of issues. We all just enjoy so much their being out. Other than that it is regular worming, just for starters. When I did the canaries I diluted it way down (way down) and only a drop or two in the bill. It was for leg mites on some birds that I picked up. Thanks for your help.