Question on thin hen and also gape worm

[chickymama32]

I have 3 hens all new layers. About 3 weeks ago I lost my baby brahma to what I think was Cocci. My Ameracauna started to exhibit the same signs as my Brahma so I immediately started Corid, At this time my RSL and my BR were laying daily for me. Within 2 days my Ameracauna was back to her self. It took about a week and a half for the diarrhea to stop in all of them and everyone seemed fine but my RSL seems to be getting thinner and thinner. I don't know it is me being worried because of the previous sickness or if there is something wrong. I did add Rooster Booster to their feed for 2 weeks incase there was also a worm issue. My RSL stopped laying about 2 weeks ago and im not sure why. My Ameracauna actually laid her first egg today! She is not displaying any other symptoms other than appearing thin. She eats and forages all day and I am giving scrambled eggs and flock raiser mixed in her food for extra protein. I have checked all the hens countless times for external parasites and do not see anything.


Gape Worm question- So I hear it is rare to see this? True? When a hen opens her mouth and shakes her head it is an indicator of gape worm? Is the hen doing it often and all the time or once in awhile thing? I have seen all 3 hens and my 2 turkeys do this but only every once in awhile. Not consistently and no head shaking.

Anyway, tips or suggestions for my RSL? Not sure where to go from here.

 

[cstronks]

When a chicken makes a yawning motion, it is them adjusting their crop 99% of the time. Gapeworm is a relatively rare disease to encounter in chickens, and the motion is more strenuous than a yawn, as it is more a gasp for air than anything. I've had my chickens do this on and off every now and then, but none have ever showed any symptom of being sick and have always eaten and drank like pigs! Gapeworm symptoms are more encompassing than chickens making a yawning motion. It is just crop adjustment. If you do notice your chickens doing this more often than you would like, you can feed them bread that has been doused with olive oil. The oil will really lube up their throats and hopefully help any larger masses in the crop move along and into their stomach. Hope this helps!

 

[chickymama32]

Here is a pic of the hen in question. This was just taken

 

[chickymama32]

This was her in July

 

[chickymama32]

She is about 24/25 weeks old

 

[cstronks]

Her eyes are closed in this picture, correct? If so, that is a bad sign. It doesn't look like her tail is pointed down, which is a good sign. Is she still laying?

 

[chickymama32]

She was blinking. She is not lethargic and does not close eyes or rest standing. She stopped laying 2 weeks ago. She was only laying for about a month prior to stopping and she was a daily layer.

 

[casportpony]

I have many chickens, probably way more than the average person and I've only seen what I thought were gapes once. That hen was an average sized Wyandotte, so I gave her 1.5ml Safeguard for 3 days and that fixed her.

My hen was clearly in respiratory distress... open mouth breathing and was make a strange noise when she inhale *and* when she exhaled. The occasional yawn and/or head shaking doesn't worry me if they are otherwise healthy.

-Kathy

 

[TinyBirds]

Is it possible she's laying eggs somewhere else? We have had hens lay under their houses and one even went under a piece of plywood that was practically flat on the ground and we found 30 eggs under there.

 

[chickymama32]

I have checked for other laying spots and so far nothing.