Rattle when breathing--suggestions Please

[tail_feather]

I have a 14 week old Blue Orpington pullet that has a loud rattle when she breathes and slinges her head occasionally and kind of sneezes. Otherwise, she is perfectly fine. She has done this since she was a chick. She is growing, eating her feed and all the treats. There is no discharge of any kind and the rest of the flock is just fine. What is it and what can I do to help her?? Thank you in advance.

 

[WooingWyandotte]

It could be Gapeworm. Gapeworm eggs can be picked up anywhere (like all parasite eggs) from drinking form puddles to eating slugs. Gapeworms mostly live in the trachea, but can be found in the bronchi/lungs. The larvae go through the intestinal wall and go up to the lungs. Here the larvae molt, and the male and females attach to eachother. This takes about a week. Gape worm eggs can get coughed up, swallowed, or passed into the poop.
Gasping for breath, stretching the neck, shaking the head are all common sign of Gapeworm. Also gurgling which is known as the 'tracheal rattle' are heard. This can be misdiagnosed as a respiratory infection, so keep that in mind

When the bird get's loaded heavy all the worms clog up it's trachea, thus causing suffocation.
Mature gape worms are Y-shaped and can grow in between 1cm-2cm long.

Hope this helped

WW

 

[tail_feather]

Wow! Makes sense. How do you treat for gape worms? Thank you!

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
1/4cc valbazen orally, you'll have to dose her 3-4 times at 10 day intervals IF it's gapeworm.