Refeeding Eggs After using Ivermectin, Suspected Gapeworm

[Chez Poulet]

I suspect that one of my golden campines has gapeworm after consulting with a chicken expert in the area and reading extensively on this forum and on the internet.

I have a friend who works at a vet's office and is giving me Ivermectin 1% (for cattle and swine) and I am planning on administering .25cc to the back of the neck of all 16 of the chooks, included the one suspected of the problem.

Signs are: Scratching at nostrils, bloody discharge, shaking head, gaping, wheezing and raspy voice. Otherwise, she is eating and seems to be healthy.

So, after I administer the Ivermectin, should I wait one or two weeks after to eat the eggs? During this time, can I feed their own cooked eggs back to the chooks? Can the cooked eggs be given to other wild birds such as the jays? Can dogs eat them? My chickens are strictly pets, so I don't plan on eating their meat.

Thanks in advance for any of your personal experiences and advice.
Lori

 

[speckledhen]

The one thing that doesn't fit is the bloody discharge. Seems an odd symptom for gapeworm to me, but I could be off track.

Is it Invermectin or Ivomec Eprinex you have? Eprinex may not get gapeworm if so. I believe most people wait two weeks minimum, but it's all guesswork since it hasn't really been studied in chickens, that I'm aware of (off-label use of product). You should be able to give the eggs to the dogs and the wild birds since I doubt there's that much residue in there.

 

[Chez Poulet]

Specked Hen,
Thanks for the reply. I am perlexed by the blood too, but all other signs seem to point to the gapeworm. They have eaten earthworms and slugs since before the snow came in. She shakes her head really hard and I'm wondering if she just didn't do some internal damage, but she does have a very raspy call and when she does call out. Then she make a sharp couple of peeps, like it hurt to call out. So, maybe like we humans, if we have a bad case of larangitis, we could have blood in our sputum or when we cough because it is so irritated/raw.

I forgot to add the nose picking, scratching at her nose could be the problem of the blood.

 

[speckledhen]

I agree, it could be that she injured herself in some way, and that the blood may not be the direct result of gapeworm. Let us know if the treatment fixes her.

 

[Chez Poulet]

I just got the medicine, it is Ivercide 1%. I am going by the recommended dosage of other chicken keepers of .25cc administered dermally behind the neck if there are no objections.

See my new note below this post for the recommended dosage.

 

[speckledhen]

I've not used that wormer, so I'll defer to someone who has. I've used Eprinex twice on the back of the neck, 1/2 cc for my big girls and roosters and 1/4 for bantams or smaller bodied girls.

 

[Chez Poulet]

It is recommended by a well-known poultry/livestock keeper/seller in my area to use two drops on the back of the neck with an eye dropper, not from a syringe. He suspects it's gapeworm as well. He said that should do the trick.

From my understanding, Ivermectin is a neurotoxin, so DO NOT get this stuff on your own skin. I am using thick gloves in case any were to get on me. He did say to avoid eating the eggs for two weeks and it is okay to feed to dogs, but I'm not sure about puppies.

 

[Chez Poulet]

Dora seems to be doing a bit better this morning. He call isn't as raspy, she isn't gaping. Wow, does that stuff work so fast? I guess I'll need to dose the rest of the girls now too since they all could be exposed to it or even have it.

 

[kinnip]

I've never administered ivermectin topically, so I cannot comment as to effectiveness used in that manner. It's A-O.K. to get on your skin. I've taken it orally before, per a doc's instruction. It's used extensively in the third world where human worm infestations are common. It eliminates internal and external parasites by paralyzing the muscle wall along the outside of their bodies as well as their digestive muscles and reproductive muscles. The drug doesn't have an appreciable effect on human physiology, in normal doses. I think the withdraw time for meat is 35 days. Extrapolate what you will from that. There simply isn't any published research on chickens. I think the overwhelming tendency to think of chickens as purely expendable beings has lead to some myopathy in the purview of researchers.
ETA: The blood is weird. Have you considered canker or some other infection?

 

[Chez Poulet]

I don't know about a canker, but the blood does freak me out a bit. The head shaking, gaping, rasp, breathing weird, etc. all point to gapeworm, but a canker would be viral, like a cold sore, right? Maybe something that would go away on it's own? I don't have antiviral meds for the girls, but I do have an assortment of antibiotics on hand for any illnesses. Chicken illnesses are new to me and any little thing that the girls have different about them causes concern. Since they're pets and I'm with them a lot, I notice any anomaly.