Resp illness vs gapeworm?

[sayccrn]

Hey guys! I've got a question or two. I had to do work on my coop yesterday and it involved fumes. I closed them off in their cage portion, (I cannot leave them free range, I have about 20 hawks in the neighboring trees) and left the coop open and the windows open and a fan on it. I am thinking it was still too much for my silver wyandotte. Today she started with sneezing and shaking her head and opening her mouth at times, almost like adjusting her crop but not really. I got and treated them all with VetRx. I am thinking /hoping it's from my work yesterday, but idk, maybe it's early gapeworm symptoms? I've heard they are bad in GA. I just find it awful coincidental that I did the work yesterday, and today she's doing that. I also treat their water with garlic, oregano, rosemary and ACV, so I would hope their throats would be inhabitable to the little buggers. But I really don't know. She doesn't seem bothered by it, still eating, pooping and is active. What do you guys think (gapewrom or resp illness) and is there anything else I can do? Will the vetrx help her? Do I give it to her every day or twice a day? How long before I know if it's worked? And if it's gapeworm: what is the treatment? (Side note: when I was giving her the vetrx, she happened to open up her mouth real good in line with my sight, and I quickly looked before she moved and I didn't see anything in her mouth for that second.) Thanks so much guys!

 

[sloanbychoice]

So my first question would be the “fumes” you mentioned. What exactly are we talking about? Some paint, varnish, chemicals? The cause of the fumes will have a major impact here.
Second, gapeworm is not as common as some people say, although it is a possibility. Typically, you’d first notice decrease in appetite, head shaking, etc. Then the gape. The gape comes after the infestation is bad enough that it’s causing a blockage of the airway.
VetRx is a great product, but it’s a symptom reliever, not a medication. It will mostly help relieve congestion if there is any.
Hopefully, the experts here will have some more insight on this.
@dawg53 thoughts?

 

[sayccrn]

So my first question would be the “fumes” you mentioned. What exactly are we talking about? Some paint, varnish, chemicals? The cause of the fumes will have a major impact here.
Second, gapeworm is not as common as some people say, although it is a possibility. Typically, you’d first notice decrease in appetite, head shaking, etc. Then the gape. The gape comes after the infestation is bad enough that it’s causing a blockage of the airway.
VetRx is a great product, but it’s a symptom reliever, not a medication. It will mostly help relieve congestion if there is any.
Hopefully, the experts here will have some more insight on this.
@dawg53 thoughts?

Yup, that's exactly the type of chemical fumes. It doesn't smell at all today or even this morning. But it was pretty strong, I was trying to protect them, and did the best i could. Hopefully it will be ok and she'll be fine. I saw a you tube video of someone who had a chicken much worse off than mine, and he said one dose and she was fine. So, hopefully she'll be good. But if she's not, what else can I try? since vetrx is basically just herbals, although they do have a lot of antibacterial properties in the oregano and rosemary.

 

[dawg53]

@sayccrn It's not gapeworms if your hen is eating and drinking. All that natural stuff your giving her doesnt make any kind of worms inhabitable. Also, gapeworms are lodged in the trachea, not the throat.
It's not a respiratory disease neither. There would be other symptoms and your other birds would be showing symptoms as well.
I suspect that she was sensitive to the fumes and may have effected her lungs/air sacs in some manner. I wouldnt do anything, give her a few days to heal in fresh air which you're currently doing.

 

[sayccrn]

@sayccrn It's not gapeworms if your hen is eating and drinking. All that natural stuff your giving her doesnt make any kind of worms inhabitable. Also, gapeworms are lodged in the trachea, not the throat.
It's not a respiratory disease neither. There would be other symptoms and your other birds would be showing symptoms as well.
I suspect that she was sensitive to the fumes and may have effected her lungs/air sacs in some manner. I wouldnt do anything, give her a few days to heal in fresh air which you're currently doing.

Great! Thank you so much!

 

[sayccrn]

Good news! She is fine. She's not doing it at all anymore and seems just fine. Thank you.