Sick Chicken - Possible Gapeworm, Coccidia...

[JuliaWesterbeek]

I have an Olive Egger hen who has been yawning (as if something is stuck in her throat) regularly for the past few days. Other than the yawning, she was very active, eating well, etc. However, today I saw her sleeping/resting more than normal, and when feeding mealworms she was not as excited and active.

I dewormed two weeks ago, so I don't think that she has worms... She is also just a pullet, so she is not laying eggs yet.

Any replies are appreciated

 

[JuliaWesterbeek]

The sickly chicken sleeping at random. Very unresponsive when trying to wake her up.

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Greetings JuliaWesterbeek,

She appears very ill, sleepiness during the day is not good.
More information is needed. Here are a couple of common health issues in young chickens, to check for.

Crop:
Have you checked the pullet's crop? Her crop should be empty in the morning. Feel her crop right now, is it hard with food? If she isn't eating much, there shouldn't be much food in it. If the crop feels puffy and doughy, and has fluid in it, next, smell her mouth. Does it have a stinky odor like something fermenting, or something foul?

Poops:
What do her poops look like? Diarrhea, firm, lots of clear water? What color are the urates (the white part)? A photo of her poop would be helpful.
Check the hen's vent also, to make sure there is no sign of irritation, blood, protrusions or swelling.
Have you done a fecal float test on the hen's poop?

Coccidia:
Coccidia are found all over the world. Because of the pullet's age, she may have coccidia. She has many of the symptoms of coccidia. A fecal float test would verify this. However, you can start treatment right away, it won't hurt her. Corid (amprolium), is a common treatment here in the U.S. It is mixed in the water. But, if she isn't drinking, you may have to administer some orally. Another treatment is Albon (sulfamethioxine), it can be found in a liquid suspension and administered orally. Albon also treats other infections.

Do a basic exam:
Check the hen's body, under the wings, under the feet, etc., for injury, lumps, growths, and external parasites. Many health issues are made worse by secondary problems.

If you have access to a vet, that would be the very best thing for the hen. If not, you will have to do an exam on the hen and compile a list of as many visible symptoms as you can.

The members here on BYC will do their best to help determine what is causing you pullet's illness.

These are my thoughts on your chicken's issue. I hope I have been helpful.

God Bless

 

[JuliaWesterbeek]

Thank you for your reply.

I have just examined the chicken and she looks completely healthy. Her crop feels completely normal, exactly like the other two (healthy) hens. Her vent is not swollen either. I can't find any lumps, growths, mites, etc. on her either. The only 'injury' I can find is a tiny scab on her foot (just a small cut), nothing extreme or to worry about.

In case that it is gapeworm, as some of her symptoms point to this, I dewormed her with Verm-X (a natural dewormer), I fed her the doses by hand and she ate all of it. I have also just bought some Flubenol 5% online and I'll give her that to deworm once it has arrived, just in case.

I have put her in a separate area, away from the other chickens, so that I can see what her poop looks like. Once she has pooped, I will take a picture and post it on this thread.

If her conditions worsen, I will bring her to a vet (can't do it today as it is already 9.30pm here in The Netherlands). I just need to find a vet in the area that also treats chickens.

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

If you could at least find a vet that will check her poop, that would be extremely helpful. Even a cat and dog vet, can do a fecal float test for you. Then, you would know for sure if coccidia was her problem. Coccidia is a deadly parasite. It is a major cause of death in chicks and young chickens. Even older chickens can be infected.

Gapeworm presents with labored breathing. Which can look like yawning, but it can be something else ailing her. If you swab her throat, you can take a look to see if there are any typical "Y" shaped worms. Even if there aren't any where you swab, that doesn't mean they aren't there. It's worth a try, though. Here again a fecal float test will verify the parasite. My experience with Verm-X has been fair. It is more of a prevention, than a dewormer. Once there is an infestation, a good dewormer is needed. It's good that you are going to deworm her with the Flubenol.

When a chicken is showing labored breathing, other things can be causing this. For instance, labored breathing is present in respiratory illness, of course, but also in heart failure, fungal infections, advanced internal infections, tumors and tracheal obstruction.

So, hopefully you have it right, and your girl will feel better after the deworming with Flubenol. Just be aware, once gapeworm is affecting the breathing of a bird, it may be too late to sufficiently reduce the numbers of worms, impacting the airway. Also, if gapeworm is verified, you may have to do frequent wormings, and retest often with a fecal float, to be sure the flock is not infected.

Do what you can to help her. If she doesn't make it, a necropsy should be done, to make sure this isn't something that will affect the rest of your chickens.

I will pray for your little girl, that she makes a full recovery!

God Bless and peace to you.

 

[JuliaWesterbeek]

Thank you! You have helped a lot

I've added two pictures of her poop in this post.

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Thank you! You have helped a lot

I've added two pictures of her poop in this post.

Poop looks normal...doesn't appear to be infection.

If you are able to swab the throat, you may catch worms that have not yet made it to the airway, which leads to the trachea.

Keep us updated here on BYC, as many are learning from these posts.

God Bless

 

[JuliaWesterbeek]

Poop looks normal...doesn't appear to be infection.

If you are able to swab the throat, you may catch worms that have not yet made it to the airway, which leads to the trachea.

Keep us updated here on BYC, as many are learning from these posts.

God Bless

I separated the sick chicken from the other two and had her live in a rabbit cage (in the living room) for two days. I treated her against gapeworm and although she was still sleepy, she stopped yawning and started eating A LOT.

I have now put her back with her friends and she seems to be doing okay, only occasionally falling asleep. I have also dewormed the other two, just to be sure that they will stay healthy.

Thank you for your help