Sick Sally

[Ga Chicken Mom]

Sally, 10 month old BO, has been sick since 4/06. There are many nice people on the forum who have suggested different remedies for what I think is gapeworm. I have treated her 2xs with Ivomec Eprinex, .25 cc applied to skin between the shoulder blades. Sally continues to decline and I am amazed she has made it this long. She extends her head and gasps each time she breathes. She has no other symptoms except now she is getting weaker. She is eating very little. Sally is in the basement by herself, she has a plate in front of her with scrambled egg, yogurt and greens. She also has regular laying feed, a paste of laying feed/water and water with acv. I entubated her last evening and gave her 10 cc of pediolyte. I know the electrolytes went into her esophogus. Afterwards Sally gasped excessively, shook her head violently and even had spasms. I held her for 2 hours and she finally settled down. Sally is still alive this morning and looking a little more bright eyed. She is still gasping with every breath. She only had a couple of beak fulls of yogurt. Every time I try to hand feed her or dribble fluids on her beak she really starts gasping and having difficulty breathing. I have Vita-Pro B conc and VetRx on order, the shipment should have arrived Wed but hasn't been delivered - tomorrow for sure. I want to give Sally every chance to live. Should I try to give her fluids sub-q? If anyone has any suggestions, please respond. There are no vets that know anything about chickens in our little town.

 

[MissPrissy]

We need Diana to see this thread. dlunicorn, where are you???

 

[speckledhen]

I just read that fenbendazole is effective for gapeworm, whereas Eprinex may not be. Not sure what to tell you Barbara. I know that helpless feeling.

 

[dlhunicorn]

I am wondering if that is sufficient amount... (thought that was the dosage for a banty? Double it if your bird is not ) It must be said that if the gapeworm is present in sufficient numbers that it occasionally happens that the dead worms can block the esophogus and asphyxiate the bird. Fenbendazol is recommended as it works sometimes slower than the ivermectin/Eprinex (so less chance of asphyxiation). (There has been reports of resistance in cases where ivermectin is regularly used but I am assuming this is not the case with your bird)

It might also be aspergillosis in which case if it is then a wormer is not going to help. I will get info on aspergillosis and post it as an edit to this post.

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/434/poultry-health-aspergillosis
an excellent review with photos

http://www.aspergillus.org.uk/indexhome.htm?secure/veterinary/Poultdis1.html~main
"....Signs
Dyspnea, gasping, and accelerated breathing may be present. When these symptoms are associated with other respiratory diseases such as infectious bronchitis and infectious laryngotracheitis, they are usually accompanied by gurgling and rattling noises, whereas in aspergillosis there usually is no sound. Guberlet (1923) ascribed somnolence, inappetence, emaciation, increased thirst, and pyrexia to aspergillosis. Cases under his observation emaciated rapidly and showed a diarrhea in the later stages. Dysphagia was noted in cases in which the esophageal mucosa was involved. Mortality was as high as 50% in confined birds on some farms whereas birds running outdoors were more resistant and escaped infection entirely on other farms. According to Van Heelsbergen (1929), some investigators have reported serous excretions from the nasal and ocular mucosa. Extreme dyspnea was recorded by De Jong (1912) in canaries. In an outbreak in wild turkey poults reared in captivity, described by Durant and Tucker (1935), mortality began at 5 days reached a peak at 15 days and subsided at 3 weeks of age. Some affected poults died in convulsions within 24 hours. In two lots of poults 200 survived out of 785. Gauger (1941) reported an outbreak in adult chickens in which about 10% of the flock were affected with symptoms not unlike those shown by birds affected with laryngotracheitis and in which there was no abnormal mortality, but the egg production was temporarily lowered. Reis (1940) and Hudson (1947) have reported infection of the eyes in chicks 2-5 weeks of age. Infection in Reis's cases originated in sawdust litter and in Hudson's cases in bagasse litter. The outbreaks were characterised by the formation of a yellow cheesy pellet beneath the nictitating membrane which caused the lids to bulge (Fig 14.2). There was some central ulceration of the cornea in the older chicks.
Raines et al (1956) described an encephalitis including a torticollis and lack of equilibrium Hubben (1958) reported Meningoencephalitis in both turkeys and ducks. ...."

You can also call Peter Browns emergency number and leave a message (you can tell him I told you to call if it makes you feel better about calling on a Sunday but I think in this case it is warranted) and ask his opinion as to it being gapeworm or aspergillosis >Ask his advice on how to proceed further... (Peter Brown is owner of First State Vet Supply and is very knowledgeable on medications and their application) at this telephone number:
Peter Brown / First State Vet Supply
800-950-8387

...if necessary he can ship you meds overnite.

 

[Ga Chicken Mom]

Thank you again, dhlunicorn. Sally ate a little yogurt and cheese this evening and didn't choke as badly afterwards. She is sleeping soundly now. What you wrote about the ivermectin causing the gapeworms to die off quickly makes sense. If a dog infected with heartworm is given the drug, the worms can die quickly and cause vascular obstruction and death. Fungal infection of the lungs is something I have not come across in my searching. Sally shows no other symptoms and the article you quoted mentions that aspergillus can cause gasping but she hasn't been breathing rapidly. I will call Peter Brown tomorrow since you recommended him, thanks for the number. I have searched his website and ordered Vita-Pro B and Vet Rx from First State Vet Supply. Unless Sally shows great improvement, I will intubate again tomorrow and give either the Vita-Pro B or VetRx. The meds were supposed to be delivered by last Wed so should be here tomorrow for sure. Sally is a good chicken and I don't want to lose her.

 

[dlhunicorn]

actually I would be hesitant to use the vETRX in this case... it is only going to provide at best symptomatic relief and the risks associated with it (camphor/aromatic) just isnt worth it IMHO

Do you have access to OXINE? You can mist with that and that would actually have some chance of possible treatment of the source of the problem and would not involve any risk. Here is an article on the use of OXINE (I use VirkonS but same principles apply):
http://www.shagbarkbantams.com/oxine.htm

 

[Ga Chicken Mom]

I spoke with Peter Brown ( First State Vet Supply) this morning - great guy - and he thinks Sally has something stuck in her trachea. That's what Cyn has been thinking all along. Other than turning her upside down and massaging her throat, there's nothing else to be done. Peter doesn't have much hope for dislodging the object because the trachea is so small. I want to intubate her one more time and get some nutrition and fluids in her. If she doesn't show any signs of improvement by tomorrow and she makes it through the night, I'm afraid we will have to put her down.

 

[ChickadeeLover]

I am so sorry about Sally. I am praying for a miracle!

 

[speckledhen]

Oh, Barbara! It did seem to me like that's what it was. So, Doc agrees... If the worst happens and you do lose her, I want to talk to you about something. Hope it doesn't come to that.

 

[dlhunicorn]

you are able to get a tube down to intubate and yet the trachea is blocked....