Treated for Gapeworm but maybe not it…

[ANiceKaren]

Hey everyone! My Dandelion just went through a tough molt.. had a crop issue but that went away BUT now just a week later molting again. She is eating and drinking but tonight I noticed her gasping every few minutes and shaking her head. If course I researched and got all scared of Gapeworm.. treated her with pea size of Safeguard and then came here to read that Gapeworm is very rare and probably a respiratory issue instead? I did hear a bit of crackling type sound when I picked her up to give her safeguard. My question is.. will the safeguard hurt her? Make her worse? I knew I should have come here first! Can molting happen 2x within a few months? She is eating a ton but seems thin. I assume from her hard molt a few weeks ago because she wasn’t eating much. Just worried about the safeguard and the gasping/head shaking.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'd re-check to make sure her crop is emptying overnight.
Look inside her beak to see if there's any food stuck, if she has mucous, canker, lesions, etc.

Look inside her ears for any signs of infection or pus.

Do you have photos of her? She's molting again or is she just now really getting into molt. Some birds can go through a light molt, but a normal or heavy molt usually follows a specific pattern or feather loss - starting at the head and neck, then folowing down the back, breast, wings and tail.

I'd make sure she's eating her normal feed. You can provide extra protein a few times a week to give her a boost (egg, meat, fish).
Poultry vitamins a couple of times a week may be helpful as well. Often when in molt birds go off feed.

Gapeworm is fairly rare. If you do want to treat her and she's molting, I would not use Safeguard (Fenbendazole) since it's known to affect feather quality in molting birds.

Valbazen (Albendazole) would be a better choice to use if you feel you must deworm her during molt. Dose is 0.08ml per pound of weight given orally once, then repeated in 10days.

For future reference, make a note of the correct dosing for Safeguard (Fenbendazole) - it is by weight, not by "pea".
To treat Roundworms Only - Safeguard dose is 0.23ml per pound of weight given orally once, then repeated in 10 days.
To treat most worms that poultry can have except for Tapeworm - Safeguard dose is 0.23ml per pound of weight given orally once a day for 5 days in a row.

 

[ANiceKaren]

I'd re-check to make sure her crop is emptying overnight.
Look inside her beak to see if there's any food stuck, if she has mucous, canker, lesions, etc.

Look inside her ears for any signs of infection or pus.

Do you have photos of her? She's molting again or is she just now really getting into molt. Some birds can go through a light molt, but a normal or heavy molt usually follows a specific pattern or feather loss - starting at the head and neck, then folowing down the back, breast, wings and tail.

I'd make sure she's eating her normal feed. You can provide extra protein a few times a week to give her a boost (egg, meat, fish).
Poultry vitamins a couple of times a week may be helpful as well. Often when in molt birds go off feed.

Gapeworm is fairly rare. If you do want to treat her and she's molting, I would not use Safeguard (Fenbendazole) since it's known to affect feather quality in molting birds.

Valbazen (Albendazole) would be a better choice to use if you feel you must deworm her during molt. Dose is 0.08ml per pound of weight given orally once, then repeated in 10days.

For future reference, make a note of the correct dosing for Safeguard (Fenbendazole) - it is by weight, not by "pea".
To treat Roundworms Only - Safeguard dose is 0.23ml per pound of weight given orally once, then repeated in 10 days.
To treat most worms that poultry can have except for Tapeworm - Safeguard dose is 0.23ml per pound of weight given orally once a day for 5 days in a row.

Thank you for all this great info! I freaked out thinking gapeworm. That will teach me to research online! She seems to not be doing the gasping this morning.. a little neck stretching when she is eating. ? Her crop was empty this morning and here are some pics. I truly thought her molt was done because it started over a month ago.. she had pin feathers and everything and now losing a lot of feathers again.. fluffy ones? She is 2 years old. Eating and drinking.. running around. I was just worried the Safeguard would hurt her if not needed. I’ll up her protein a bit too. Thank you!