Wry neck and sudden death

[jacriswell]

I have a Crested Cream Legbar pullet at point of lay (24 weeks, no egg yet). Less than 48 hours ago I noticed she seemed sleepy-she was resting in the nesting box when she would normally be foraging. Last night when I went out to close the coop door, she was on the floor of the coop with wry neck, already flapping and very distressed. I isolated her immediately, and this morning she was very dead. I have not observed any strange behavior from her at all (appetite or poop) until the sleepiness. No nasal discharge, no sneezing, no weight loss. I did recently ( one week ago) worm the flock with Safeguard 10% (3cc per gallon of water). I'm not aware of any injury, and she did go into the coop at dusk with everyone else. I'm concerned this may be a symptom of something awful as opposed to an isolated event, but can't find much helpful info online. Any thoughts/ideas/questions?

 

[casportpony]

I have a Crested Cream Legbar pullet at point of lay (24 weeks, no egg yet). Less than 48 hours ago I noticed she seemed sleepy-she was resting in the nesting box when she would normally be foraging. Last night when I went out to close the coop door, she was on the floor of the coop with wry neck, already flapping and very distressed. I isolated her immediately, and this morning she was very dead. I have not observed any strange behavior from her at all (appetite or poop) until the sleepiness. No nasal discharge, no sneezing, no weight loss. I did recently ( one week ago) worm the flock with Safeguard 10% (3cc per gallon of water). I'm not aware of any injury, and she did go into the coop at dusk with everyone else. I'm concerned this may be a symptom of something awful as opposed to an isolated event, but can't find much helpful info online. Any thoughts/ideas/questions?

Sorry for your loss... The neck and flapping were from seizures, probably death seizures, but they could be cause from other things. If you can, put her in the fridge and FedEx her off to one of the labs in Texas for a necropsy.

The 3cc Safeguard per gallon did not rid your birds of any worms. Here is a picture from someone that thought like you did. This three month old chick had been wormed twice with the 3cc/gallon method.


For worming, your best bet would be to take a baggy of poop to a vet for a fecal float. If you can't do that, treat with Safeguard at 0.23ml per pound by mouth for five days in a row *or* treat with Valbazen at 0.08ml per pound once and repeat in ten days.

Curiously, where did you read to worm with 3cc per gallon?

-Kathy

Edited to correct error. Correct amount of Valbazen is 0.08ml per pound, not 0.8ml per pound.

 

[jacriswell]

I found the 3cc/gal suggestion on a thread on BYC. There are SOO many to read through and choose from-I chose that method because we had it on hand. I purchased Wazine but soon learned it's not very effective (broad spectrum) so didn't use it. I haven't seen any worms, but my flock free ranges.

 

[casportpony]

I found the 3cc/gal suggestion on a thread on BYC. There are SOO many to read through and choose from-I chose that method because we had it on hand. I purchased Wazine but soon learned it's not very effective (broad spectrum) so didn't use it. I haven't seen any worms, but my flock free ranges.

The owner of that chick didn't see any worms either. At this point you should consider your flock *not* de-wormed. If I were you I would de-worm them per the instructions in post #2 or have fecal floats done.

The 3cc a gallon thing is a pet peeve of mine and will definitely go on my "top ten worming misinformations" list.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/933643/top-ten-worming-misinformations

-Kathy

 

[jacriswell]

Is Valbazen readily available at Tractor Supply or do I need to order it online? Can weight be estimated for heavy/bantam breeds or do I need to actually weigh each bird for accurate dosing? How often do you recommend worming a free range backyard flock?

 

[casportpony]

Is Valbazen readily available at Tractor Supply or do I need to order it online? Can weight be estimated for heavy/bantam breeds or do I need to actually weigh each bird for accurate dosing? How often do you recommend worming a free range backyard flock?

Valbazen is not usually stocked at feed stores, so most people buy it online. No need to weigh each bird, just try to guess based on what the wiki page for that breed says.

• Jersey Giant Rooster - 13 pounds - 1.04ml
• Jersey Giant Hen - 10 pounds - 0.8ml
• Rhode Island Red Rooster - 8.5 pounds - 0.68ml
• Rhode Island Red Hen - 6.5 pounds - 0.52 ml
• Small Old English - 0.1ml
• Large Old English Bantam - 0.15ml
• Cochin Bantam - 0.25ml

Correct amount of Valbazen is 0.08ml per pound, not 0.8ml per pound like I wrote in my previous post. Sorry.

Just do you best at guessing. It's a safe wormer, so don't worry about giving to much.

-Kathy