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Post by kjdacre on Oct 30, 2009 9:28:55 GMT -5
 about 3 weeks ago one of our chickens started opening her beak every couple of seconds and stretching out her neck. we isolated her as one of the others started bullying her. at first we thought she had respiratory problems, she barely ate anything and we expected the worst. however someone told us about gape worm so we ordered flubenvent. it has been 2 weeks now and she has started eating again but still shows signs, sometimes a little improved but as her appetite has been so poor im not sure whether she has had enough medication to clear them. her symptoms definately do match gape worm, is it just a matter of time and waiting for all the worms to be killed off, any suggestions?
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Post by sgelder on Oct 30, 2009 10:50:33 GMT -5
Hi
What you describe "opening her beak every couple of seconds", does it look like she is straining to be sick, if so there is another explanation: It sounds very likely that she is trying to swallow something, some grass or hay may be stuck between her crop and the back of her tongue, this is very common and also a symptom of a compacted crop.
Birds with gapeworm more often than not display a constant gape with their beak open and sometimes gasping for breath with an exagerated cough.
Do you have a pippette at hand and some olive oil, fill the pippette a couple of times and put it in her mouth beyond the hole at the back of her tongue that leads to the lungs. Make sure that you are gentle and get beyond the hole, and don't just squirt it down. Then gently rub her crop, this may feel hard and compact, you may have to do this for a couple of days.
If she is coughing a lot and the gape is constant then there is a possibility that it is gape worm, however this is more common is pheasants, to be really sure you should clean the coop of all droppings as they contain larvae which are are voided with the faeces to continue their lifecycle in earthworms where they may survive for years until either wild birds or domestic ones continue the cycle. The eggs can survive in soil for nine months so try and rotate the areas in which you keep your chickens.
Hope this helps, let me know how you get on I may have other information that will help.
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Post by kjdacre on Oct 30, 2009 14:40:59 GMT -5
thanks for that will try tomorrow, she does cough and shake her head some of the time as well, it does'nt look like she is trying to be sick but that she is trying to extend her neck skywards sometimes other times she just opens her beak and occasionaly coughs and shakes her head at the same time.
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Post by kjdacre on Nov 1, 2009 17:48:26 GMT -5
tried olive oil over the weekend but just the same behaviour. her appetite is not great but better than the early days and she has been cleaning herself so must be feeling slightly better, however the gaping is still the same and every so often a cough with a shake of the head. if something is stuck in her throat how long would it take to clear, eg a long piece of grass?
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Post by sgelder on Nov 1, 2009 19:00:50 GMT -5
Hi
Glad to hear she's looking a little better, Okay let's take this one step at a time starting on the assumption that there is a problem in her crop. Using the olive oil method with pippette about 5ml is good give her a dose and gently rub her crop, at the same time tilt her forward but not completely upside down for a few seconds this should expell any obstruction, there may be some foul smelling gunge come out of her but don't worry, do this a couple of times but lift her back making sure she can breath. This can be repeated for a couple of days.
Mix some live natural yogurt with some mash or pelets, this has a good bacteria that will help prevent any infection, also make sure there is a supply of grit readily available to help break down food in her crop. Add apple cider vinegar to her water, this also helps break down food and will help kill any parasite that may be present as will garlic flakes on her food. All of this is beneficial and will do no harm at all, garlic capsules may be broken into her water or food bowl if flakes aren't available. It may cost a few pounds but it's worth it to treat your chicken. Continue this treament for a couple of days and you should see a greater improvement. Chickens, like humans need time to recover after an ailment so anything you can do to make her comfortable will be a good help. The yogurt will boost the recovery time of her bacterial system in her stomach. Apple cider vinegar may be added to their water a couple of times a week.
Are you continuing with the flubenvet as per instructions?
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Post by kjdacre on Nov 3, 2009 2:15:21 GMT -5
yes still continuing with flubenvent, she has been on yoghurt since being ill as at one stage that was all she would eat, will try grit, garlic and cider and olive oil , thanks for all your help will let you know how she gets on.
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Post by kjdacre on Nov 7, 2009 4:01:21 GMT -5
tried olive oil again and still no joy, she seems to be eating more than she was but still continues to gape. tried olive oil, flubenvet, cider, grit, yoghurt, garlic. no idea what to do next, my husband had a look down her throat as best he could and it all looked fine so obviously problem must be further down, any ideas anyone ?
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Post by sgelder on Nov 7, 2009 8:25:55 GMT -5
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Post by kjdacre on Dec 26, 2009 4:38:05 GMT -5
thanks for your help with marj, she is recovering slowly, still gaping but it is reducing. her appetite has returned and she is putting on weight and has even laid a couple of eggs. we have bought her a friend from happy chicks, betty the turkey, and they are getting along very well. i can only think that she ate something from the garden that has got stuck somewhere and is slowly rotting away as no treatment seemed to work but anyway thanks
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Post by bdhohq on Aug 3, 2019 9:22:06 GMT -5
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about 3 weeks ago one of our chickens started opening her beak every couple of seconds and stretching out her neck. we isolated her as one of the others started bullying her. at first we thought she had respiratory problems, she barely ate anything and we expected the worst. however someone told us about gape worm so we ordered flubenvent. it has been 2 weeks now and she has started eating again but still shows signs, sometimes a little improved but as her appetite has been so poor im not sure whether she has had enough medication to clear them. her symptoms definately do match gape worm, is it just a matter of time and waiting for all the worms to be killed off, any suggestions?