GAPEWORM - how to clean coop & run

[Jurot08]

I took one of my hens to the vet yesterday. Another of my chickens passed away suddenly this week and this one started looking sick too. The vet confirmed my flock has gapeworm! He started all my birds on fenbendazol. The receptionist told me I should wait a day and then clean my coop and run so the birds stay gapeworm free.

My run is covered with a tarp and has hardware cloth sides. The bedding is sand. Do gapeworms live in sand?? I want to avoid buying new sand since I just recently completed the coop and run and am low on funds. Is there a way of cleaning what I have?

The coop itself is a wooden shed with hay as bedding. I’m going to dospose of all the hay. Would it be better to clean with a bleach solution or vinegar?

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Debbie292d]

Gapeworm is rare, but my understanding is they come from an intermediate host, such as an earthworm. Earthworms/worms can live in sand, but around here they aren't in sandy areas much at all. Maybe take a couple of shovelfuls of it and run it through a strainer to see what you get, if anything.

Bleach or vinegar is good for cleaning, bleach probably is a better killer. We use Odoban when cleaning as it kills more than bleach but that may be more than you need for your issues.

They got gapeworm from something, so if not the sand, then where else are they that they can eat worms?

 

[Jurot08]

Gapeworm is rare, but my understanding is they come from an intermediate host, such as an earthworm. Earthworms/worms can live in sand, but around here they aren't in sandy areas much at all. Maybe take a couple of shovelfuls of it and run it through a strainer to see what you get, if anything.

Bleach or vinegar is good for cleaning, bleach probably is a better killer. We use Odoban when cleaning as it kills more than bleach but that may be more than you need for your issues.

They got gapeworm from something, so if not the sand, then where else are they that they can eat worms?

I got some chicks from a feed store last June and one of them was sick with something that made it gasp and have trouble breathing. I took it back within 24 hours but I’m afraid it may have infected the others.

 

[Kiki]

How did your vet test for gapeworm?
Did they also test for respiratory diseases?

 

[Jurot08]

How did your vet test for gapeworm?
Did they also test for respiratory diseases?

Yes, he shined a flashlight down my sick hens throat and said he saw the worms. He said she did also have a secondary infection and gave her antibiotics for those. But told me to treat all the chickens for the worms.

 

[aart]

I got some chicks from a feed store last June and one of them was sick with something that made it gasp and have trouble breathing. I took it back within 24 hours but I’m afraid it may have infected the others.

Did the chicks come from a hatchery or a local 'breeder'?
Where in this world do you live?

 

[Debbie292d]

I got some chicks from a feed store last June and one of them was sick with something that made it gasp and have trouble breathing. I took it back within 24 hours but I’m afraid it may have infected the others.

If your chick had gapeworm when you bought it back in June, it would most likely be dead by now. They choke to death basically.

If your chick truly has gapeworm, I doubt they got it at the hatchery. They cannot have it when they hatch, and would have had been with older chickens that had it and ate their poop or got sprayed with their sneezing/coughing. Hatcheries generally don't mix their chicks with older birds, but your feed store may have or put them somewhere where there are gapeworm hosts were present.

Still, living for four months with gapeworm at that age is rare.

Your vet already gave you the prescription for fenbendazole so if your chick really does have gapeworm, that should kill it, but won't help much with the respiratory issues. If after the fenbendazole it's still sick and presenting with respiratory issues, sneezing, mucous, rattled breathing, etc., it may need antibiotics.

What state or country are you in?

 

[Jurot08]

I’m in rural Oklahoma. The vet did give me antibiotics as well as fenbendazole to give the sick chicken I brought in. He said she also had a secondary respiratory infection. In answer to your question, she didn’t have any gurgling, rattling, or mucus (just some gasping) - but neither did the one who died other than labored breathing. The hen who died seemed fine that morning, but became lethargic and died over night.

The vet gave me the fenbendazole for the chicken he saw worms in and for the whole flock.

I talked to the vet’s office yesterday and they recommended putting down ag-lime after cleaning the coop with a 10% bleach solution. They said to put it in the covered run too (in the sand). They said I can bring a fecal sample back in two weeks to make sure the worms are gone.