Gapeworm

[RiaN12207]

I just joined and this is my first post so I apologize for any ignorance in advance!

Im wondering if anyone has any experience with gapeworm and also treating soil with agricultural lime? I have been going absolutely crazy trying to treat my flocks of gapeworm. Every single time I seam to have a grip on it no sooner do the symptoms re-emerge and many sleepless nights to follow. This has been going on for months now.

I understand the need to beat the hatching cycles plus the tolerance the parasites build when using the same treatments. I have tried and done absolutely everything I can find and the only thing I haven't tried yet is treating the yard with agricultural lime. I'm curious if anyone here has had any experience with this and if it's helped lower the eggs in the soil?

I have since had 2 tons delivered and starting spreading it over their future rotation. I'm doing it by hand which is very daunting and I'm hoping for good stories to know my efforts aren't in vain lol

 

[Eggcessive]

Have you confirmed gapeworms with a fecal float by your vet? What have you used for treatment? Gapeworms are pretty rare. Are you seeing any symptoms?

 

[Kiki]

Are you sure you're not fighting a respiratory disease?

 

[RiaN12207]

Have you confirmed gapeworms with a fecal float by your vet? What have you used for treatment? Gapeworms are pretty rare. Are you seeing any symptoms?

No I actually just called the vet a few days ago for this and they need me to bring one of the flock members in for an exam and then they would do the fecal sample. We're in the process of moving and I don't have my vehicle with me and hoped I would be able to just send the sample in.

I guess I can start from the beginning so you know what's happened and why I thought gapeworm. Sorry if this is long!

Last year we hatched off some eggs and ended up with my rooster named Nugget. I spent a ton of time with him because he was born with splayed legs and naturally wouldn't make it in the coop with the rest. We kept him inside with us while rehabilitating until he was a couple months old. He was outside all day with us once his feathers came in but didn't go back with the flock for fear of the other roosters that hatched.

Once full grown he always looked like he was yawning and I thought it was normal because we yawn right? One night he started choking on his food and I flipped out and got on the internet. I read about gapeworm and it all seamed to click. His poops were getting runny at the time and his other signs. He was shaking his head frequently but i thought a feather was in his eye or dust or something. He sounded like he was snoring and i just thought ok well why wouldnt a chicken snore i guess.

After reading about the gapeworm and seeing him choking i freaked out i had fenbendazole on hand and started administering it immediately. Everything quickly got better for about two weeks when the symptoms came back. Thats when i read about the parasitic cycles so i started the regimen again. This time i made sure to repeat in 15 days hoping to catch the next hatch.

Once again all was well for a time and he no longer snored, shook his head, sneezed, and most of all gasped for air. Then it started all over again. I found a natural wormer called zyfend A. I used this and once again the symotoms subsided. I also used VetRx which seamed to help a little here and there.

Since the first episode i started cleaning the coop with a pooper scooper everyday after work and every four or so days completely cleaning it out with new chips. I was trying preventative measures with garlic in the water, apple cider vinegar, probiotics, and a whirwind of things. I sprinkled Diatomaceous earth inside the coop and everywhere inside their fencing. I rotate all the flocks for fresh pasture anyways but excessively since this started. I also bought a all natural antibiotic after reading they most of the time die from the secondary infection brought on by the parasites.

I absolutely love these guys and am pulling my hair out with this hence why im moving 2 tons of lime by hand lol. I just cant see what it could be when everything works but nothing is working ultimately. Hes always fine when being treated with something but always creeps back up until he quickly declines afterwards. I do not like medicating but would gladly do whatever was needed if i knew a way to knock this out once and for all.

I read that flubendazole is supposed to be one of the treaments for gapeworm but i quickly got concerned when i read a study. There was a seagull found with confirmed gapeworm. They treated with flubendazole and the symptoms returned i believe it was one week or 15 days later. They then gave fenbendazole which cleared it up but once it again it repeated so they readministered time and time again and eventually the seagull died. This is what led me to the agricultural lime. I read just how resilient these eggs are and that the lime would kill on contact.

If im missing something here please let me know! This is the first time ive dealt with something like this since we initially got chickens its gone on far too long and nothing ever seams to ultimately stop this. The other flocks started doing the same exact thing Nugget and his crew were doing. We gave them the wormer and it would stop and start up again.

Thank you for taking the time!

 

[RiaN12207]

Are you sure you're not fighting a respiratory disease?

That was actually my next step to take one of them to the vet. I had just replied to another with a lengthy post of everything that's happened and why i thought gapeworm. Sadly I won't have my vehicle back for a few days to bring one of them in for the vet visit. I even considered Ubering there and back but the closest one to see poultry is 45 min from here.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

When you treat him, are you bringing him inside and he's getting specialized care and has his own food/water?

It seems like he "improves" each time you offer some type of treatment but none of the treatments are the same, so what's the common denominator when you treat him and he gets "better"?

 

[dawg53]

I doubt you're dealing with gapeworms, most likely some sort of a respiratory disease for months as you've stated. If your birds had gapeworms, they would've been dead long ago.
Birds that survive respiratory diseases are carriers for life despite treatments. Any sort of stress brings out visible symptoms.

 

[RiaN12207]

Sorry i can see how that could have been confusing wording. It started with my observations with him because he grew up inside because the splayed legs so i was able to see many if the syptoms arrise before anyone else. I definitely never had a chicken sleeping inside with us before to hear what we thought was snoring before him. He has his own flock and I treat all of them the same. Our other flocks didnt start to develop this until pretty recently but his flock has been going on longer. They all get the same exact regime.

This is whats getting me. The wormer definitely helps and for longer periods of time. In between a worming if i caught any of them sneezing, yawning or wheezing is when i attempted the VetRx and the natural antibiotics. The preventative measures with the supplements have been on going for a while now. I hated repeatedly medicating them and tried every other angle. Both the VetRX and antibiotics seamed to minimize the symptoms with less frequent sneezing and such until one day i catch one of them gasping for air or choking on food and rush back to worm them again.

This time around I actually started chicken medical journal so i can pinpoint and track everything better. If i knew this was still going to be going on i definitely would have done this from the beginning.

I appreciate your time and care!

When you treat him, are you bringing him inside and he's getting specialized care and has his own food/water?

It seems like he "improves" each time you offer some type of treatment but none of the treatments are the same, so what's the common denominator when you treat him and he gets "better"?

 

[RiaN12207]

I doubt you're dealing with gapeworms, most likely some sort of a respiratory disease for months as you've stated. If your birds had gapeworms, they would've been dead long ago.
Birds that survive respiratory diseases are carriers for life despite treatments. Any sort of stress brings out visible symptoms.

Omg this is terrifying thank you for your insight!

I guess the next step would be to bring one in for an exam so I can get the float test and insight for a respiratory disease. It's heartbreaking that if it is what you mentioned they would carry this for life.

 

[Eggcessive]

There is nothing in Zyfend A or Vet Rx that will actually worm a chicken. Chickens do not need ACV or garlic in their water. Be careful with DE or lime, since both you and they may have eye and lung irritation. I also supect that you are seeing a respiratory infection which can be chronic in chickens. They can get better and worse, and can get worse at nighttime just as we might with cold symptoms. Gapeworms are rare and pretty deadly with a bad case. It is always good to try and get confirmation of worms from a vet. If you lose a chicken to respiratory issues, get a necropsy done by your state vet so that you will know what disease you are dealing with.