winnerwinnerchicken
In the Brooder
- Jan 5, 2022
- 1
- 8
- 14
Hello readers,
as there is not a lot of information out there concerning Gape worm and curing backyard chickens from home, I thought to share my experience.
Unfortunately this story does not have a happy ending but maybe you can learn from my mistakes.
In terms of formatting, I have split it into relevant sections for ease of reading and skimming.
For some context, I live in Australia and have a flock of 5 chicken and 2 ducks. I usually feed them meal worms, however was low on supply so grabbed some earthworms from the compost for that protein boost. Ultimately, I believe that one of the worms I fed to our lovely isa brown hen Patrice was carrying the parasite which led to her contracting Gape worm. Usually, I worm them with the Kilvern Poultry Wormer which is added to their water so they never really get sick with worms. However after some research found that this product covers only the main worm such as roundworm etc. So please make sure your worming product covers more than just the common worms for extra protection, because prevention is key. As they have the whole backyard to roam and their sleeping quarters cleaned out once a week, only dear Patrice ended up getting Gape worm.
I noticed her mouth breathing for about 3-5 days and just thought it was the heat or she had something lodged and it should clear soon, however after some research I realised she had a gape worm infection. Her only symptom at this stage was open mouth breathing, she still had her energy and her plumage/overall health looked the same. I have never verified with a professional that she had this, however there is a lot of information on the internet that explains the difference between gape worm and a lung/viral infection (e.g bronchitis, pneumonia, etc) just do a quick google search.
There are limited products in Australia available commercially to treat worms and especially gape worm. Curing pretty much involves using a worming product in higher dosage for a period of time. I do not know the active ingredient which kills gape worm specifically however found that the product Avitrol Plus Bird wormer covers gape worm. If you are in Australia you can purchase this from Petbarn (around AU$35-$40), it is suitable for parrots and is a liquid placed into their water. As they roam the backyard with many water sources around and I did not wish to confine and isolate Patrice so gave it to her via directly mixing a less diluted solution into her food (pellets) in the morning or syringing it into her mouth directly. Initially with this product, she got slightly better, however after 2 days she went back to her original severity. As the Avitrol is used for parrots and smaller creatures, much is needed to treat the worms so I quickly ran out of the product. Due to the price and limited efficacy I decided to find a new product to use.
After a few hours of more research I found that the product Flubenol was spoken about a lot to treat gape worm. The product is fairly new to the Australian market and not much is known about it. It is not really available commercially and can only be bought online. Luckily I found an online store with pickup collection about 1hr drives away and placed my order. I ended up purchasing the Elanco Flubenol Pig and Poultry Wormer in powder form (about AU$70) and had it after about 2 days. This is mixed in within their dry pellets and was suppose to worm them. Recommend dosages are on the packet/container and it states it is not lethal in high dosages. Naturally I greatly overdosed (about 3 times recommend amount) the whole flock to worm them and just to prevent them from contracting gape worm from Patrice. For Patrice I kept on worming her directly after the initial prepared wormed grain ran out (after about 3 days by now) by mixing more into her morning feed and coating fruit snacks in the powder and feeding it to her. I'm not too sure of her exact dosage, or what the recommended dosage is as there is limited information out there about it, I know I greatly overdosed her and there was no side effects of the product in high amounts. This went on for about 1.5 weeks and she had no signs of recovery. I thought that she was not getting enough product to be effective and fully kill all the worms however looking back (and something I read after) I think it worked too well, and all the worms died at once but they still remain stuck their in her windpipe, thus the no sign of getting better as the worms were still there (just dead instead). As Patrice never really coughed or shook her head at this stage, I believe I killed all the worms at once with the high dosages and they still blocked her windpipe. So my recommendation is to dose them slowly to gradually kill them so it gives your animal the chance to cough them up slowly. There is no need to worry about the gape worm lifecycle continuing with the slow rate of killing them, as the eggs are coughed/breathed up and then swallowed and passed though in their poo, so as long as their environment is clean it shouldn't get worse or be passed on. My mistake was thinking the lack of progress/getting better was due to the product not being given enough so I mixed the powder with water and would syringe it into her mouth. Though already struggling to breath and being force feed things in her mouth at a rapid rate, I believe I ended up getting liquid in her lungs which worsened her breathing and she was no longer getting better. I never considered that I was making it worse by syringing medication in her mouth (and eventually some into her windpipe) as I assumed that she was swallowing it and I needed to keep upping her dosage as the gape worms were becoming more resistant to the medication (most likely false). It is noted that the Flubenol product (and all others mentioned) does work as none of my flock members were effected after by any worms and hence effectively wormed.
I consulted my local chicken feed supplier place and they recommended I treat her with antibiotics for 5 days (as gape worm medication was not working). So I purchased a tub of Oxymav B (Antibiotic) about AU$15 (the yellow powder) and gave it a shot by diluting it in water and sprinkling in her food for the morning. Recommended dosages are on the tub. I did not ever think she has a viral infection as she never had a runny nose, eyes, cough or sneeze, however I couldn't think of anything else to do. I considered taking her to the vet, however was skeptical of their knowledge in chickens with gape work and was not prepared to pay another $80 extra. After about 3 days she was no longer accepting food mixed with both the Flubenol or antibiotics, so as before, I mixed unknown amounts into a small amount of water and would syringe it into her mouth. Again, this was my mistake and please don't do this unless you definitely know what you are doing. They are mouth breathing already and their bigger gasp are usually when they breath in, if you are squirting liquid in their mouth as they are breathing in, you are to definitely get some into their lungs which is what I was unknowingly doing. I did this for about 1 week before decided to just give her a break because she was getting worse and her gasps were getting bigger. During this week she was also becoming more lethargic and not eating as much as she had to breath instead.
I feed Patrice good premium foods to keep her healthy and what she loved to eat (especially the dried dog food soaked in water) to encourage her to eat some more. She would avoid anything white, as the colour made her think it was coated with the powder of Flubenol. After about 2 days of no longer treating her I found her in her night cage standing there after she had already been let out in the morning. I brought her inside and realised she no longer had a good quality of life and her death was inevitable, she was not going to recover. She was really struggling to breath and occasionally sneezing and coughing now, I think I gave her a lung infection such as phenomena. After researching the best way to euthanise a chicken I resulted in using CO2 from a bi-carb and vinegar solution mix. Other methods required skill and resources I didn't have. To be frank, I taped her in a small box with 2 pipe outlets containing a bi-carb and vinegar reaction in a bag on each outlet. I would recommend using a small box and 2 large reactions to make it work faster and efficiently. To put your mind at ease, the CO2 is supposed to make them unconscious before they pass resulting in it to be a more painless for them. I buried Patrice in the backyard with her friends, make sure you dig a deep whole or place something on top e.g bricks as the other poultry will dig them up. I would not recommend eating a sick animal especially if they are being treating with medication.
Ultimately, if you use an all-wormer product, your chicken should never get gape worm. Remember not all worming products are all-wormers (if that makes sense). If you get gape worm, please treat it straight away but slowly (it is not suppose to work straight away), and give them time to heal and cough up the dead worms. If you want a good product and live in Australia, use Flubenol. Never syringe in medication to their mouths if a chicken has an issue with breathing.
Thankyou for reading, hopefully this long read was helpful to you
as there is not a lot of information out there concerning Gape worm and curing backyard chickens from home, I thought to share my experience.
Unfortunately this story does not have a happy ending but maybe you can learn from my mistakes.
In terms of formatting, I have split it into relevant sections for ease of reading and skimming.
For some context, I live in Australia and have a flock of 5 chicken and 2 ducks. I usually feed them meal worms, however was low on supply so grabbed some earthworms from the compost for that protein boost. Ultimately, I believe that one of the worms I fed to our lovely isa brown hen Patrice was carrying the parasite which led to her contracting Gape worm. Usually, I worm them with the Kilvern Poultry Wormer which is added to their water so they never really get sick with worms. However after some research found that this product covers only the main worm such as roundworm etc. So please make sure your worming product covers more than just the common worms for extra protection, because prevention is key. As they have the whole backyard to roam and their sleeping quarters cleaned out once a week, only dear Patrice ended up getting Gape worm.
I noticed her mouth breathing for about 3-5 days and just thought it was the heat or she had something lodged and it should clear soon, however after some research I realised she had a gape worm infection. Her only symptom at this stage was open mouth breathing, she still had her energy and her plumage/overall health looked the same. I have never verified with a professional that she had this, however there is a lot of information on the internet that explains the difference between gape worm and a lung/viral infection (e.g bronchitis, pneumonia, etc) just do a quick google search.
There are limited products in Australia available commercially to treat worms and especially gape worm. Curing pretty much involves using a worming product in higher dosage for a period of time. I do not know the active ingredient which kills gape worm specifically however found that the product Avitrol Plus Bird wormer covers gape worm. If you are in Australia you can purchase this from Petbarn (around AU$35-$40), it is suitable for parrots and is a liquid placed into their water. As they roam the backyard with many water sources around and I did not wish to confine and isolate Patrice so gave it to her via directly mixing a less diluted solution into her food (pellets) in the morning or syringing it into her mouth directly. Initially with this product, she got slightly better, however after 2 days she went back to her original severity. As the Avitrol is used for parrots and smaller creatures, much is needed to treat the worms so I quickly ran out of the product. Due to the price and limited efficacy I decided to find a new product to use.
After a few hours of more research I found that the product Flubenol was spoken about a lot to treat gape worm. The product is fairly new to the Australian market and not much is known about it. It is not really available commercially and can only be bought online. Luckily I found an online store with pickup collection about 1hr drives away and placed my order. I ended up purchasing the Elanco Flubenol Pig and Poultry Wormer in powder form (about AU$70) and had it after about 2 days. This is mixed in within their dry pellets and was suppose to worm them. Recommend dosages are on the packet/container and it states it is not lethal in high dosages. Naturally I greatly overdosed (about 3 times recommend amount) the whole flock to worm them and just to prevent them from contracting gape worm from Patrice. For Patrice I kept on worming her directly after the initial prepared wormed grain ran out (after about 3 days by now) by mixing more into her morning feed and coating fruit snacks in the powder and feeding it to her. I'm not too sure of her exact dosage, or what the recommended dosage is as there is limited information out there about it, I know I greatly overdosed her and there was no side effects of the product in high amounts. This went on for about 1.5 weeks and she had no signs of recovery. I thought that she was not getting enough product to be effective and fully kill all the worms however looking back (and something I read after) I think it worked too well, and all the worms died at once but they still remain stuck their in her windpipe, thus the no sign of getting better as the worms were still there (just dead instead). As Patrice never really coughed or shook her head at this stage, I believe I killed all the worms at once with the high dosages and they still blocked her windpipe. So my recommendation is to dose them slowly to gradually kill them so it gives your animal the chance to cough them up slowly. There is no need to worry about the gape worm lifecycle continuing with the slow rate of killing them, as the eggs are coughed/breathed up and then swallowed and passed though in their poo, so as long as their environment is clean it shouldn't get worse or be passed on. My mistake was thinking the lack of progress/getting better was due to the product not being given enough so I mixed the powder with water and would syringe it into her mouth. Though already struggling to breath and being force feed things in her mouth at a rapid rate, I believe I ended up getting liquid in her lungs which worsened her breathing and she was no longer getting better. I never considered that I was making it worse by syringing medication in her mouth (and eventually some into her windpipe) as I assumed that she was swallowing it and I needed to keep upping her dosage as the gape worms were becoming more resistant to the medication (most likely false). It is noted that the Flubenol product (and all others mentioned) does work as none of my flock members were effected after by any worms and hence effectively wormed.
I consulted my local chicken feed supplier place and they recommended I treat her with antibiotics for 5 days (as gape worm medication was not working). So I purchased a tub of Oxymav B (Antibiotic) about AU$15 (the yellow powder) and gave it a shot by diluting it in water and sprinkling in her food for the morning. Recommended dosages are on the tub. I did not ever think she has a viral infection as she never had a runny nose, eyes, cough or sneeze, however I couldn't think of anything else to do. I considered taking her to the vet, however was skeptical of their knowledge in chickens with gape work and was not prepared to pay another $80 extra. After about 3 days she was no longer accepting food mixed with both the Flubenol or antibiotics, so as before, I mixed unknown amounts into a small amount of water and would syringe it into her mouth. Again, this was my mistake and please don't do this unless you definitely know what you are doing. They are mouth breathing already and their bigger gasp are usually when they breath in, if you are squirting liquid in their mouth as they are breathing in, you are to definitely get some into their lungs which is what I was unknowingly doing. I did this for about 1 week before decided to just give her a break because she was getting worse and her gasps were getting bigger. During this week she was also becoming more lethargic and not eating as much as she had to breath instead.
I feed Patrice good premium foods to keep her healthy and what she loved to eat (especially the dried dog food soaked in water) to encourage her to eat some more. She would avoid anything white, as the colour made her think it was coated with the powder of Flubenol. After about 2 days of no longer treating her I found her in her night cage standing there after she had already been let out in the morning. I brought her inside and realised she no longer had a good quality of life and her death was inevitable, she was not going to recover. She was really struggling to breath and occasionally sneezing and coughing now, I think I gave her a lung infection such as phenomena. After researching the best way to euthanise a chicken I resulted in using CO2 from a bi-carb and vinegar solution mix. Other methods required skill and resources I didn't have. To be frank, I taped her in a small box with 2 pipe outlets containing a bi-carb and vinegar reaction in a bag on each outlet. I would recommend using a small box and 2 large reactions to make it work faster and efficiently. To put your mind at ease, the CO2 is supposed to make them unconscious before they pass resulting in it to be a more painless for them. I buried Patrice in the backyard with her friends, make sure you dig a deep whole or place something on top e.g bricks as the other poultry will dig them up. I would not recommend eating a sick animal especially if they are being treating with medication.
Ultimately, if you use an all-wormer product, your chicken should never get gape worm. Remember not all worming products are all-wormers (if that makes sense). If you get gape worm, please treat it straight away but slowly (it is not suppose to work straight away), and give them time to heal and cough up the dead worms. If you want a good product and live in Australia, use Flubenol. Never syringe in medication to their mouths if a chicken has an issue with breathing.
Thankyou for reading, hopefully this long read was helpful to you
We all have our heartaches as we share our lives with our beloved critters. But we have our joyful moments too and that keeps us going! I never knew how much happiness I'd get from these precious girls! 
