[Pixieswift]

Please can anyone advise me think my girls have gape worm, im needing to give them flubenvet NOW but the label is missing from the side of my tub how much should i give them approx i have 4 girls, one of them is sitting on hatching eggs at the moment will this be ok for her to take still please help me i hate seeing them like this....

[Sassy]

I haven't got a tub to hand - sorry. Try searching on here for Flubenvet and you should get a thread containing that info.

[ANHBUC]

I have the 1% Flubenvet the dose says as follows

6 g of flubenvet to 2 kg of feed, a level measure of the scoop provided = 6 g of wormer.

Hillfooter said in a previous post that hens usually eat 900 g of feed per week as a guide so if you have 4 you could mix up 12 g to 4 kg of feed for the week of treatment.

If you have the 2.5 % you would only need 4.8 g of flubenvet to 4 kg of feed if my maths is correct.  So not quite a full scoop.

Good Luck Pixieswift.

[ANHBUC]

Forgot the hardest part, NO TREATS for a full week so they get their full dose from the treated layers pellets.  Your girls won't be happy with you but will love you next week.   

[toasted]

im not 100% sure if its right or not but ive read you should double the dose for gapeworm?

[ANHBUC]

Does not say to give any different dosage for gapeworm to chickens on the Instruction Leaflet.  The only thing I could  find online is that for pheasants you use double the dose that you do for hens and they suffer from gapeworm.

Also to retreat  after 3 weeks for another 7 days.

Hopefully a more experienced member will be able to clear the dosage issue out for you.

[joyfull]

first of all why do you think your girls have gape worm - it really isn't that common. Have you looked down their throats and seen them?

yes flubenvet does need doubling up for gape worm I do believe although the instructions leaflet is missing from my box so you would need to look on their website to be absolutely sure.

[ANHBUC]

first of all why do you think your girls have gape worm - it really isn't that common. Have you looked down their throats and seen them?

yes flubenvet does need doubling up for gape worm I do believe although the instructions leaflet is missing from my box so you would need to look on their website to be absolutely sure.

Have had a good read of  mine Joyfull and there is no mention of doubling the dose for gapeworm.

[Pixieswift]

I think it's gapeworm because they are showing all the signs that i have researched they also free range where there are lots of pheasents on the land i heard my Barnavelder making a noise like she was trying to be sick it was only for a second then on inspection of her poo this morning it was one large-ish round ball of poo which looked like it was covered in very very fine white hair almost like cotton wool the poo was rock hard even though it was very fresh i split it open with a stick and it looked like little chalky balls almost inside but it was extremely hard :(i'm so confused as to what is going on they all have fizzy looking poo now and again apart from that and the beak opening and closing (as if they are trying to talk or get something up) i havent noticed anything else im at my wits end i feel terrible that i dont know what to do, plus my big sussex is in the process of her chicks hatching, this should be a happy time for her and me but i feel totally helpless is gapeworm a big problem is it serious does anyone think this is what my girls have 

[kegs]

Hi Pixieswift.  Here's a link to the poo pictures which may help.

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=17568.0

[Lindeggs]

I would suggest you go ahead and worm them with the recommended dose as it won't do them any harm and might do some good.  As the label is missing from your box, I would say don't double-dose them as you don't know the concentration of the product you have.

Meanwhile I would also suggest you take your Barnevelder to the vet.  He/she will be able to give you a proper diagnosis - something we would only be guessing at without inspecting the bird.

Please do act quickly.  My sister had a bantam die of gapeworm some years ago and she is still sad that she didn't recognise the problem and 'Little Chicken' died when she could have been saved.

[OpiumEater]

If your sure she's not just trying to cool down, get her to a vet. I found this on poultrykeeper.com. There is also a picture that might help.

Signs and Symptoms

Infestation causes respiratory distress. Gasping for breath or 'gaping' as it is known is the biggest sign of gape worm. Shaking of the head and neck stretching are common. When birds are held, gurgling or a 'tracheal rattle' can often be heard. This can often be confused with respiratory infection, if in doubt, check for other signs of respiratory disease. If a heavy infestation occurs, death by suffocation will occur. Fully grown gape worms are 'Y' shaped and vary in size between 1 and 2cm long.
Treatment.

Chickens are particularly prone to respiratory diseases so it is important to ensuring you have a good worming schedule to eliminate the possibility of a respiratory problem being confused with a gape worm infestation. Gurgling noises that come from the throat of the bird can be caused by gapeworm and can be confused with a respiratory problem.

As with all internal parasites, there are many treatments that will kill these worms but rotating the grazing area will help to stop birds becoming re-infected. Internal Parasites or Worms in Chickens and Other Poultry provides some ideas for worming poultry. Flubenvet is licenced for use in poultry and will kill gapeworms.

Good luck and best wishes

Christine

[OpiumEater]

Also on Youtube I found a video with a chicken with gapeworm, it looks very distressing but again will help you deciding if it's gapeworm. I just searched for chicken with gapeworm.

Good luck again.

[Pixieswift]

Hi All thankyou so much for all your comments and advice my sussex is still doing it gaping for a good 30 seconds at a time im dosing them all with flubenvet but the problem i have with her is she is hatching chicks as we speak so what now!!! Obviously her health is more important to me than the chicks as harsh as that may sound she is my baby i would be lost without her cuddles every day...it's going to be hard to get her to eat her medication in her food as she will try and feed it to the chicks would this be harmful to them...Barnavelda Esmerelda i have not seen her do this all day and my Ranger and wee sussex bantam have not had any problems so far touch wood...Other than the gaping she seem perfectly happy i lifted her off her nest today for 15 before the eggs started to hatch she had a good feed and drink, stretch and dust bath and looked beautiful i checked her poo's and they looked smashing would the worms show up in the poo or are they inside her, if thats what it is, i wish she could speak, i wish they all could then they could tell me how to help them Thanks everyone hopefully tom when i go in to see her she will have 12 baby chicks my wee sussex bantam has just hatched 4 out of 4 

[Pixieswift]

Hi Guys still on with the flubenvet and hoping i can get these beasties gone barnavelder has stopped gaping or at least i think she has but she is passing long white worms in her poo about 2.5" long 1mm thick is this gape worm at least they are dead so flubenvet must be working but i thought the gape worms were red and advice please oh but the sussex is still gaping alot she has hatched over half of her chicks so far wish i could lift her out and make her eat her medicine but when i give it to her she will obviously try and give it to the chicks is this harmful for them