Ivermectin and Gape worm

[Japanesebantamkate]

Hiya everybody,
Can anyone tell me if Ivermectin 1% (administered at one drop on the back of the neck per week for three weeks) is sufficient to kill gape worm in bantam birds?
I read somewhere that suggested it may be more appropriate to use an oral treatment. If this is the case, how should I proceed having already admistered week one of Ivermectin.

Many thanks
Kate

 

[foxy]

Flubenvet is an oral preparation prescribed (available over the counter) for gapeworm. Reading the symptoms in a previous post, I would suggest that the respiratory problem that you are treating is the primary cause.

Here is link regarding worming poultry and also gapeworm, hope you find it helpful.

http://poultrykeeper.com/general-chickens/worming-chickens

 

[Japanesebantamkate]

Thanks Foxy,
To ellaborate on my breeding trio a little more....... They are in a static coop and free range when the weather allows. I clean the coop out weekly and replace the diatom earth I have scattered and deep clean it once every few months (mite spray and disinfectant). Its sat on dirt now (Once grass) but as its fully covered and is pushed against fencing on two sides it doesnt get too wet inside. I only acquired the birds in May and when they arrived they were in moult already, perhaps made worse by the relocation. The cockerel has now lost all his tail feathers but Ive not seen any squabbling so put it down to a heavy moult. As Ive kept them the same way as my previous chooks and had no probs I didnt even consider worms to be causing them a prob. I use ACV and Verm-X as well as poultry spice on their layers pellets. They are all still eating and drinking and milling about pecking as normal. Combs and wattles are bright red. In the last week and after I had the chick hatch with symptoms of micoplasma from the bought in eggs, I notcied my cockerel stretching his neck out in bouts and opening his mouth then shaking his head. He also appears to have brown/red diarhea. One of the two hens also had a slight rattle in her chest. There are no other external symptoms like watery eyes/nose apart from the feather condition being terrible. They have frizzle feathers so I guess the moult looks worse and although my cockerel is starting to get tail feathers coming back through slowly its been about 7 weeks now. I then noticed one of the hens has lost the actual feathering from her lower wing feathers but still has the central quill (I dont know the scientific name) I'm at my witts end as Ive always had lovely healthy birds and feel terrible that they look so bad. As I said on previous post, Ive now put all my flock on Tylan soluable and Ivermectin on the adult birds (I only use the eggs for hatching which Im now binning at the moment) The chicks are kept away from the adults in a brooding shed as I incubate rather than use a broody but the one with issues has been isolated in my house. No other chicks have any signs of problems and I have about 25 at the moment.
I guess they could of arrived with worms unknowingly and theyve taken hold or picked them up free ranging and perhaps its knocked their immune sytems allowing micoplasma to take hold. Either way, I think Im looking at a few issues rather than there being one cause. I just hope the treatments Im using helps them to get back to being fit.
Thanks for your help with the link. I'll study it again. Like most medical compliants, the symptoms over lap different conditions which makes working out the cause much harder. I think Im doing all the right things, I guess time will tell.
Kate x

 

[foxy]

Kate it sounds like you are doing all the right things, so don't be too disheartened.

Firstly a really thorough exam of your housing for red mite, particularly now the warm weather is upon us. Use a torch if necessary, and wiping the perches with a tissue in the mornings is also a good method.

Next check the houses, try and keep them as dry as possible, and make sure ventilation is adequate. Go easy on the diatom (make sure you are using the good stuff, not the repellent powder) I find a good way to use diatom is mix into a slurry with water and washing up liquid and "paint" into the cravasses. Got any coke left? Then you can use this last thing at night as a spray, then mix up the slurry the next day, a really cheap way to combat/use a preventative against redmite. The cola helps to break down the outer coating of the mite, and the diatom will then work more effectively.

Use a good quality dust extracted shavings, not hay as bedding.

Change their feed to a good quality growers, and add a teaspoon of poultry spice mixed with a couple of tablespoons cod liver oil. As they are moulting their protein requirements increase, the cod liver oil will aid absorption from the gut of nutrients as well as being high in D3. Poultry spice contains minerals, including a little calcium.

If they are on Tylan, continue course for 7 days according to the instructions.

Finally, the problem you have is as mentioned probably due to a respiratory problem, and if you have Mycoplasma, then this is quite quite a complex disease, as although can be dormant for some time in healthy stock, when a number of factors combine, such as moult, weather, stress etc...the resultant effect on the health of your stock can be really challenging, as I suspect is the case here, and also something to consider long term with regard to breeding from your birds and indeed in keeping them healthy.

 

[Marigold]

Sorry things arent going too well at the moment Kate. Just wanted to add to Foxy's advice - I see you say you have been using Vermex as a wormer.

- All chickens have worms, it's a fact of life. They can live with a reasonable worm burden if otherwise in good health, but when other illness starts, the presence of a worm burden will then take its toll and often may confuse the apparent symptoms. Vermex and other herbal preparations may help to tone up the chickens gut so she is more resistant to the effects of the worms, but will not kill them and the burden wil go on getting worse. The only effective treatment available without prescription and with no need for egg withdrawal is Flubenvet. You give a 7-day course of the powder mixed in with their pellets, and nothing else, ie they need to be confined to barracks in order to eat enough pellets to be effective. If they haven't been properly wormed before, it will be advisable to repeat the process three weeks later, to deal with eggs which may have hatched in the meantime. Thereafter, once every six months should keep them reasonably clear.See Poultrykeeper http://poultrykeeper.com/poultry-medication/flubenvet-used-for-worming and other pages on the site about worms.

 

[Japanesebantamkate]

Thank you both very much for your advice. I will certainly have a good look at night for mites. From what you said Foxy about the bedding I do have dust extracted wood chips but have only been using them as a base in the nesting box and then over laying with straw. Ive also been using straw in the house and the run. If I dont use straw what can I use in the run instead? Or do I not really need anything? Ive only been doing it to help catch the droppings making it easier to clean out but appreciate that it maybe bringing mites in.
Also, Ive now administered 1 out of 3 weeks worth of Ivermectin. Do either of you know whens the earliest I can use Flubenvet if I dont add anymore ivermectin?

Many thanks
kate

 

[Marigold]

The ivermectin should deal with the worms, and also will help clear any mites they have on their bodies, I missed seeing you were already using this. Most people prefer to use flubenvet as you can use the eggs whilst treating them, so maybe a course of this in a few weeks to help clear up residual problems would be a good idea, thereafter every 4-6 months should do the trick. If you could clear out any worms and continue with the Tylan they should be better able to overcome any other infections they have and will soon be feeling a lot better.

 

[Chuck]

The moult is a natural process though it does vary a lot in the timing and the speed and feather regrowth varies too but it doesn't need any exrtra feeding if they are on layers ration.. Birds always look bad in a moult. I'm sure if you are patient, all your problems will sort out. One of the big problems with things like Verm X is that the manufacturers have changed the goal posts along the way and did claim at one point that it was a wormer, now they don't. It is also so much in your face with the heavy advertising which brings a lot of money into magazines and other media.
Straw does not bring in red mite, the problem is that the hollow stems provide a hiding place for them if you've got them.