[lord flynn]

hi
does anyone have any experience of this in free range hens please? I wormed my lot with Flubenvet a couple of weeks ago-it was a bit overdue due to family illness elsewhere as I mix in the powder (with some oil) in the pellets daily and restrict the hens etc its not something I wanted to leave for someone else to do.

One hen started making gasping (but not rattling) noises on friday-by saturday she had that classic gapeworm stance as seen on the pictures but I haven't seen it personally. A quick call to the vet and he said to use the ivermectin spot on he prescribed for scaly leg last year. She died yesterday but tbh I should have necked her and feel crappy that I didn't. I now have another hen making the same noises and another looking quiet. Off to get more ivermectin today and have moved their feeding station, disinfected coop etc They've all been laying well, red combs, no weight loss etc. These aren't really young hens either, the sick ones are 2yo. We've not got many pheasants around but alot of crows/rooks and other wild birds.

[Steph Hen]

Don't know if correct, but I thought gape worm gradually got worse rather than symptoms appearing to death in 3 days..?

[lord flynn]

thats what I thought as well-vet later-but until then any thoughts appreciated. Mortality in pheasants is pretty high though apparently.

have spoken to vet on phone-he says it can happen like this and that worming via food can be hit and miss wrt dosing although it works OK in the main. Will take a couple over this afternoon. Its very distressing, I feel terrible.

[in the hills]

LF - Dad noticed his birds with what he thought could be gape worm symptoms. A gamekeeper friend had a look and said yes and to worm with Flubenvet. Only 2 were showing signs. Wormed the flock, they were due anyway, and all have recovered. The cockerel did look 'rough' for a couple of days but then fine.  your others are okay

[FiB]

Ah sympathies.. I had a couple of ex cage hens get this ( apparently they are more succeptable when free ranging. I don't worm routinely, but one thing I did learn, was the powder was hopeless... I'm sure more flew away and got left in the dish than got eaten.... For next worming recommend the marriages layers pellets with flubinvet already mixed in xxx. The vet killed the one I took in to diagnose.....   But the others all recovered fine.

[waddy]

I don't worm routinely, but one thing I did learn, was the powder was hopeless... I'm sure more flew away and got left in the dish than got eaten....

I have just ordered some of the powder. The chooks I will be worming are only two months old so I can't feed the mixed layers stuff (although I am going to wait a while yet before doing it). We have a lot of pheasants here so I daren't leave it too long. Apparently if you mix the required amount of powder to a paste with a little sunflower oil and then mix it with the food it will stick to the pellets better.


Helen

[Porterlauren]

I've never seen it in chickens but seen it in the pheasants.

I'd defiantly advise using the pelleted stuff, rather than the powder, we've found anything but the pre done pellets fairly hit and miss.

[lord flynn]

thanks all-Waddy, thats exactly what I do-use some sunflower oil act to coat some of the pellets, add the powder and then gradually mix in the rest of the pellets. It actually works quite well if you mix it slowly and thoroughly. The vet seems to think that maybe with 12 birds I had using the one large feeder (large feeder-but not their usual one) -some just weren't getting enough rations despite not free ranging and not getting treats. So, put out more than one feeder if you have a lot in together-previously they were all split into pens of 4/5 birds-I've been somewhat preoccupied and should have paid more attention.


The Marriages stuff has been bloody impossible to find round this way-hence using the powder.


It was/is gapeworm-all now being treated so fingers crossed they all recover and lesson learned. I've been meaning to chuck them all out in the paddock so I can lime the pen and rest it so have partitioned it off tonight in preparation. So be warned, horrible thing for a chook to get-far worse than intestinal worms IMO 

[Porterlauren]

Don't know if it will help anyone, but you can buy medicated pheasant feed, which contains flubenvet, just the same as the marriages stuff. I know countrywide do it, and numerous other suppliers. Possibly only available at certain times of year though? I know we get tons of it delivered in June. Works a treat for the chooks.

[wayfarer]

You can get the Marriages pre-medicated stuff by the bag online.  It is a bit more expensive but saves a lot of hassle.  I ordered it and got a phone call from a 'vet' thin the next day or so confirming its use and then it arrived.

[Mammyshaz]

I've been using the flubenvet powder for the last 2 years but have bought some food with flubenvet this month to make things easier. It's not by marriages, there are a few feed companies add flubenvet now.

We had one of our first lot of hens with gapeworm when the wild pheasants often shared the area and pinched feed. They need wormed once then wormed again 3 weeks later to get the whole cycle of the worm. hTH