Gape Worm Infection In Poultry
by Meghan H
Published October 11, 2021
Chickens can acquire a surprising number of different types of parasites. Perhaps one of the most difficult types of internal parasites to detect in your poultry is the gape worm (or gapeworm, both are correct). It is a worm-type parasite that lives in the mucosal lining of the trachea (windpipe) of chickens, pheasants, turkeys and guinea fowl. Gape worms can also infect many wild birds, which can lead to an infection within your flock if wild birds are allowed to congregate near your coop.
Symptoms
Some signs of a gape worm infection include a gurgling or rattling sound when an infected chicken breathes, stretching of the neck and gasping for air, yawning and shaking its head. A severe infestation may lead to the complete obstruction of the airway, which may lead to death.
The gape worm feeds on the host’s blood, giving the worms a red appearance. The worms have a forked appearance, which is actually two worms (male and female) laying side by side. The female gape worm sheds eggs which are coughed up by the host bird and either expelled or swallowed and excreted in the feces. This then leads to contamination of the environment, where other birds may pick up the eggs or larvae and become infected. It is also possible to become infected when a bird eats intermediate hosts such as earthworms or snails.
Treatment
Several deworming medications are effective against gape worms. Fenbendazole, ivermectin and levamasole are listed in Gail Damerow’s Chicken Health Handbook as effective treatments. Refer to her book or better yet, seek the advice of your veterinarian for proper dosage of the medication you choose to use.
Prevention
Rotating grazing ground may help reduce the exposure of many parasites that your poultry may encounter. Tilling the ground in the run may also help reduce the contamination. Treating the soil with agricultural lime may also help reduce the parasite eggs, but it should not be relied on to eliminate all parasite eggs completely. Allowing the ground to lay fallow for a minimum of 6 months will help kill the parasite eggs, especially if the weather is hot and dry.
Have you dealt with a gape worm infection within your flock? Tell us about your experience on dealing with it in the comments below.
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I got some “free” chicks from a lady. They all had gapeworms. Before I realized what they had, I lost 15 out of 17 chicks. I treated them repeatedly with fenbendazole powder in their feed but lost the battle. Next I got some chicks from a feed store that were healthy but they got infected from the environment that the other chicks had polluted. I changed to feeding the fenbendaole mixed with water through a serenge for three days straight to insure each chick got the proper dosage. That helped. Ten days later I wormed them again for one day. Recently I thought the problem was solved, but I was wrong. The fight goes on! Gapeworms are difficult to eliminate.
That sounds like a rough experience! Gapeworms are definitely a difficult parasite to handle!
I have 10 hens and have been dealing with Gapeworm on and off since February. I’ve been using safeguard liquid for goats in their water. I’ve also tried the horse paste individually in their mouth but that was a lot harder. I know the soil is contaminated by hen droppings which is the worst part. Thank you for sharing that I can use agricultural lime to help. Is it safe for my chickens to free range after spreading lime in the yard? If not, how long do I wait after spreading it? How often do I have to re-apply the lime in my yard? I’ve been struggling to find answers to permanently exterminating these parasites for good!
Hi Amanda,
Thank you for taking the time to read our blog! First Saturday Lime is safe for chickens and other livestock, you should be able to safely free range them after spreading it! For your situation, I would consider reaching out to your local university extension office – they will have lots of local resources for you to help you get the gape worm under control.
Hi All. I to had a healthy flock of Chickens…Then a man that sold me 2 healthy looking hens….wrong!
3 days after I got them one began to wheeze and raise her head high….yep GAPE WORM and NOW MY FLOCK IS infected. I did a little google search and discovered
DIATOMACEOUS EARTH (FOOD GRADE) TO THE RESCUE..
Fed those girls some D.E. I sprinkled it on their feed and all over the hen house ground.
within a few hours after ingesting D E they were better..The dust dehydrates the worms and they die.
check it on google you wll have to continue this for a bout 6 mts to make sure all the worm eggs are dead.
God’s blessings you
Thank you for taking the time to comment and share your experience! I am so sorry to hear about your flock, unfortunately it’s sometimes hard to tell whether a chicken is truly healthy just from looking at it. I am glad to hear you were able to help your chickens. We do have a great blog post on Diatomaceous Earth On The Homestead there is a lot you can do with it! You do want to be mindful that it can cause respiratory problems since it’s such a fine powder.
keep a eye on them my birds looked better got worse.D E is a good preventive don’t bet the farm that that fixed the problem.My birds started looking better a couple times.Especially your saying just de dust .I have put it in the bedding on the floor,in there food.They did look better for couple days.i think the worms just move down.I had a couple birds sick.But after treatment I thought I had it.wrong now they all have it.There barley breathing now.I have 13 left I’m affraid to go check on them.I increased the dosage I couldn’t get them to drink enough water.So I put it in there food also.They usually don’t finish all of either.So I’m hoping this works out and I didn’t overdose them.My biggest problem most likely everyone’s problem dealing with this.They wont stop eating the shit.Its impossible to have no droppings at all.Mine cam with birds from hatchery.If they have it that have no chance to eliminate it maybe slow it down long enough to sale them to some suckers