NATURE OF THE GAPE WORM 501 



The worm which causes gapes is in reality two worms — male 

 and female, and they are so firmly grown together that they 

 cannot be separated without tearing the tissues. The female 

 worm is the principal member; it is about a half-inch long, while 

 the male is little more than one-fifth of an inch. The heads 

 of both are attached to the mucous lining of the windpipe or 

 trachea, which causes such an irritation that undue secretions 

 collect and make breathing difficult. Sometimes so many worms 

 collect in the trachea, and grow to such size, for their eggs 

 develop while they are in this state, that breathing becomes im- 

 possible and the host, the affiicted chick, dies from suffocation. 



Chicks affected with gape worms will be seen to cough and 

 sneeze with labored effort in a va,in attempt to dislodge the 

 pests, which is very difficult to accomplish. Soon they commence 

 to gape, extending the neck and opening the beak, indicating 

 that they are having great trouble in breathing. Later, as they 

 become weakened by their struggles against the parasites, their 

 appetites fail and they grow dull and listless, their wings droop 

 and they stand with half-closed eyes and head drawn back into 

 the body feathers. In this condition they are apt to die from 

 suffocation, or be trampled by their fellows. 



In dealing with this complaint the poultryman should learn to 

 rely more upon a preventative than a cure, because very young 

 chicks are very difficult to treat individually and therefore ex- 

 pensive. Good results have been obtained by extracting the 

 worms with a feather, twisted horsehair, or one of the patented 

 extractors. These devices are forced down the victim's throat, 

 either dry or moistened with turpentine, then twisted about 

 vigorously in an effort to dislodge the worms, and removed. 



Recently, good results have been reported from medicating 

 drinking water, or by injecting 3 to lo drops of a 5 per cent 

 solution of salicylate of soda. The best method of prevention 

 is to put the chicks on fresh ground, or soil that is known to be 

 perfectly sanitary, and if any trouble is experienced, to treat 

 the yards and premises with a strong disinfectant, the same as 

 for other kinds of worms or parasites. 



