My children raise chickens to sell their eggs. That is how they make their spending money. They are fed, but free range all day. At night they go up in their house and we lock the door to keep out predators. What is a natural method of wormer that we can use? We would like them to be all natural. Thanks for your help!
Natural wormer
This message was edited Nov 24, 2007 9:36 PM
I know this sounds crazy, but 1 method i learned about for humans in an organic living class was to eat 1 and a half cigarettes. I use it with my goats and so far it appear to work.
George
This message was edited Nov 24, 2007 9:37 PM
I read somewhere that crushed pumpkin seeds would work. I wanted to read more about it, but now I cant find it! LOL
This message was edited Nov 24, 2007 9:37 PM
I use cayenne pepper as a top dress on feed.
I've read about pumpkin seeds and buttermilk but have never tried that.
I use DE as well but not as a dressing on food just for dusting. A lot of folks use it both ways.
Julie
I have used DE on goats with good success but not my poultry-stands to reason it should work!
My brother wanted to start an organic poultry farm (hasn't yet) but he did a lot of research on natural cures etc for chickens. DE works great for worms on chickens as well as dogs (he dewormed his dog that way). He also said buttermilk is great for building chicks immune system. Also cayenne pepper works great for sick chickens. My sister had a rooster about to die, he looked awful. She gave him cayenne pepper and he got better and lived.
I keep hearing about DE, which I use for lots of other things around here, but how do you use it for poultry deworming? In the feed, I presume, but when, and how much?
Ok, what is DE...Dia..whatever earth, lol! For some reason when I hear that, peat moss pops into my head.
Diatomaceous Earth (see why everyone calls it 'DE?). Its a very crystalline, fine, sand-like earth that causes insect death by scratching the bug's exoskeleton as they move over it. They dehydrate and die. Great for fleas, roaches etc. Not sure what it does to internal parasites (worms), but trying to learn...
You can buy DE at nurseries very readily. Its also used in the pool industry, but my understanding is that the two products are slightly different, and not interchangeable. The pool form (I think its used for filtering water) is a very fine dust form that can cause respiratory damage. The nursery form is not as fine, I'm told. Anybody know anymore about this?
Thank you yotedog :) I will keep that in my mind for next summer.
Diatomaceous Earth (5 lbs) for 6.95 at hoegger goat supply-this is the type you should use on your animals. You probably can get it at your local feed store as well. Hope this helps!
http://hoeggergoatsupply.com/xcart/search.php?mode=search
If you copy and paste this should take you to right page! I've ordered for many years with them and have always been satisfied. And for those with goats, there are some very experienced people who will answers any questions that you have. :)
DE gets rid of lice and mites quite well!
chicken crazy, we have always used natural rememdies for our birds. for their immune system, add apple cider viegar, the one with the "mother" [i prefer Bragg] in their water. Please do not give them city water, the chemicals aren't good for them, bottled or well or rain water is best. also we infuse the ACV with chopped or minced garlic for 24 hours before adding to the water.
for worms there are several herbs. i have a link somewhere. mugwort is good for repelling pests if you plant it around the coop. chamomile is good for the chickens, if you only supplememnted one natural thing i would have to choose chamomile for its antifungal, antiparasitic & antibiotic properties. it is also very soothing so you have calm birds.
when i find that study of natural wormers for birds, i will give you more info.
with DE, there are different grades, so be cautious what you buy...
tf
Thank you for the link Saanansandy, I will check them out. I guess I don't even have a dust box....I often see my chickens laying down in their bedding, and "tossing" bedding up onto their backs with their wings. I guess I should look into a dust box?
TamaraFaye-what kind of chamomile do you use? Do you plant it for them, or is there a supplement or something you put in their feed/water? I didn't actually worm my chickens last year; it was my first year, and I had thought I had did plenty of research, but I wasn't quite sure what to do with wormers yet, so I'm looking it up now. My chickens all seem fat and healthy (I guess I'm just assuming they would be skinny/lethargic if they were full of worms) so I haven't been too concerned yet. I would much rather use natural products if I can.
i have used Alvita, Traditional Medicinals and Celestial Seasonings as far as the chamomile tea i put in their water once a week or so, and in the event of any stressful activity [dog invasion, etc.]
the dried chamomile i got from the grocery store in bags called Manzanilla, which is a Spanish term. i used this in the henhouse and the coop, sometimes in the feeder too, since i saw they would actually eat some of it from the bedding.
that was last year, this year many chamomile plants came up volunteer, plus i set out a couple of pots of them. i let them all go to seed. but there were no chickens here to peck at them and eat them down. [mine were gone from April till September].
i hope that helps. if you are free ranging your birds regularly, and keep replenishing the bedding [never let it get wet!], you are unlikely to have conditions which would encourage parasites. also, clean fresh water is important. plants which deter parasites, like the mugwort, is also helpful.
i look forward to learning more and re-establishing our flock next year.
tf
Wonderful, thank you! I'm taking notes on many different things, now just so I don't lose my notebook, which has been known to happen, lol!
I've used DE before on my goats. I need to get some more, but the only way you can buy it around here is a 50 pound bag. It would last forever.
I hear it's very finely crushed up shell in stead of the sand posted above, but not sure. and that if you breath it in your own lungs, it causes problems. and that I also heard no animal should get it into their lungs.
I've seen it used in the garden put around brocolli and other plants like that, once the cut worms crawl across it, it cuts into their outter body and eventuallykills them.
I'd like to find enough for a dust box, but don't know if my chickens would use it or not. They seem to prefer the dirt , really loose dirt. Like the stuff in my flower gardens, I have holes all over the place where they dust themselves.
I'll have to check locally for smaller portions, it's been a while.