Questions about Poly-Visol

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the Old Rebel

the Old Rebel

Rest in Peace -2011
May 12, 2007
361
8
151
Hendersonville NC
Why do so many folks specify Poly-Visol (no iron). Is iron bad for birds??

I have my bourbon red turkey on Rooster Booster vitamins with iron, because she has lost a lot of weight for some reason. We discovered she has lice and mites just yesterday. I thought the iron would help her. I DON'T WANT to hurt her.

Please help!!

Thanks!!

Hope everyone has a WONDERFUL EVENING!!
 
Quote:
Iron supplementation isn't recommend, really. Rooster Booster, other products are different - but not at human levels.

Ohh on the lice/mites, did you get the coop treated? That's going to be very important. Especially to get all that knocked down, all the mites that are living in the coop/bedding, etc. They spend a good deal of time off of the bird, lay their eggs in the wood cracks, eyes, etc.

Be sure to go back and dust that turkey every 7 days for at least 21 total days. I didn't do that this time - I lost track and had a few lice hatch out (ours were sucking lice, very bad)> The same will happen for mites - you want to dust weekly for three weeks for sure.

ON the rooster booster I'd say that's exactly the product you'd want her on now because it's a bit of a blood booster. But normally it's not good to give the iron fortified products when there's a better product available from the same company. It's different when the product is labeled for poultry and used as labeled.

I'm glad you were savvy enough to catch those lice on her!
 
please read the following:
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/206915.htm
(copper and iron deficiency information from the MERCK veterinary manual)
".... High levels of iron salts can lead to formation of insoluble phosphates in the digesta, with reduced phosphorus absorption and subsequent incidence of rickets. Insoluble iron phosphates produce a colloidal suspension that may also adsorb vitamins and other trace minerals. Such problems will not occur unless supplements exceed normal levels by at least 10-fold. ..."

>Polyvisol enfamil w/iron contains 10 mg of iron and this might cause a problem of the sort indicated above... this will not happen with the non-extra-iron formulation.

Most supplements are not "truly" formulated accurately for daily consumption (important to ensure the ratios to each other are correct which can be a problem) > this is why I recommend Avia Charge 2000 in addition to the polyvisol as it is a daily formulation> it has been developed specifically for use in organic certified and even though the NRC recquirement data are woefully out-of-date (upon which all "official" formulations of feed are based to minimum recquirements/not exceeding the sometimes out-of-date maximum levels) it is the only one I know of that has undergone this type of scrutiny and offers the most complete and in-the-correct-ratio-to-each-other formulation of the complete range of vitamins and micronutrients (minerals etc.) .
Note I have said poultry and not turkeys (there may be some differences)
 
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Thanks Threehorses and Dlhunicorn for your very helpful responses. I think I understand a little better now.

Thanks also for your words of encouragement.

We'll do our best to stay on top of the lice and mite situation. We simply haven't had a problem with those before except once on an old, old rooster. Where do the darn things come from????

What do you dust with?? Sevin dust is DANGEROUS for both man and animals. Is there anything else that works??

I'll keep you posted on her progress.

Hope all is well with both of you.

the Old Rebel
 
I have the inside of my coops lined with plastic wall/ceiling panels and have kitted where they meet (got a whole pack of eight/nine finto each other> I sawed off to size and then "glued" them to the inside walls > there is a photo report of my summer coop in the coop section > anyway because one of the panels was damaged I got the entire pack for five dollors at DIY store) ...this takes care of any problems with parasites infesting the coop and reinfesting my birds > just doesnt happen with those panels and as the floors are not wood nor on the ground I dont really have a problem... I just wipe clean and change their cardboard boxes and on occasion spray inside there with a pyrethrin/permethrin based spray (I think it is marketed for cows or such) ... My birds get a regular "spot-on" treatment with eprinex/ivermectin product but you can also give a bath with a human lice shampoo for a quick fix or spray with a (pump action) bird spray for cage birds available from the bird section of the pet store. I never use dust on my birds.
 
Quote:
You can and should use permethrin dust rather than Sevin which is indeed being banned from certain applications soon by the EPA. Permethrin dust is usually labeled as Poultry Dust, or Livestock Lice Dust, Garden and POultry Dust, etc. Just check the active ingredient for PERmethrins. That's why the goat-lice spray is handy - it's permethrins, which is just the liquid form of that used on poultry. You can also use Adams flea and tick mist on poultry - but I prefer dust under wings, at the vent, etc - they using the adams on a papertowel to spot treat their crests, beards, by their ears, etc.

You can even spray 10% permethrin on poultry once you dilute it. One quart of it makes 25 gallons (100 quarts) of ready-to-use spray according to the manufacturers of Durvet.

Another 10% permethrin's instructions are here:
http://www.hardwarestore.com/media/pdf-misc/684587.pdf

TSC carries one brand in smaller containers, 8 ounce I think.
 
Thanks again Threehorses and DLHUnicorn for your very helpful responses. I apologize for being so long in responding. I had to be out of town on an emergency trip. A dear friend of ours passed away suddenly.

My Rosie is still hanging in there. It is good to know I'm not the only one that doesn't like Sevin Dust. I have used Scalex mite and lice spray for birds on Rosie three or four times. We check her for "bugs" every single day. She remains clear of them.

We are also treating the pen she is in. I'm still looking for something with permethrins in it, Threehorses. Our pen floors are dirt, so I'm thinking of mixing in some DE, but am a little leary of such a fine powder possibly causing respiratory problems..... which she may already be battling.

Anyway, thanks again for all your help. I'll try to keep you posted on her progress.

Hope all is well at your end of the world.
The Old Rebel
 
This is a great thread, both for the vitamin info and the parasite info. I am also adamantly against Sevin Dust.
I have a few questions to add to this thread:

threehorses, how can you tell the difference between sucking lice and non-sucknig lice? Also, Swartz makes a pyrethrin spray for house plants...is this safe? More to the point, what should the percentage of pyrethrin be...I have only used this on my coop surfaces, and not on the chickens. Been using the BZ oil to eradicate my lice and so far it seems to be working. They didn't have a lot of lice but all of their bottoms are reddish, I am thinking they have the sucking kind of lice.
I also put all my chickens on vitamins, I used this powder that came in a packet from the feed store for farm animals. I think it said "durvet" on the label. They are all molting too, but everyone seems healthy and getting their pin feathers in.

Threehorses and dlhunicorn....thanks for always providing sound advice and taking the time to share with everyone.
Your knowledge of chickens seems to be endless!
 

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