Cayenne Pepper Question?

[skiznap]

I just posted this in the wrong forum, think i got it right this time.

I have been reading on BYC that adding cayenne pepper to feed is an effective wormer, but i also have read that it raises body temperature. Therefore, I was wondering if it is safe to feed chickens cayenne pepper in the sultry days of summer? Thanks in advance.

 

[patandchickens]

I don't think there is any good well-controlled evidence for EITHER proposition (not to say they're definitely untrue, just, who knows, it's all just personal belief/experience, which can be innocently misleading). So I don't think there's any chance of a good empirical answer to your question.

However, I know people do it sometimes, and have not heard of massive numbers of chickens keeling over dead or anything

, so it is probably not a huge deal. If your chickens are on teh brink of heat stroke already, maybe don't just in case

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[skiznap]

Thanks for the reply, my thinking is "i will believe it when i see it." I am just trying to use a wormer that won't carry over into the eggs (a bit of garlic and spiciness may be interesting), and the most highly praised treatments were diatomaceous earth, cayenne pepper, and garlic. I used the cayenne and garlic and the ladies seem to be a bit more spunky and talkative today. Who knows?

 

[Lollipop]

Pat`s got a good point. There are as many opinions as there are chicken owners. However, cayenne pepper is quite good if used correctly, that being, mix it to a rusty appearance, feed your birds, do it again in 10 days after the worm eggs have hatched. This method is good for about a 6 month cycle as maintainance. Never used garlic, so I can`t comment on that........Pop

 

[skiznap]

I've just been feeding them the flakes mixed with some yogurt. I am not sure how much they need per bird. Could a chicken overdose on cayenne pepper? Seems unlikely unless they ate a lot. Thanks for the reply pop!