FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[kile529]

I had no idea chickens could get worms.....lol

As a side note, what feeders do you all use to feed FF? I'm so used to using a gravity feeder, that I'm not sure what to use and if it needs to be off the ground or if it just doesn't matter.
What do you all use?

 

[Searsmom]

I'm going to put my 2 cents in and it's only personal experience. We have cats and lots of wild critters - skunks, raccoons, tons of wild birds, deer, coyotes, buzzards, otters, hawks. I can de-worm my chickens on a regular basis and they're still going to get more because they're free range. Best I can do is keep their health up. There are lots of things humans used to have to deal with on a regular basis before there were human de-wormers and sterilization practices, it's only recently (I'd have to check, but my guess would be 100 years) that we've all been relatively "clean". Nasty thought though. Before de-wormers there were natural solutions, we didn't all just get sickly and die.


Can you add beer to their feed? Not to get them tipsy (that would be funny though), but for the fermentation?

 

[Beekissed]

Bee, we are going to have to agree to disagree. Your arguement sounds thought out and reasonable but is not based on fact. If you took my poo in and had it checked, there would be no worms. Seriously, I had worms when I was kid and you know it when you have worms! Worm treatments are safe and effective and I can't believe if you found you had worms in YOU you would up the garlic, pumpkin seeds, DE, whatever to keep your worm load down. Then if it got too bad cull then?
BTW, if you treat properly, and that means follow up treatments as prescribed, you will eliminate all worms. I CAN see that if not treated properly a drug resistant worm could be created. Done correctly all worms will be killed......I am living proof of that.

Yes, we will have to disagree. And my words are very based on fact...not my own, it's there for the reading in many places if you but search. I'm a nurse...I know just how accurate the O&P tests truly are...one has to have quite a load to be detected with those, so you'll have to go a long way to convince me on that one.

Worm treatments are safe and effective? Depends on your perspective...is it short range or long range? And, yes, you can believe that I wouldn't take them if I had worms...because I KNOW I have worms. We all do. I eat garlic nearly every meal and I have a bag of pumpkin seeds in my cupboard.

Mostly because they are tasty but also because they are part of a healthy diet that discourages parasites. I also eat fermented foods and keep an acid pH in my intestines.

Now, I'm curious as to how you know you have eliminated ALL worms with your follow up treatments? The only way you could know that is if you actually dissected the animal's bowels and examined them under a microscope to see that every single tiny worm was gone.

Nope...that dog don't hunt. People do that because other people and the back of the box says to do so, but they do not truly do any study on the situation. It's all knee jerk flock management that takes no extra thought or study to get to the root of the problem and the most effective way to solve it.

But...you keep doing what you do if it suits your fancy and you like it, and I'll keep doing what I do because it's been successful for almost 4 decades now and has been successful for many a farmer before me.

I just answered the lady's question because she asked and didn't come here for an argument. Apparently her vet...you know the one that has been trained in animal medicine?...agrees with me.

 

[Beekissed]

I had no idea chickens could get worms.....lol

As a side note, what feeders do you all use to feed FF? I'm so used to using a gravity feeder, that I'm not sure what to use and if it needs to be off the ground or if it just doesn't matter.
What do you all use?

Troughs seem the easiest to use and for dispensing of the feed. If you look at the pic gallery on this thread you'll see quite a few troughs people are using and have made.

 

[niqueie]

I just got a vinyl rain gutter and 2 end caps for $10. Holds a ton of feed if you need, for a couple days vacation. All the girls spread out on it and get an equal chance at the food.

On the parasite line, I had a cousin that lived for a time in Mexico. He came back to the states with quite a worm load. Got lots of medications for it. He was unable to kick it for 3-4 years even with the medications. Finally, one morning he woke up and could feel that the worm had finally died. He felt normal again after all that time. I think for large parasites in animals and humans, the host feels the drag they put on their system. But for the tiny microscopic ones that are harmless overall, they aren't detected by the host. They are harmless because our bodies can fight them. Our bodies are amazing and are constantly able to fight off many many things that could cause serious illnesses and death. It's awesome how the blood system works to keep us healthy.

 

[chickengirl1193]

Thank you for everyones opinions! I am new and still.have to do my research to establish my own beliefs and practices but everyones opinions are very helpful!
I personally dont want to put something in my birds that will cause.their.eggs to be un able for me to eat, even for a short time, because that just doesn't seem right to me.
My birds are all laying daily with barely any breaks and they are very very active!
So I think.I will just introduce some natural methods, how would you feed them the garlic ginger root or pumpkin seeds? Just put some in their ferment? Also this may be my ignorance but the castor oil you mention, is that motor oil or something you get from a health food store?

 

[Beekissed]

Thank you for everyones opinions! I am new and still.have to do my research to establish my own beliefs and practices but everyones opinions are very helpful!
I personally dont want to put something in my birds that will cause.their.eggs to be un able for me to eat, even for a short time, because that just doesn't seem right to me.
My birds are all laying daily with barely any breaks and they are very very active!
So I think.I will just introduce some natural methods, how would you feed them the garlic ginger root or pumpkin seeds? Just put some in their ferment? Also this may be my ignorance but the castor oil you mention, is that motor oil or something you get from a health food store?

Yes, you can just place them in the FF...they will eat them just fine. The castor oil is traditionally a laxative but back in the day was used as a spring purge..it is made from the castor bean. It's handy for all sorts of things and has antibacterial, antifungal, antimicrobial properties. It is great for scale mites in chickens, works well to protect and restore circulation for frostbit combs and wattles and helps to regrow scale and feathers quickly. Some people use it to help thicken and regrow thinning hair. It works well on wounds, it helps ease arthritic joints, and has many other practical, healthy uses. I've seen some amazing things on my chickens with the use of castor oil.

You can find it at any pharmacy and even at Dollar General stores. Sometimes you can even find it where they keep the hair products as it's traditionally used as a hot oil treatment for hair and also for skin.

 

[chickengirl1193]

Okay thank you very much! Is it okay to give a bit of garlic powder and ginger powder in some scrambled eggs treat?

 

[Beekissed]

Okay thank you very much! Is it okay to give a bit of garlic powder and ginger powder in some scrambled eggs treat?

Whatever you like! That's the nice thing about natural things...you can't really overdose on them unless you are chucking it down their throats nearly every day. That's the way it is with garlic...everyone says it's toxic to chickens and can cause anemia but I'm sure that's with daily feedings of concentrated garlic. I've been giving garlic to the chooks for many years now with great results. Matter of fact, just gave them a dose in their feed just the other day as their spring tonic. Worked wonders and got everyone feeling frisky.

 

[chickengirl1193]

Okay thanks again!