Illinois...

[rikd]

ty

For 3 years, I did many of those things (garlic 1x every month, raw ACV in water 1x per week, many cucumbers & zucc in summer, & whole pumpkins every fall)  but mine got worms.  I never noticed any issues until my favorite hen, Cuddles, got sick.  Not sure what the illness was but because she was inside the house, I noticed 1 tiny worm in her watery (just not right) poop.  I treated all chickens for worms.  Cuddles was very ill & stopped eating & drinking.  It was so severe, I had to tube feed her for a few days.  Although she never had any blood in stools, I treated her for Cocci as well. (We had a very wet spring & summer)

I was never able to figure out what she had (other than worms), but I am very grateful she made it through.  After going through all this, I think those natural methods may keep worms from overproducing, but in my opinion, they will not kill the worms.  I still think these things are still very beneficial to the digestive tract even if they don't kill all the worms.  I also give probiotics when I think they may need a boost.

Anyway, that's my opinion.  I'm not a vet.  Perhaps I didn't give pumpkin year round or should have always had ACV in the water.  Not sure.  In the end, I just want healthy hens, so I plan to use de-wormers in the future.  Note: The worst part of de-worming was not eating their eggs for 3 weeks.  Now they're molting so production is way down.  UGH!!!!

ty ya i do have what looks like worm eggs in a few droppings not all (tiny rice) not sure but odds are still no worms in droppings, looks like i just need to de worm them with meds to be sure was hoping not to... but do what we have to

 

[ChicagoClucker]

My project Ameraucana colors at the show . Took reserve AOV = any other variety . Lots of lavenders entered so a large AOV class .

Congrats! Your birds are beautiful!

 

[ChicagoClucker]

I was doing the pumpkins, cucumbers, Braggs ACV and garlic as well, but the more I read, including @Faraday40 last post about poor cuddles, I plan on deworming them also beginning November. I have heard that it is rather smelly and messy during deworming, so I want to be able to use the hose if necessary. I figured it would be a good time since egg production will be down.

 

[cavemanrich]

Quote:
I never encountered worms. (18 years) and consider myself GRATEFUL My question is .......... During the 3 weeks you don't eat those eggs. (understandable) can you cook them up and feed them back to your chickens.??? On occasion I find some old eggs that some of my girls would be laying in secret , Have encountered 13 once. from one of my banties. I just took them and cooked them all and fed them back to my chickens. They all looked good when I cut them open and fed them. I just passed on eating them if questionable. I just don't like to see anything going to waste if not necessary.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

I never encountered worms. (18 years) and consider myself GRATEFUL My question is .......... During the 3 weeks you don't eat those eggs. (understandable) can you cook them up and feed them back to your chickens.??? On occasion I find some old eggs that some of my girls would be laying in secret , Have encountered 13 once. from one of my banties. I just took them and cooked them all and fed them back to my chickens. They all looked good when I cut them open and fed them. I just passed on eating them if questionable. I just don't like to see anything going to waste if not necessary.

They say not to feed them back to the chickens because the meds get passed to the eggs they are producing. So its like giving them a double dose. Same thing with antibiotics. And I have seen that if you find eggs and are not sure how old they are, do a float test. Put them in a deep bowl of water, if they float they are not good. If that stay at the bottom or near bottom they are ok to eat.

I haven't encountered worms yet either, but I would rather be safe than sorry after this year.

 

[MeepBeep]

They say not to feed them back to the chickens because the meds get passed to the eggs they are producing. So its like giving them a double dose. Same thing with antibiotics. And I have seen that if you find eggs and are not sure how old they are, do a float test.

I don't know that I would call it a 'double dose' as generally the amount transferred to the egg is minimal for most drugs, but the FDA errors on the extreme side of caution for withdrawal periods especially when any medication that might be transferred to the egg are not approved for human use...

The thing with giving them back the eggs on a technical side is that you are essentially dosing them again with each new egg and resetting the withdrawal period, albeit the dosage in the egg is minute it's still reintroducing the medication to the chicken and some of the reintroduced medication will find it's way into the next egg in a perpetual diminishing cycle...

IMO best to just dispose of the eggs during the withdrawal period just to be safe...

[sarcasm] Or decorate an unfriendly neighbors house with them [/sarcasm]

 

[Faraday40]

I gave the eggs to my dogs.

I had read somewhere that the same active ingredients in Safeguard are used in other countries to treat worms in humans. Although I wouldn't want to ingest it myself, my dogs were happy to dispose of the eggs. Some sources said 2 weeks, some said a 3 week withdraw. Either way, the next time I de-worm with Safeguard, I will plan to treat 1/2 at a time. I jumped into deworming without stocking up on eggs. Finally the eggs are safe to eat, but all my hens are molting! Also, each chicken got a measured dose & it took a long time to get through all of them. Administering was easy b/c I just dripped it on a small piece of bread. However I had to do it separately so my hungry hens didn't steal a second dose.

 

[MeepBeep]

I gave the eggs to my dogs.  

I would likely do the same as long as the drug was approved for dogs...

 

[Justso]

I will point out that I, too, never saw anything of worms or eggs in my chicken fecesbut my next door neighbor lost an immune compromised chick & it had worms. My only chicken old enough to lay eggs was not producing, once I treated her she immediately started laying everyday. a real bummer since I had to throw the eggs away. It was only for 10 days though. Maybe it's time to bring in a vet.I'll get an opinion from a reliable source...

 

[1muttsfan]

I never encountered worms. (18 years) and consider myself GRATEFUL My question is .......... During the 3 weeks you don't eat those eggs. (understandable) can you cook them up and feed them back to your chickens.???

As said by others, feeding your birds eggs from medicated birds will extend the withdrawal time, if for example the withdrawal is 10 days you would have to wait until 10 days after the last day the chickens at the medicated eggs.

I you are essentially dosing them again with each new egg and resetting the withdrawal period, albeit the dosage in the egg is minute it's still reintroducing the medication to the chicken and some of the reintroduced medication will find it's way into the next egg in a perpetual diminishing cycle...

IMO best to just dispose of the eggs during the withdrawal period just to be safe...

X2

Hi rikd!
It sounds like you're taking great care of your chickens. I guess the only thing that I would point out is that if your chicken has worms you may not notice unless their immune system is compromised, then it can become very serious and too late to treat. I don't believe these foods will cure worms, but it is healthy for them to eat so no harm!
After my positive experience with deworming I have decided to have a regular worming schedule with my chickens. I will worm again in December with Valbazen.

Valbazen is a good all-around dewormer that will get most internal parasites including tapeworms. For best effect do two dewormings 10 days apart, then do a 10 day withdrawal.

Since most parasites are passed from the digestive tract in the microscopic egg stage, you may never see a worm unless you have a heavily parasitized bird. Fecal exams at a vet clinic can really help get a handle on if you have parasites or not.

from what i read garlic pumpkin seeds and squash seeds will change the PH balance in the stomachs and that makes it an unlikable environment for worms and that the garlic gets in there blood and skin (same with humans i knw is true) and wards of fleas, ticks, lice, mites and mosquitoes... got this info from multiple sources one of which was on this web page just hoping if anyone knows 100% if it works or does... ty all

While these may reduce how many worms infest your birds, they will not completely prevent infestation and will not get rid of a worm burden. The evidence for garlic in terms of external parasites is shaky - while there is anecdotal evidence, controlled studies have shown little effect. Works for vampires though

For 3 years, I did many of those things (garlic 1x every month, raw ACV in water 1x per week, many cucumbers & zucc in summer, & whole pumpkins every fall) but mine got worms. I never noticed any issues until my favorite hen, Cuddles, got sick. Not sure what the illness was but because she was inside the house, I noticed 1 tiny worm in her watery (just not right) poop. I treated all chickens for worms. Cuddles was very ill & stopped eating & drinking. It was so severe, I had to tube feed her for a few days. Although she never had any blood in stools, I treated her for Cocci as well. (We had a very wet spring & summer)

I was never able to figure out what she had (other than worms), but I am very grateful she made it through. After going through all this, I think those natural methods may keep worms from overproducing, but in my opinion, they will not kill the worms. I still think these things are still very beneficial to the digestive tract even if they don't kill all the worms. I also give probiotics when I think they may need a boost.

Anyway, that's my opinion. I'm not a vet. Perhaps I didn't give pumpkin year round or should have always had ACV in the water. Not sure. In the end, I just want healthy hens, so I plan to use de-wormers in the future. Note: The worst part of de-worming was not eating their eggs for 3 weeks. Now they're molting so production is way down. UGH!!!!

This is very well-said, and correct as well.

The best time to deworm is in the fall when many birds are molting and egg production is down naturally due to decreasing day length. In addition waiting until there has been some subfreezing temps reduces the number of parasites in the outdoor runs. If you use light to stimulate egg production, a good schedule would be to deworm after cold weather sets in, during decreased egg production, then after the withdrawal period put your birds under lights. Then your birds will be healthy and parasite-free going into the harsher winter months.