Ivermectrin & chickens

[dcrickman]

Please help! I was deworming my horses with Ivermectin paste (1.87%) mixed with sweet grain. My chickens got in it, all Barrred Rock. I'm not sure how much they ate vs. how much the horse ate. I'm afraid the chickens ate the most. So far (several hours later) I haven''t lost any hens and assuming I don't, how long before the eggs are safe for human consumption?

Thanks

 

[dawg53]

I use ivermectin pour on as a second wormer,correct dosage of course with a 2 week withdrawal time. In your case not knowing the amount they ate (alot), I'd recommend that you wait at least 1 month before you eat the eggs just to be on the safe side.

 

[sourland]

Ivermectin has a very low rate of toxicity. Your chickens will be fine. I think waiting a month to consume the eggs is overkill. Do a search on Ivermectin to determine how long it takes to clear the from the body.

 

[dawg53]

Since ivermectin is off label use for chickens, there has been no testing to verify when the amount of residue is low enough to be considered insignificant. Ivermectin paste 1.87%.... according to the Code of Federal Regulations- Title 21: Food and Drugs (Dec 2005), it states not to treat cattle within 24 days of slaughter. Because withdrawal time in milk has not been established, do not use in female dairy cattle of breeding age. I stand by my recommendation of waiting one month because of uncertain amount of grain ingested by your chickens.

 

[For-The-Love-Of-Chickens]

We use the Ivermectin pour on for our chickens and last year I accidentally poured a whole bunch all over my hand. It made my skin tingle and I ran right inside to scrub it off. After calling Poison Control, I was told there is no harmful effects listed for humans other than skin irritation from the pour on. It is used as an antiparasitic in other countries for humans.

My point is, if there is no harmful effects listed for humans, why wait so long to eat your eggs? We wait two weeks, and that is only because I don't want to find a little wiggly worm in an egg while they are shedding and not because of the wormer itself.

It's up to you though!

 

[mdbokc]

On another thread. as I recall, someone spoke about the chickens appearing to be drunk for a few hours when they really overdosed.

Other than that, all appeared fine.

 

[dawg53]

For-The-Love-Of-Chickens, I totally aree with you as I use pour on also. dcrickman's chickens ate an undetermined amount of grain mixed with the paste though, there is a limit as to how much an overdose is to horses, cattle and swine, unknown with chickens. Hopefully his chickens will pass the ivermectin excess thru their system without harm

 

[dcrickman]

Just wanted to say thanks... so far so good. I'll let everyone know if I find out more.
Thanks