Meaties who might have roundworms

[Sunny Side Up]

Here's a question for you: Which do you think is worse, to eat a meatie that has a roundworm infestation, or a meatie who was medicated with Wazine 14 days previous?

I know there are roundworms in the layer flock, I have found a few poops with the worms standing up and waving howdy to me. But the meaties, RIR & SLW boys around 16 weeks old, have been kept confined to their pen, not pecking at the same ground as the layers. I know they could be harboring guests even though I have NOT seen any little friends in their poops.

Though it's gross to consider, could you still eat a bird if you found roundworms in it? Would the worms be confined to the gut, or would it affect the meat?

And though I'd like to start processing these guys of mine, I could treat them with Wazine anyway, wait 2 weeks, and butcher them then. But some folks think it's gross to eat meat that's been so recently treated with worm poison.

Yes, ideally I could take some of their poops to a vet for a test, but I am really really short on $$$ now.

I appreciate your thoughts on this matter, thank you!

 

[christyb]

I'm probably of no help here except to say that rounds stay in the intestinal track... Will a bird stressed by parasites taste different?

Hope you get a satisfactory answer! I know this is frustrating.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

The weather is getting drier here and I'm getting the Rx tomorrow. But I still have lots of unanswered questions about dosing my meaties. Does anyone else have any insight on this? Thank you!

 

[dancingbear]

Every fall, during molt, I treat my flock with Ivermectin (liquid injectable 1% sterile solution, I buy it OTC at TSC) because it's effective for both internal and external parasites, and has no withdrawal period for cattle or swine. It's off-label use for poultry, but recommended by Gail Damerow in the Chicken Health handbook. You can either give it orally to each individual bird, (up to 7 drops for a bantam sized bird, 1/4 ml. for a large bird) or add it to the drinking water at the rate of 2 ml. per gallon, and used as the sole source of drinking water for 2 full days.

Ivermectin is sometimes used to treat humans for internal parasites, so I feel comfortable using it. I use the eggs myself, after I dose my birds, but I wait 3 weeks before selling the eggs to others. It's a little pricey to buy, but the 50 ml. bottle lasts a long time, and I use it myself for heartworm prevention and worming in my dogs, too, and I'm about to dose my 4 feeder pigs with it.

You could also try feeding black walnut hull powder, pumpkin seed meal, and garlic, mixed in with something they like, maybe oatmeal, for several days in a row. That's a very safe wormer, effective for roundworms, no withdrawal period at all.

 

[Agape Builder]

Quote:
I cannot tell you about the case with chickens for sure, but I can say with certainty that white roundworms do not stay within the intestinal tract of wild hogs. I have slaughtered them to see them slithering around outside of the guts. I would assume the worms act the same in any animal.


Now, FOR THE ORIGINAL POSTER...

I have a solution for you that will solve all of your problems without pesticides or chemicals but is assured to kill all of the intestinal parasites. Get some USDA FOOD GRADE DIATOMACEOUS EARTH and mix a little (5% by volume) in with the chickens feed. It will very quickly kill all intestinal parasites but not good bacterial flora and enzymes. It will not leave chemicals in the meat, and it is good for them.

Also, I would take and dust all of your chickens with the Diatomaceous Earth (DE) in order to kill all fleas and mites on them immediately. Then, dust all around their coop and runs to kill all fleas, mites, insects, and even worms (parasitic worms, not earthworms) that are exposed directly to the DE.

A good feed store should carry pure 100% Diatomaceous Earth in 50 lb. bulk bags for around $22 a bag. It is a perfect insecticide for the garden and yard.

The only downsides are that you don't want to breathe in the dust because of the silica in it, just like you do not want to breathe in lime or cement dust because of the silica in them. However, there is no danger in ingesting food grade DE.

The other downside is that a good rain can wash your DE away from the plants and make you have to reapply the DE afterwards.

One word of caution... DO NOT get the DE that is sold to be used in pool filters. It has hazardous chemicals in it. ONLY get the USDA FOOD GRADE DE that you can buy at farm supply stores and graineries. (They actually mix some food grade DE into ALL of the grain that is used in your food. Every day people eat minute amounts of it every time they eat bread and probably did not even know it.)