Nasturtiums as a wormer

[SusanLPN]

I'm wondering how much each chicken needs to eat and for how long? I would rather not use a commercial worming medication because of the egg withdrawal time.

 

[Saveria]

If you give wormer with a very particular dose you don't need to do an egg withdrawal. I'll try to find the thread about it. Also many folks don't practice the egg withdrawal for safe-guard since it doesn't have a toxicity level. It is more complicated if you are selling eggs. I usually worm when I am not selling them.

I can't say about the nasturtiums, but I am guessing it would be hard to know if it actually works.

 

[dawg53]

I'm wondering how much each chicken needs to eat and for how long? I would rather not use a commercial worming medication because of the egg withdrawal time.

I recommend using Valbazen (Albendazole) or Safeguard (Fenbendazole.)
Both are Benzimidazoles. Benzimidazoles are poorly absorbed in the digestive tract and mostly excreted.
We eat the eggs after using either of these wormers. However, if you suspect that you or a family member might have a reaction to the minute residue in the eggs, toss them in the garbage for two weeks after the last dosing.
I worm our birds monthly due to our warm moist soil conditions, have been for years. I'm still here typing.

 

[Saveria]

Found it!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/safeguard-mash-zero-day-egg-withdrawal.1254653/

 

[21hens-incharge]

Have you had a fecal float test done to know IF you even need to worm them?

 

[SusanLPN]

Have you had a fecal float test done to know IF you even need to worm them?

I saw a small threadlike worm in the stool of one of the hens.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I saw a small threadlike worm in the stool of one of the hens.

If it's a certainty that there are worms it's time to consider using a proven wormer like Safeguard or Valbazen that were posted above.

 

[dawg53]

I saw a small threadlike worm in the stool of one of the hens.

A threadlike worm aka threadworm are capillary worms and will eventually kill a chicken. Valbazen or Safeguard will eliminate all types of roundworms including threadworms.

 

[Lillith37]

I think nasturtiums and other herbal/natural things form part of an excellent practice of wellness and preventative medicine. However, because a lot of us are keeping chickens in unnatural conditions e.g. finite blocks of land, it means that sometimes we need to resort to synthetic medicines to keep our flocks healthy. If your flock has a worm load where you are visibly seeing worms in their poop or they have other worm-related symptoms, it’s time to use a proper worming medication like the others have suggested.

Personally I’ve used drugs like levimasole, flubenzadole, ivermectin and praziquantel without withholding eggs (or only withholding for a short time e.g. 2 weeks) and haven’t ever had problems.

 

[Shadrach]

I'm wondering how much each chicken needs to eat and for how long? I would rather not use a commercial worming medication because of the egg withdrawal time.

For all the "natural" chemicals I've read about (It's a chemical in Natsturtiums that is reported to have negative effects on worms) the quantities needed to elimiate a critical worm load in a chicken are massive.
Be wary of studies on this topic. Read very carefully the amounts needed to eliminate a parasite. There is a world of difference between a study that mentions they found that a particular natural chemical had a negative effect on a particular parasite and something that will make a significant difference to a bird with a high parasite load.