New turkey owner. Freaking out about blackhead.

[LogCabinChicks]

Or just use ground cayenne pepper in their feed! This really does work. We lost two with 6 others having having yellow frothy poo, we really socked the ground cayenne to them and we haven't lost one since (6 months ago) American pastured poultry producers did a study on cayenne and backhead, and the results were as stated. Blackhead stays in your soil for years and even if you treat them now with flagyl or the other medicines, it will come back. Adding a dusting of cayenne to fresh feed will allow you to keep your mixed flock together - or allow your turkeys to range where chickens have been. Chickens and turkeys cannot taste hot, so no worries about how much you use. We really used a lot the first week, they all piped up, starting acting normal and we were on the mend. Cannot speak enough about cayenne. If I wasn't on my phone I woukd find you the link to the article, but you can probably Google it.

 

[casportpony]

Or just use ground cayenne pepper in their feed! This really does work. We lost two with 6 others having having yellow frothy poo, we really socked the ground cayenne to them and we haven't lost one since (6 months ago) American pastured poultry producers did a study on cayenne and backhead, and the results were as stated. Blackhead stays in your soil for years and even if you treat them now with flagyl or the other medicines, it will come back. Adding a dusting of cayenne to fresh feed will allow you to keep your mixed flock together - or allow your turkeys to range where chickens have been. Chickens and turkeys cannot taste hot, so no worries about how much you use. We really used a lot the first week, they all piped up, starting acting normal and we were on the mend. Cannot speak enough about cayenne. If I wasn't on my phone I woukd find you the link to the article, but you can probably Google it.

Would be great if you could find the link, 'cause I googled and could not find any studies, but I did find this:
https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/viewhtml.php?id=343

-Kathy

 

[LogCabinChicks]

Kathy that is one I was referring to. Preventative feed additives:

• Histostat
  
  (active ingredient is Nitarsone) is an effective preventative feed additive and can be premixed into feed. It is a non-organic additive that contains arsenic and is the only drug approved for the prevention of Blackhead. At the time of this writing, Blue Seal Feeds
  
  , located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, sells a pre-mixed medicated turkey feed containing Histostat.
  
  Other than within the Blue Seal product, the use of Histostat is difficult at best for a small producer. The drug is only sold in 55-pound bags — enough Histostat to mix more than 65 tons of feed. Additionally, the drug can only be purchased by registered feed mills, and Histostat must be mixed into the ration as the feed is milled. Finally, at approximately $15 per pound, Histostat is a costly drug to buy in bulk. Histostat cannot be fed to actively producing layers and has a short withdrawal period (five days) to allow the arsenic ingested by the bird to be flushed from the system. In addition, Histostat is toxic to dogs, ruminants, and waterfowl. The toxicity to other species is an additional burden to mills that must thoroughly clean their feed machinery before mixing non-poultry feeds.
• Natustat
  
  is a plant-based additive manufactured by Alltech, Inc. that, just like Histostat, is mixed into the ration when the feed is milled. Natustat promotes poultry well-being and discourages Blackhead by acting as an immune system booster that stimulates good health. The company's research trials have shown that it is comparable to Histostat in the prevention of Blackhead when birds are exposed to infected litter, but it is not effective in preventing Blackhead when poultry are exposed to the parasite directly (as through cloacal drinking).
  
  Natustat is available to small growers directly in 55-pound bags. During the summer of 2010, the price per bag was $175, enough to treat 25 tons of feed. Natustat doesn't have the legal purchasing restrictions that make Histostat so difficult for small producers to access. There is no withdrawal time, and there is no secondary toxicity threat to other animal species.
  
  Feed additives are effective only if administered before a Blackhead infection occurs. Once signs of infection are present (yellow fecal matter, behavioral signs), preventative drugs are no longer effective. There are no legal drugs or substances to treat Histomoniasis once the infection has occurred.
• Dimetridazole was a low-cost, highly effective drug that was once used to cure infected turkey flocks and regenerate liver damage. The drug was banned in 1988 in the US and the late 1990s in Europe.
• Capsicum from hot peppers (i.e., Cayenne) has anecdotal success as a natural treatment for Blackhead disease. However, the effectiveness of treating Blackhead with Capsicum has not been verified through documented research.

The treatments for large pastured poultry is either expensive or has been banned. "Cayenne has anecdotal success as a natural treatment, but it has not been verified through documented research".
APPPA has this in one of their articles:
http://www.apppa.org/dynamic_content/uploadfiles/1297/APPPA Grit Issue 82 - web.pdf
APPPA has the teleconference on the 3rd Tuesday of the month and we listen and ask questions frequently. Please feel free to join the call!
Mark your calendar with a recurring appointment on the third Tuesday of each month at 8pm EST. Dial (712) 432-1212 and enter Access Code 709-102-625. It only lasts for one hour, so make sure you understand the time zones.
Here is an article stating the University of Georgia studied cayenne and blackhead --however no link to the actual article.
http://www.womenhunters.com/index.php/dogs/82-tips/tips-misc/2364-blackhead-disease-in-turkey
also, there is a few posts on BYC from others that have had great success.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/164011/blackhead-cayenne-pepper
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/134230/hope-this-saves-a-turkey-from-blackhead

and finally, all those medicines that are mentioned are not for livestock meant for food consumption, that is where I ran into my issues.
These were turkeys meant for sale.
Flagyl, Fish-Zole, Fish-Zole Forte : Use is banned in animals used for food.
Valbazen use in chickens/turkeys is an off label use, which restricts my usage.
GROUP I. Drugs with No Allowable Extra-Label Uses in Any Food-Producing Animal Species

• CHLORAMPHENICOL
• CLENBUTEROL
• DIETHYLSTILBESTEROL (DES)
• FLUOROQUINOLONE–CLASS ANTIBIOTICS
• GLYCOPEPTIDES — all agents, including VANCOMYCIN
• MEDICATED FEEDS
• NITROIMIDAZOLES — all agents, including DIMETRIDAZOLE, IPRONIDAZOLE, METRONIDAZOLE and others
• NITROFURANS — all agents, including FURAZOLIDINE, NITROFURAZONE and others

If you'd like, I can delete all my posts and leave the forum. I researched for two days to find something affordable for my large flock, most importantly allowable, natural and somewhat effective. Cayenne was all of that.

 

[Finnie]

If you'd like, I can delete all my posts and leave the forum. I researched for two days to find something affordable for my large flock, most importantly allowable, natural and somewhat effective. Cayenne was all of that.

You've done a good job researching, and I seriously doubt that her asking for the link meant that she thought you should leave the forum. Just a tad overreacting there.

 

[casportpony]

I would never ask anyone to delete their posts, nor would I want them to leave the forum, I just like seeing the science and I could not find any links to studies on the subject.

-Kathy

 

[hyelaw]

I put cayenne in my flock's feed too, no worries and no problems.

 

[LogCabinChicks]

You've done a good job researching, and I seriously doubt that her asking for the link meant that she thought you should leave the forum. Just a tad overreacting there.

I guess, I should have stated "so as not to confuse anyone, or misguide them".

I would never want to cause more harm than good.

It's all good.

 

[Finnie]

 
You've done a good job researching, and I seriously doubt that her asking for the link meant that she thought you should leave the forum.  Just a tad overreacting there.

I guess, I should have stated "so as not to confuse anyone, or misguide them".

I would never want to cause more harm than good. 

It's all good.  

Yes, lol, it's all good, and don't worry, you are not a danger to the chicken community! . Not like some out there.

 

[FowlPrincess]

How would I find our local Ag? Im not sure where to look!

 

[FowlPrincess]

Will the pepper be ok for Ducks? I have a mixed flock.