Parasites! If you can easily get an upset tummy don't click this!

[SBFChickenGirl]

I have told you just about everything there is about worming, why should I not tell you the truth about DE? Take it from me, DE is a waste of money,

I found this out the hard way like @dawg53 is talking about. My birds had lice, did everything "natural", baths, DE, oils. Nothing worked. I lost pet birds to them and was devastated. Finally decided to go buy the permethrin and the lice were gone in two weeks. Done and gone.

 

[rosemarythyme]

We eat the eggs after using Safeguard, still here typing after all these years. However, it's your choice. There are products out there that I'd observe withdrawal periods, such as Ivermectin. I dont use it anymore, but not because of a long withdrawal period,

I chose to follow the withdrawal recommendation, because I don't need eggs THAT badly to take any chances with eating them.

I mostly only feel "bad" about it because it's all been newly laying pullet eggs, so kinda sucks tossing out their first eggs when normally I'd be running around showing them off.

 

[Boarding00n]

How do chickens usually get parasites/worms/etc?

 

[rosemarythyme]

How do chickens usually get parasites/worms/etc?

A lot of it is simply in the environment or brought in by other animals (wild birds, rodents, invertebrates). Mites for example can be carried in by wild animals or sometimes via contaminated bedding.

 

[Vickischics]

I chose to follow the withdrawal recommendation, because I don't need eggs THAT badly to take any chances with eating them.

I mostly only feel "bad" about it because it's all been newly laying pullet eggs, so kinda sucks tossing out their first eggs when normally I'd be running around showing them off.

Last month, I dewormed my flock. First dosing then 10 days later I dosed again. Clean out the coop and spray Permethrin in all the nooks and Kranies. Then, add new bedding. Then clean It out again after the 2nd dosing and did the same. Then I did the cleaning again before I started eating the eggs. But, since I was leary about the eggs, I waited 2 more days before I ate the eggs. Lol
Egg withdrawl was 23 days.
But, between the dosings, I fed them their own eggs scrambled and hard boiled with the all flock added. They could use the eggs to give them a protein boost during a stressful time. Plus eggs give them the needed selenium.
This really helped them and me because then I felt like I wasn't just throwing the eggs out.

I know you feel bad but, your girls will be much happier without worms inside them.

You are a good Chicken Mama for noticing the change in their stool in the first place.

Good work and everyone will be happier now.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Egg withdrawl was 23 days.
But, between the dosings, I fed them their own eggs scrambled and hard boiled with the all flock added. They could use the eggs to give them a protein boost during a stressful time. Plus eggs give them the needed selenium.
This really helped them and me because then I felt like I wasn't just throwing the eggs out.

Only problem with feeding the eggs back is you're re-dosing them with a reduced dosage of wormer, so technically that pushes the withdrawal date back out and has the potential of raising resistance of the worms to the active ingredient being used (if any worms survive the reduced dosage and then reproduce that trait into future generations).

I only need to toss out eggs for 1 more day - I'll be out of withdrawal period on Friday.

 

[dawg53]

How do chickens usually get parasites/worms/etc?

Type into your computer "roundworm lifecycle in poultry." It's much the same for all animals including humans.

 

[RoosterML]

If you don’t like tossing your eggs away after dosing with a wormer collect them and incubate. That’s what I did the last time I wormed my flock.

 

[cmom]

What good is DE then and why is it so widely used

I agree with @dawg53. I believed the hype but in the end it didn't work. Some people swear by DE and if it works for them great but it has never worked for me. I had a severe mite infestation and some people swear it will get rid of mites but after treating my birds with it for awhile they weren't improving and I was worried if I didn't try something else I might have lost some birds they were so pitiful. I then used permethrin and after a month the birds were improving.

 

[cmom]

I found this research on DE. While it is not a perfect cure all. To say it doesnt work is misleading. It obviously is very beneficial to hen health and egg production and DOES reduce the worm load in chickens significantly per the study. So by the papers own findings...which are limited...the more time on DE...the better off your flock will be.

Believe what you want. Again as @dawg53 and @aart said, " People look for natural ways to treat chickens and they believe the hype and salesman when it comes to DE. Fake News. Been there, done that with DE long long ago. It doesnt prevent nor treat worms.", "DE doesn't kill parasites, inside or out.".

It didn't work for me either. When I have had worms I use Wazine but now it's way too expensive. I bought a jug of it and it works but there is a 2 week egg withdrawal period.