Pumpkin seeds for worming?

[speckledhen]

Quote:
In truth, there really are no wormers approved for chickens other than possibly Wazine (piperazine), but it gets only one type of worm, the roundworm. For that reason, I've never used Wazine. Seems a waste of time to me.

Almost every medication we use on chickens is off-label.

This is why I have been considering using Ivermectin only. Over and Over I read to use Wazine, then follow up with Ivermectin. What's the point of that?

The point is that if there is a super large worm load, killing them all at once can literally clog their intestines and kill them, in the most extreme cases. Wazine would get the roundworms first. That's the rationale, anyway. My protest to that is what if they have a huge load of roundworms and they all clog the system?

The reason I say Valbazen is the best is that it starves out worms over a several-day period so there is no chance of clogging the system and it kills every worm a chicken can get.

There are several types of invermectin. I've only used the paste in the tube orally and the pour-on that is oil based. I've used Ivomec Eprinex Pour On as well, but only some that a BYC member gave me she had left in her bottle due to the cost of it.

I used to get pumpkin seeds in the bulk seeds in the produce area of the grocery store, but they're so pricey now, about $7/lb. Make sure they are unsalted if you use them. Or feed them a pumpkin, seeds and all. Mine won't eat raw pumpkin, though.

 

[lorain's fids]

I just read about this the other day when I was looking up natural wormer remedies- here is the post from the thread-


[ So the season is upon us so here is the organic worming procedure/recipe I use and I have never had any worms or a problem with them that I know of. I have never used any de-wormer medicines and have some very healthy 4 year old hens that show no signs of slowing down. in addition to doing this treatment twice a year (as soon as pumpkins are available and then again in Dec with pumpkins I saved) I give the girls raw buttermilk from my co-op about once a month or so. This has been mentioned before in BYC but I figured it would not hurt to mention it again.


I use raw buttermilk like I said from my co-op and organic pumpkins I grow myself but you can use the stuff in the store as well. No need to waste the pumpkin either just use the seeds from the one you are carving for Halloween although you may need several if you have a large or multiple flocks.

This treatment is a 3 day process. You will need fresh pumpkins, buttermilk, bran, regular milk


Day 1 remove all feed (leaving water) by noon so that chickens have nothing to eat and must fast (they will not be happy about this)


Day 2 Cut pumpkin like you are making a jack-o-lantern and scoop out all of the seeds (it is fine to have the stringy stuff as well. put in a blender with buttermilk and blend at high speed so that it becomes a wet mash of pulverized seeds and buttermilk.

feed this as the only feed after a day of fasting to all chickens (make sure there is enough for them all to fill up on it during the day) they will love it ad just might forgive you for starving them the day before.


Day 3 Now make a mash of bran flakes and regular milk (again I use raw cows milk since that's what we drink, and you should too ) make sure they have enough of this all day as well.

Feed this mash to the birds and stay away from their rear end as there will be some wet yucky poo happening now.

Day 4 back to regular feed as usual with some DE and ACV in water ETA real yogurt as well will put back the good bacteria although if you use raw milk it will be in there as well.


Sounds weird I am sure but here is why you do this. The pumpkin seeds have a natural chemical in them that paralyze the worms and parasites in the birds intestines. The pumpkin seeds must be raw and chopped up in order to work. the buttermilk is a natural de-wormer of sorts not sure of the exact reason for it though. Anyway the worms get paralyzed and the next day the bran and milk act as a laxative expelling them from the bird. I have never seen any in the poo but since I dont have a problem with worms I dont really expect to, but I have spoken to people who have seen the worms be expelled when they did it and looked at the feces afterwards.

Hope this is helpful to those wanting an organic natural approach to worming]
Last edited by AHappychick (09/27/2010 12:44 pm)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best darn kid in the world, and some great fowl too

 

[Marcymom3]

Lorain's Fids, sorry if this is silly question, but how do you find a co-op to get the raw buttermilk and raw milk? I was thinking about trying to make some cheese. Never imagined giving it to my chickens. They are 18 wks old and spend time in a run and ranging in my backyard. Do you think it is too early to do this worming process? I have not seen any worms in their droppings. Thank you for the great advice!

Your neighbor in Maryland.

Marcy

 

[lorain's fids]

Quote:
I have no-clue about finding a co-op, I just reposted this information. It was from a thread awhile back.
But I do know this-at some WholeFoods Market they do sell organic" unpasturized" buttermilk and milk. Maybe that is the same as raw.

 

[lorain's fids]

Quote:
Marcy,
I forgot to add this in my post above--I didn't do the whole wormer remedy that I reposted but
I did buy a pumkin, I scooped out the seeds and put them in the food processor and then mixed some of the seeds with organic kefir, which I think is somewhere in between yogurt and buttermilk. I gave the chicks about a half a cup(I have 6 chicks). They gobbled it up. So the next day I gave them some more, and today I will give them the rest. I have not seen worms in their poop, but I figured giving them this may be a preventative so that in the future I don't have to give them any meds to get rid of worms.
I am new to having chikens so I am learning as I go. So far so good. LOL!!!

 

[mitchell3006]

The idea behind using Wazine first then following up with Ivomec or Valbazen is that Wazine only paralyzes roundworms and allows them to be passed from the gut. They are alive but will die soon after passing. This reduces the overall worm load on the bird by getting the roundworms out. Following up with Ivomec kills the rest of the worms in the chickens body. This can result in a somewhat septic reaction as the body breaks down and eliminates the dead parasites. Imagine all the nice nasties rotting in their system. The fewer left in them when the Ivomec or Valbazen hits the system the milder the reaction as the body tries to eliminate them. It is not a matter of clogging the gut up per-say. It is the toxins released when the parasites die in the body.

Mark

 

[NYREDS]

Quote:
That's really funny. Hope I don't get in trouble for saying that. I got a warning the last time I said something was funny.
As to the pumpkin seed question: that along with DE, cayenne pepper, vinegar, etc is hocum as far as I'm concerned. If someone can show me a real scientifically run study supporting the eficacy of any of them I'll cheerfully admit I was wrong.

 

[Uzuri]

I'll just weigh in to say I've had no luck with squash/pumpkin seeds. My girls got them by the ton for two years running -- I still ended up having to use ivermectin on them this spring, they had worms bad.

 

[rngrbill]

Quote:
several years ago I did some cheese making research. All over the world people recommended New England Cheesemaking for supplies and instructions. They are very helpful and may be able to help you find raw ingredients. BTW you don't need raw mild as you will have to pasturize it anyway to kill any "undesirable" enzimes naturally in the milk that might effect the outcome of the cheese. here is the link. http://www.cheesemaking.com/ Good luck. (I have no connection with this company except as customer)

 

[Uzuri]

I second New England Cheesemaking. I'm a customer as well.

(Edit: Just realized that this along with my above statement makes me sound really stupid. So to clarify, I recommend NE Cheesemaking for buttermilk supplies, but I don't recommend buttermilk for anything but cakes )