Pumpkin seeds for worming?

[KFCGirla(TM)?]

i love to use pumpkin seeds, they work awesome!

 

[NYREDS]

lorain's fids :

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I guess all this is like when people argue with what right to use Alternative Medicine Practices VS Coventional Medicine Practices.
Me personally, I go for the natural/alternative approach with me and all my animals--if it doesn't work-THEN I will use the coventional products that are full of chemicals.
So for worming I will use raw pumpkins seeds, etc....and if it doesn't work for them, and I do see worms, then I'll use the stuff that was made from chemicals.

The component in pumpkin seeds purported to act as a worming agent is curcurbitacin, a chemical compound. The blanket condemnation of all things chemical is amusing in that it indicates a lack of knowledge of the physical world. Everything is made up of chemicals, including you & I.
I read recently of a California community whose city council was ready to pass a ban on the possession of di-hydrogen oxide, a colourless, tasteless compound that can be fatal if inhaled. At the last minute the jokester who proposed the ban revealed that the compound is commonly known as water. He was making a point about the blanket fear of "chemicals".
As to disagreements with various posts to me that's a good thing-including those who disagree with me. People arrive at different conclusions based on their belief systems. knowledge & experiences. People who blindly accept everything they hear, especially on the internet, frighten me.​

 

[RedDrgn]

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Worming chickens makes me nauseous...mostly because I keep reading so many contradictions that by the time I wade through a pile of information, I feel like I know less than I did before trying to learn more. My head spins.

Anyway, it seems you've used Valbazen with success and no ill effects to your flock, so I'm curious as to how you determine dosage since it's not listed for poultry. My DH and I are considering using it on our flock since it seems to be the best choice for us, but we have no idea how much they should get or the best way to administer it.

 

[speckledhen]

I learned about Valbazen from old time chicken breeders like our own Pine Grove here, who is also an NPIP tester for the State of Georgia. I would take anything William said to the bank about anything to do with chickens since he's been keeping/breeding them for over 50 years. It astounds me what that man knows.

You can use a syringe without a needle. Dosage is 1/2cc for standard size chickens and 1/4cc for smaller chickens/bantams. Re-dose again 10 days later to kill larva hatched from eggs since the initial dosing.


Nothing is listed as approved for poultry as far as worming, antibiotics, etc. because it's not lucrative to do so. Backyard flocks are pretty much irrelevant to gov't agencies-their concern would be the commercial poultry enterprises who have no need for worming since their birds are either in cages or in buildings and never touch the ground to come in contact with worms; there are no studies by the FDA or whatever organization approves such things for poultry. Commercial enterprises do not treat ill birds, they cull them. No need to determine dosages, withdrawal times, etc.

 

[colebarnhart]

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Cynthia is there any truth to the city (treated) water preventing worms? And what would be a good "kill all" wormer that I could mix in the water for a few days, if any?

Thanks

 

[speckledhen]

Quote:
Cynthia is there any truth to the city (treated) water preventing worms? And what would be a good "kill all" wormer that I could mix in the water for a few days, if any?

Thanks

No, there is no truth to that, IMO. Many folks have city water and their birds still get worms. Can't think of why chlorine and fluoride would prevent worms. I don't know of a wormer you can put in the water and make sure they all get a proper dosage since they all drink different amounts, sorry.

 

[zzGypsy]

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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 milk 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)

highly recommend the new england cheesemaking company, they have great products, use them all the time.
and... some cheeses are made with raw milk. we make our hard (aged) cheese with raw milk, as well as any cheeses that are going to be consumed in the first day or two, like mozerella, fresh goat cheese and chevre. but we also drink the same raw milk every day, so we're not getting any different bacteria than we normally do. depends on the outcome you want, and how tightly you want to control it. for us, home cheese makers, variations in the results aren't a big issue. for a commercial producer, pasturizing the milk gives more consistent results.
we've had great results with cheese from our raw unpasturized goat milk.

 

[zzGypsy]

seems to me the way to know if your worm control method is working is the same way you do in horses/goats/sheep... take a fecal sample to your vet for a worm count (they look at worm eggs in the poo), treat with your chosen method (pumpkins or whatever), wait 10 or 14 days, treat a second time, wait 10 or 14 days, take a poop sample for a count, and then again in 30 days, take another sample.

if you've got worms, you've got worm eggs in the poop. if you have fewer worms, you'll have fewer eggs. since there are no conclusive studies on dosages, methods, and chemical vs. natural, that's the only way I can think of to know for sure.

cuts down on the presumtions, the placebo effect (on human belief) and on the contention over best methods.

I may do this, just to satisfy my curiosity.

BTW, when people are talking about using buttermilk, they're talking about cultured buttermilk? not the buttermilk that's left after making butter from milk?
just checking...

 

[colebarnhart]

Quote:
Cynthia is there any truth to the city (treated) water preventing worms? And what would be a good "kill all" wormer that I could mix in the water for a few days, if any?

Thanks

No, there is no truth to that, IMO. Many folks have city water and their birds still get worms. Can't think of why chlorine and fluoride would prevent worms. I don't know of a wormer you can put in the water and make sure they all get a proper dosage since they all drink different amounts, sorry.

Thanks again, just never knew, but makes since and kind of like how ACV is great for helping digestion but won't kill a worm either since it won't really increase the acid more than what is normally inside the gastro-intestinal tract.

 

[colebarnhart]

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Good point and Gallo del Cielo has a great post on how to do it yourself if you BYC'ers want to try it and save on the vet bill

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=56638-parasitic-worms