To worm or not to worm that is the question.

[casportpony]

How old can hens get if you dont deworm. I have a few that we are attached to. I am not sure how long they will live basised off their breeds. But i am not planning on deworming any of them. I realize if they become infested i have to cull them in order to protect the rest same as if any get sick. And if they are infested with worms are they good to eat still and if they are sick? I realize if its an infection not going to happen there but what about other illnesses?

I've had some live for many years without de-worming. If they're fat and healthy with worms they're probably okay to eat.

-Kathy

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Thanks Kathy. I am still not sure about eating a sick hen. But as much as i love animals and want to be a vet with these gals i am wanting to keep them medication free. So unless they can recover i am just going to cull them.

 

[Beekissed]

I wouldn't worry about it too awful much, especially if you are choosing to raise them in a more natural fashion. I've been killing and eating my chickens~literally hundreds~ for 40 yrs now, opening up the small intestines each time to examine it for signs of parasites and just of general health and have only found one bird with worms~and I had just gotten that one from another place, so she hadn't been under my care for any length of time previous to her processing. She was glossy, fat and healthy in her actions but not laying and a flock outcast, so she was culled...and a good thing she was.

If raised properly, worms are just not a big problem...if they were, I'd find them much more often than just one bird in 40 yrs. It sounds as if you are on the right track and will do just fine.

 

[casportpony]

Thanks Kathy. I am still not sure about eating a sick hen. But as much as i love animals and want to be a vet with these gals i am wanting to keep them medication free. So unless they can recover i am just going to cull them.

Fair enough, and it will give you practice in doing necropsies. Personally, I wouldn't eat one that was even mildly ill.

-Kathy

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Mmm good plan and ok i just wanted to make sure i wasnt crazy about not eating a sick bird.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Don't eat a sick bird, always cull and burn or bury.

 

[casportpony]

Mmm good plan and ok i just wanted to make sure i wasnt crazy about not eating a sick bird.

IMO, not crazy, lol.

-Kathy

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Lol i have a grandfather that eats anything even roadkil he finds he would say culling a sick hen and not eating it is a waste lol i havent a clue how he has survived some of his meals.

 

[casportpony]

Lol i have a grandfather that eats anything even roadkil he finds he would say culling a sick hen and not eating it is a waste lol i havent a clue how he has survived some of his meals.

I ate a duck that a hawk killed, but she was still warm and her intestines were still intact.

Not brave enough to try eating road kill.

-Kathy

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Lol i am not brave enough to eat road kill either lol i dont know if he cared how long it was there for either. He not normal on multiple levels but never eat something he cooks ever lol. My brothers did and they end up eating squirrel lol they werent happy about that lol. I like know what i eat.