to worm or not to worm?

[CluckyJay]

Oh yeah, wood ashes are great. I put several tablespoons of pure neem oil in a gallon of water and shook really well, then I soaked wood ashes with the solution. I did that mainly to prevent any mites/fleas/ticks. It worked really well and it didn't hurt anyone.

That new chicken I got had some mites and I treated her with neem. Gotta reapply it later though.

 

[mama dixie]

ok so if I follow what I have learned here, best to not worm with chemicals I am right there with you on that trying to get as natural as possible any way. I can use ashes which we have because we burn wood for heat. I can also use powered black walnut in the water to help with parasites and such. now the dish soap I must say, wow,, I use dawn for every thing dishes showers chicken waters and feeders and on and on, wish I worked for them as much as we use should have stock in the companey. I have heard you should use bleach to clean chicken feeder and water but i use dawn and hot water and it works better for me. I was using bleach and had troubles with parasites and coxi and so I used dawn while treating and even used it to clean coop out and it helped me get coxi under control, well that and the dehydrated lime, anyway thank you for all the feed back just cleaned the wood stove so I will put ash in a good box and let them play with it...

thank you again for sharing all your good info...

 

[Ksane]

Ashes and walnuts and dishsoap are NOT going to rid your birds of intestional parasites!
Use your head. Do reasearch. Use common sense. I know "people use" that garbge for worming. But that does NOT mean it works.
I'm not going to get in a heated debate over it, they're your birds. But if your child had roundworms or pinworms or whatever.....would you bathe them in ashes and put diahsoap in their water????
If you want to stay "natural" (such an overused and misused phrase) then do the responsible thing and go to the VET and get a fecal checked. Have them do a fecal smear and fecal floatation both. Don't just toss some ashes from the fireplace into a box for them to bathe in and call it good. Seriously-does that even SOUND reasonable?

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
Gee....flame much? When a person asks specifically for ways to deworm using more natural methods, it generally means they want the information given. The methods offered have been used down through the years~before drug companies got into the mix~to produce healthy livestock.

But that does NOT mean it works

But it also doesn't mean that it doesn't work, does it? Have you tried those methods yourself and found them ineffective? No? Well, there are many of us who have tried them and found them immensely effective and have the very healthy chickens and other livestock to prove it.

If you don't like the information given on the threads, that is certainly your right, but to state definitively that these methods do not rid birds of intestinal parasites and not really have anything but your opinion with which to back it up? Well....that doesn't sound very reasonable to me either.

But if your child had roundworms or pinworms or whatever.....would you bathe them in ashes and put diahsoap in their water????

No one advised the OP to bathe the birds in ashes in order to rid of intestinal parasites....you might want to read a little deeper. Black walnut hulls have been used for many years...yes, by doctors too...to rid children and adults of intestinal parasites.

I advise you to read more closely, do some real research into the matter and then maybe use a different tone or language~garbage...really???~if you want to impress the OP with your superior knowledge on the matter.

Just a tip.

 

[CluckyJay]

Ashes and neem oil will kill everything from lice, mites, to fleas and ticks. I use it on ALL of my animals. The birds and goats use the neemed ash pile and then hunting dogs/goats/cats get sprayed with the neem. You just have to reapply like any other flea treatment. In about seven to ten days or so. Also, treat their living quarters as well.

I have done enough autopsies on my dog-killed birds to know that my free-ranging hens are worm free. They have never had a synthetic treatment of any kind. Only peppers, vinegar, garlic, onion, neem, ash, and other natural treatments.

Diatomaceous earth is good for external parasites and to keep bugs out of grain stores.


Say what you will, I know these treatments work perfectly fine. God made a plan and then man tried to mess with it. I will follow what I think the good Lord wants me to do with my animals. Its something we have done for successfully, in different states, for many, many years.

The wool has been pulled over the eyes on many people trying to make them think synthetic is the best and at times, only way to keep animals healthy.

Synthetic is cheaper and much easier than natural cures and treatments. Large-scale farmers went for the faster, cheaper methods and somewhere a long the way, they forgot the old ways.

It is easy to do when your family's bottom dollar and ranch is at stake because big ag. is breathing down your neck.

 

[blondiebee181]

Glad I read this thread....natural treatments and prescription meds are always at war....went through a similar debate when I first got my chickies wondering wether to feed medicated started or not...decision was made for me when I couldn't resist the baby duckies!!! But I am glad I didn't feed medicated, there was something settling about the fact that their natural immunity served them well. All that aside though, I do have a question for anyone who is still following this....my chickens are first year hens (and ducks) I got them back in March and if I did decide to routinely worm them with something, natural or otherwise.....when should I do that? Do they even need it this early in the game? There are no worm signs....in poo or anything but a lot of wild birds hang in and around their run, drinking the water and eating their feed. I don't really have much of a way to keep them out....just curious.

 

[r709shackleford]

Oh yeah, wood ashes are great. I put several tablespoons of pure neem oil in a gallon of water and shook really well, then I soaked wood ashes with the solution. I did that mainly to prevent any mites/fleas/ticks. It worked really well and it didn't hurt anyone.

That new chicken I got had some mites and I treated her with neem. Gotta reapply it later though.

Ive heard of neem oil and used it lots for landscaping purposes. However, I am not sure I understand your post fully. So...you soak the ashes with neem oil but then, do you feed the chickens the ashes or let them dust bathe in them? Why not just bathe them in dust ashes and another bath in neem water solution? Confused.
I read that need oil causes damage to the liver in humans, and causes infertility in animals. Also should not be used for preganat women, so seems like it should not be ingested by the laying chickens? Maybe???

Tnx

 

[The Hen]

Ditto this statement. Been keeping chickens off and on for 35 years and never used chemical deworming methods. Been eating those same chickens and have never seen worms in their intestines(and, yes, I do look~I examine all their organs for healthy appearance).

You can also use a drop or two of Dawn detergent every now and again for deworming. Pumpkin seeds, walnut hulls([preferably green when obtained), soap, charred wood, wood ashes...any of these or combination of any can keep your birds cleaned out.

This post above is old, but for worming with Dawn detergent you just put it in the water. They don't get sick?

 

[Eggcessive]

Some organic farmers on BYC here recommend ground pumpkin seeds or seeds from other squash given occasionally for worm control. All chickens will have some worms, but I have started using this recipe for occasional natural worming. The seeds contain a chemical called curcurbita which is thought to be a natural wormer.

 

[The Hen]

Some organic farmers on BYC here recommend ground pumpkin seeds or seeds from other squash given occasionally for worm control. All chickens will have some worms, but I have started using this recipe for occasional natural worming. The seeds contain a chemical called curcurbita which is thought to be a natural wormer.

Thanks Eggcessive, will try that. I really don't want to worm them as I wasn't planning on having chickens to soak a lot of money into them and now finding that they can cost just as much as our dogs. I guess I thought chickens were chickens how much can they cost, but finding they can have all kinds of health problems to take care of. However, never minding all that, I enjoy my ladies and love having them around. I think they are pretty cool.