what an egglayer can't have

[seminolewind]

Hi, if we are going to eat eggs , what chemicals are a no-no with the hens? Like if you use bug spray, bug powder, medicines, medicated feed , etc. Thanks

 

[seminolewind]

Okay, let me try this again. If we eat the eggs the hens lay, what should you not use on them as far as chemicals, wormers, bug killers, etc? Karen

 

[speckledhen]

Well, just about everything has a withdrawal time and most aren't supposed to be used on laying hens at all. All antibiotics have withdrawals, wormers, etc. I dust mine with Diatomaceous Earth rather than chemicals. I do worm prevention with pumpkin seeds and buttermilk. There is a wormer called IVOMEC EPRINEX that is a cattle wormer that has no milk or meat withdrawal times so that may be about the safest broad spectrum wormer. Almost nothing is approved for laying hens because the poultry industry culls their layers rather than treat anything and the FDA basically seems to cater to $$$$.

 

[arwmommy]

Speckled, can you tell me more about the pumpkin seed/buttermilk thing? I routinely give my shelled pumpkin seeds and am interested in this....

 

[speckledhen]

In pumpkin and in all winter squash seeds, I think, there is something called curcurbit that paralyzes the worm so it can be expelled. Can't remember if the buttermilk actually does something to the worm or just makes the gut a certain pH and inhospitable to worms.

 

[arwmommy]

So how much do you give? Do you give the seeds WITH the buttermilk? Help!

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Do you put the pumpkin seeds in the buttermilk and give it to them?

DETAILS!!

 

[speckledhen]

I just toss them a bunch of seeds sometimes, sometimes I mix it in the coffee can with scratch, sometimes I just chop them up and mix them in a pan with buttermilk and yogurt, another thing good for their gut.

 

[dlhunicorn]

most buttermilk is pasteurized ... for optimum probiotic benefit give a live culture yogurt... heat will kill the bifidus culture.

 

[jab91864]

I had never heard the buttermilk thing before, will have to try it. Mine like yogurt though.

Julie