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percypony
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alison
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Location: North Devon
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percypony
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Posts: 146
Location: Hants
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alison
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Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon
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percypony
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Posts: 146
Location: Hants
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alison
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Marigold123
Joined: 06 Feb 2005
Posts: 224
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 Posted: Tue Feb 08, 05 12:48 am Post subject: |
 
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To be honest, I would much rather not worm my hens until it becomes necessary. We only have the three birds, so we should be able to keep a keen eye on their condition and hopefully take prompt action should it become necessary.
Though I realise it is possible to pick up infestations from wild birds, (not that any ever dare to enter our garden any more!), the ground has never, to my knowledge, been used for livestock before, which should also work in our favour.
I am still looking into it, but I gather there are remedies available that are more in keeping with a semi-organic approach to poultry keeping, which you can use to combat worm infestation when and if it occurs. I know I read something about this last year, but I can't remember anything apart from it being something harmless and quite easily obtainable that you put in their water for a few days.
There's a possibility that I'm totally talking out of my arse here, but I'll let people know if I can remember or rediscover what it is. |
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Marigold123
Joined: 06 Feb 2005
Posts: 224
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| Posted: Tue Feb 08, 05 1:18 am Post subject: |
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My hens love a vile concoction that we call chicken cake.
Virtually the only time I peel potatoes is when I am going to roast them, so this is a once a week or less often treat for the hens. I cook the peels, usually in the microwave, as it's more convenient, then drain off the water and chop them up a bit in the bowl. Then I add any spare bits and pieces have lying around that the hens can eat. This has included include leftover mashed potato, crumbs off the breadboard, some rather hard unpleasant meusli that I bought and which nobody wanted to finish up, slightly out of date flour from the kitchen cupboard, rice crispie dust from the bottom of the bag, etc.
I also add washed, finely crushed eggshells for a bit of extra calcium, and mix it all up. It usually gets served straight away, warm, and the girls go into a feeding frenzy over it. It is sticky rather than mushy, and tends to make them wipe their beaks a lot.
(I would like to reassure people that, contrary to how it may sound, I don't treat my chickens like a dustbin! I would never give them anything that has gone off or is a bit dodgy.  )
I prefer not to give them veg peelings, apart from potatoes, as I don't feel there is enough food value in them to support the work I am expecting them to do.
We also throw them apple cores and raw greens, which they devour enthusiastically, and since they have eaten all the grass, I have taken to bringing them home handfuls of wild greens, such as chickweed, goosegrass and dandelions, that I have picked from suitably car and dog-free places on the journey home from my daughter's school in the morning.
This is all in addition to their usual pellets, of course.
Last edited by Marigold123 on Tue Feb 08, 05 11:03 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Gertie
Joined: 08 Jan 2005
Posts: 1638
Location: Yorkshire
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Bugs
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744
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Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism
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Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism
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Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism
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Marigold123
Joined: 06 Feb 2005
Posts: 224
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Marigold123
Joined: 06 Feb 2005
Posts: 224
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| Posted: Wed Feb 09, 05 12:51 am Post subject: |
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It's garlic! I remember now. I knew it was something simple.
I've been looking around on the net - some people swear by it, some combine it with other herbs, and others say if it was that simple chickens wouldn't ever have worms. Not sure I agree with that, but I'm going to look into it. I haven't found anything on quantities yet.
One thing I will do, though, before I use anything in a worming capacity, is ask the vet about getting a fecal sample tested for the various kinds of worms. If one has worms, then they all will, so it doesn't matter whose poo I get tested.
I don't suppose this will be cheap, but I'd rather do that than medicate unnecessarily. I may be able to do it more cheaply by contacting a laboratory directly, through the Net. I'll check it out and let you know how I get on.
I seem to remember reading that most animals, including chickens, can live quite comfortably with a light burden of worms, but if one catches a cold or is under the weather for any reason, the impact of the parasites suddenly becomes greater because the animal's system is weakened, and they can get ill and die, often very quickly.
So it's not that chickens suddenly get worms and die, but that they often have worms already, when their system, weakened by a separate illness, injury or infection, allows the infestation to become fatal.
Same result, I suppose, but it might explain why it can happen so quickly.
People on another forum have also said that chickens can pick up worms by eating slugs or snails! I don't know which kind of worms are carried in this way, and the information came from an American website, so it may or may not apply here, but it's food for thought.
How does all this fit with other information we have on worms in poultry? |
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