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Worming Chickens
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percypony



Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 146
Location: Hants
PostPosted: Fri Jan 14, 05 8:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Sarah D, if you don't mind me asking what are you ducks currently fed?

Mine are on a complete floating biscuit thing from a pet shop but it doesn't say what it actually is. I put it in a bowl with water. They have however, suddently gone off this and I am also thinking what a nightmare it is going to be worming them too!

I should add they also get a small bowl of dry layers pellet and mixed corn (a habit from the days they were in with the chickens I think!) and pasta, rice, bread leftovers a couple of times a week. Oh and a lettuce as a treat at the weekend! LOL!

I did a similar search too Treacodactyl and came up with advice that ducks could use Flubenvet too. As I said I'll call the manufacturers if in doubt.

Sarah

alison
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Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon
PostPosted: Fri Jan 14, 05 10:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Ducks will be best fed on a balanced ration like layers pellets. The wormer can be mixed in this. Make sure that wild birds do not eat it all though, otherwise your birds won't get the benifit.

percypony



Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 146
Location: Hants
PostPosted: Mon Jan 17, 05 3:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Alison,
Is this the dry stuff that is for chickens or is there a special duck version?
At the moment they get some pellets (chicken ones) but are really not that fussed by them and only eat a handful between the two of them.
Also, do you feed everything dry?
Thanks!

alison
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Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon
PostPosted: Mon Jan 17, 05 8:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

They have all feed dry, and yes it is poultry layers pellets.

In the cold depths of winter I cook up my veg pealings and mix the hot mixture, water and all with layers pellets and a bit of mixed corn. They love it, but it isn't a daily treat, as it usually smells yuch when cooking it up, especially if there is a lot of cabbage there.

percypony



Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 146
Location: Hants
PostPosted: Tue Jan 18, 05 8:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Sounds vile alison! I think I might just up their dry rations and cut down the floating stuff and see what happens then.
Thanks!

alison
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Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon
PostPosted: Tue Jan 18, 05 12:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

It sounds vile and smells vile, but they can't get enough of it.

Marigold123



Joined: 06 Feb 2005
Posts: 224

PostPosted: Tue Feb 08, 05 12:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

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.

Marigold123



Joined: 06 Feb 2005
Posts: 224

PostPosted: Tue Feb 08, 05 1:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

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

Gertie



Joined: 08 Jan 2005
Posts: 1638
Location: Yorkshire
PostPosted: Tue Feb 08, 05 5:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I'll give your recipe a go, Marigold, when we get our hens (can't wait).

Bugs



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

PostPosted: Tue Feb 08, 05 7:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Back to worms...we'd prefer not to use the worming product, but am sure I've read that by the time you can see evidence of an infection (either in the droppings or in loss of condition) it's often too late.

Which doesn't mean that preventative measures and natural remedies might not work, on a back garden scale, but all things considered, we've decided to go for the "official" approach on this one.

I don't know what organic flocks are wormed with, anybody?

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
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Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism
PostPosted: Tue Feb 08, 05 12:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Be careful if you feed scraps to chickens...I don't think you can sell eggs from chickens that have any mammal by-products (yes I know hens will eat mice etc). It would be worth checking Defra. There are some, IMHO, daft regulations regarding not feeding kitchen waste to animals. I can understand the regs for large scale producers but they seem a little strict for the smallholder.

Last edited by Treacodactyl on Wed Feb 09, 05 7:15 am; edited 1 time in total

Treacodactyl
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 08, 05 1:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I'll do a little digging on the Defra site tonight. As I often say, it's always good to know the regs and you can decide what to do.

Treacodactyl
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 08, 05 7:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Right I've done a search and the information is not that easy to find. It may be worth reading through this:

https://www.defra.gov.uk/foodrin/poultry/legislation.htm#4.6

Basically one of the various amendments "prohibits the feeding of MBM to any farmed livestock including poultry." (mammalian meat and bonemeal)

Marigold123



Joined: 06 Feb 2005
Posts: 224

PostPosted: Tue Feb 08, 05 11:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Bugs wrote:
Regarding worms...we'd prefer not to use the worming product, but am sure I've read that by the time you can see evidence of an infection (either in the droppings or in loss of condition) it's often too late.

Which doesn't mean that preventative measures and natural remedies might not work, on a back garden scale, but all things considered, we've decided to go for the "official" approach on this one.

I don't know what organic flocks are wormed with, anybody?
I'm going to give this some more thought. Thanks for the input, Bugs.

I'll also see whether I can't find the info on the remedies I am thinking of.

Cheers.

Marigold123



Joined: 06 Feb 2005
Posts: 224

PostPosted: Wed Feb 09, 05 12:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

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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