How to deworm chickens naturally?
The process of deworming
This is simply a way of eliminating internal parasites from our chickens. Internal parasites are a menace and require to be eradicated in order for a farmer to get a clear picture of what he or she needs to accurately spend to appropriately feed the flock.
Feeding is a core topic when it comes to the growth of the flock and internal parasites are serious inhibitors to the feeding process. This is why deworming is very important. Deworming can be done to chickens of different ages. The best time to deworm chickens is when they are at least two months of age. This will be mostly dependent on the method of deworming that you will use. There are two types of deworming that a farmer can use on his or her chickens; natural deworming and artificial deworming.
Natural deworming
Going organic means taking up natural methods of solving problems. Coming up with natural solutions has proven to be much healthier and strategically suitable to support an ecosystem. Natural methods or solutions have however been discovered to be slower to action and require some sort of chemical intervention in order to speed up the solution to a problem.
Natural deworming is the process of providing a chicken with some ingredients that will help eliminate worms from its digestive system. Since chickens literally eat anything, administering this method would not be much of a problem. What are some of the ways of naturally deworming chicken?
- Use of pawpaw seeds.
Dried pawpaw seeds are one of the ways to eliminate worms in chickens. Pawpaw seeds are a delicacy for chicken. Most of the time I would cut up pawpaw and give it to my free-range chickens! They love pawpaw. Pawpaw is a fruit that has numerous nutrients that boost the immunity of the chicken. Additionally, when its seeds are dried and crushed, they can be used as a dewormer.
How it is done.
- Get some pawpaw seeds
- Dry them
- Crush them
- Mix the crushed seeds with the chicken feed or directly put it into the chicken’s beaks if you have just a few chickens.
- Use of chili pepper.
I personally love chili because it gives food a wilder taste. Chilli pepper has always been used in the olden days to cure chickens of various diseases. My grandmother once told me that she got used to using chili pepper in the food because it was how she got to take care of her chickens best.
Giving chili to chickens has no negative effect on the taste of chickens. For those who do not like chili, no need to worry. Chili instead has numerous positive effects on the health of a chicken. Most importantly, chili helps to deworm chickens.
How it is done.
- Crush a few chillis. One is enough for a flock of ten chickens.
- Mix the crushed chili in their drinking water.
- The chili does not have to be dry.
- Do this for five consecutive days.
Artificial Deworming
Artificial deworming may sound a bit dangerous but it simply involves getting some medicine from the agro vet to use as a dewormer. This solution works extremely fast and is most preferred by a lot of poultry farmers. This is because, with the other alternative methods of deworming, it will take longer to completely deworm your chickens.
For this method, however, it is faster to deworm chicken. It will take about three days for the chicken to be fully dewormed.
This method, however, can only be used for chickens that are more than two months old because of the powerful effects of the dewormer.
How it is done.
- Go to your local agro vet.
- Ask for a dewormer.
- Mix it in your chicken’s fresh drinking water.
- Keep changing the water.
- Repeat the process for five days.
Natural deworming vs Artificial deworming.
For natural deworming, chickens of any age can be dewormed, however, for artificial deworming, chickens of less than two months cannot be dewormed.
Artificial deworming is unbelievable faster and therefore more effective than natural deworming.
Artificial deworming reduces the productivity of your chicken significantly.
Worms invade the chicken’s digestive system.
Roundworms. These are the most common type of worms that affect the chicken’s digestive system. They have a habit of laying eggs which causes them to multiply as fast as possible.
Tapeworms. Although these worms may be extremely rare, once they attack the digestive system of your chicken, the chicken will be seen to overeat which is a huge waste of feed.
What is the best way of getting rid of worms in chickens?
The best way to get rid of worms in your chickens is through deworming. However, seek medical advice from a trained professional before purchasing products from the store.
How to stop chickens from getting attacked by internal parasites?
- Regulating the quality of feeds that your chicken feed on.
Having a regular supplier of chicken feeds does not mean that you get comfortable with what your chickens feed on! Most of these problems mostly originate from the chicken feed itself. A common problem that originates from the chicken feed is a disease called coccidiosis which has symptoms of watery poop and can lead to an increased mortality rate in chicks.
Coccidiosis is basically a worm infestation in the chicken’s intestines and the best way to get rid of this problem is by deworming. You may have seen or heard that a natural remedy for coccidiosis is the use of chili in the chicken’s drinking water. This is a form of deworming.
So take good care of your chicken’s feed. This involves where it is sourced from and the practices in place to store the feed appropriately.
- Restricting your chickens from free-ranging.
Free-range chickens are the most common chickens that are affected by internal parasites. These parasites may be found in grass or compost pits that the chicken may be foraging around in.
Is deworming part of the vaccination schedule?
Deworming is part of some vaccination schedules and is fully dependent on the farmer’s poultry management practices. For one to have a successful flock that will guarantee profits through management of the usage of feeds, one has to deworm chickens appropriately.
Positive effects of deworming
- Relieves the chicken of the worms.
- It gives the farmer a clear picture of the feed required for his or her flock to be productive.
- Reduces feed wastage.
Negative effects of deworming.
- Naturally;
There are no negative effects of deworming a chicken using natural methods.
- Artificially;
A chicken may go through some form of stress that can be easily be overlooked.
Leads to a decrease in the productivity rate of the chickens. During the period of deworming, laying chickens will stop laying eggs, but just for a short while.
