Organic Chicken De-Worming and Prevention
We’ve discussed deworming and worm prevention in previous blog articles, but I also wanted to discuss organic methods for addressing worms.
In this case, I am discussing intestinal parasite worms that can end up in your chickens’ digestive tract and damage their health. Not earthworms!) The worms don’t allow your birds to fully metabolize and/or digest their food. If your chickens are eating a lot but remain very skinny or if they start to lose vitality and vigor, you may have a worm issue.
Now, worms are all over the environment, and many chickens have worms present in their system but never feel any adverse effects. Also, if your chickens have access to a large area with lots of diverse vegetation and insects, they will most likely naturally rid themselves of any worms they happen to have in them regularly and naturally.
So that would be the first and easiest organic worm prevention or deworming technique – simply letting your birds have space to range freely.
Taking that into consideration makes me ask myself, “So when my birds have full access to the property and a large area to roam in, what are the chickens doing that keeps worms at bay?”
Preventing Worms in Backyard Chickens
First of all, space is important. I think this is obvious. If you have a high number of chickens kept in a confined and small paddock, you are compounding your worm problems. Worm eggs are spread in feces. If the feces is highly concentrated, then the chickens have almost no way to avoid picking up and infesting themselves with worms, and possibly re-infesting themselves over and over.
Preventing worms is always easier than curing them. Even though my chickens roam over 3 acres and don’t show any signs of worm infestation, I like to specifically do a deworming treatment in late Spring and Fall. I picked those times of the year because we do get a lot of snow around here, and my chickens end up being confined or ‘cooped-up’ for many days of the winter months. So I figure that if I deworm right before the winter and then right after the confinement of winter, my deworming will be most effective.
In the fall my main deworming treatment is very, very simple and easy. I feed my chickens pumpkins and winter squash. Pumpkins and winter squash are in season then, so they are easy to find. A pumpkin is a perfect holistic worm treatment. Pumpkin seeds are coated with a natural phytochemical called cucurbitacin. Cucurbitacin is very effective at making worms release their hold on the membranes of the digestive system. The roughage of the rest of the seed then helps scrape the worms out of the system. The orange flesh and stringy pulp of pumpkin and squash also contain high levels of vitamin A and C, which are known for preventing parasites. The whole pumpkin or squash is also full of other nutrients that will boost your birds’ immune systems and help effectively eliminate the worms. If the pumpkin has started to rot and ferment a bit, it can even help replenish and strengthen the probiotics or good bacteria of the intestinal tract. Pumpkins and squash also keep well into the winter – so you can keep treating your chickens throughout the winter with a delicious treat.
Pumpkin can do a lot in preventing and treating worms, but there is more you can do to really attack a worm problem. Carrots, Garlic, Mustard Greens, and Chili Peppers are all known as natural and very effective vermifuges or worm-expellers. Adding these things to your pumpkin treatment is a great idea. Or using these instead of pumpkin in the spring works very well. The different foods contain a diversity of phytochemicals that can take care of other types of worms that the pumpkin treatment doesn’t address. You can hide any of these ingredients chopped up in something that you know your birds will gobble down fast. I’ve used canned salmon, pasta with cheese sauce on it, and cottage cheese.
I like to add some extra bran or psyllium for extra roughage into my deworming treatment mash. During the regular summer months, I watch my chickens helping themselves to plantain and plantain seeds, which contain psyllium. Plantain is growing all over the place in almost everyone’s lawns and gardens.
You can also add yogurt or raw milk to your deworming regimen as these foods can help replenish and strengthen the natural good bacteria of the gut.
Adding nutritious spices like turmeric would be an extra bonus.
I don’t measure my whole foods ingredients. There is really no need as you can’t overdo it. And my recipe changes depending on what I have on hand or can find in the store.
Continue to feed the regular amount of layer feed while doing your deworming treatment. I usually just feed the treatment stuff first, so all the birds fully pay attention and partake in it rather than filling up with regular feed.
If you have a very bad worm problem or you have to keep your chickens in a closely confined situation, I’d plan on giving them a deworming treatment once a month for a period of 3 days at a time. Worms are on a 4-week moon-based schedule for their egg laying so planning your purge for every 4 weeks a couple days or so before the full moon would make your treatment most effective.
One of the best things about these organic deworming methods is that you can eat the eggs your chickens are laying during the treatment. With most non-organic methods, you have to wait several weeks for the chemicals and poisons to leave the birds’ systems before you can consume the eggs they are laying.
I love the beauty and simplicity of organic and natural methods. And I love the fact that if chickens are left on their own with space and diversity they naturally know how to take care of themselves.
Raising Healthy Chickens
If you want to learn more about raising healthy, happy chickens, check out some of our resources.
Free Cornish Cross Broiler Care Guide
And if you have any questions about your chickens, feel free to contact us online.
How do you give the pumpkin? Just throw a while le pumpkin out? Break it up?
Val, you can give them the pumpkin in any way you see fit or that they enjoy. Some chickens will enjoy tearing apart a freshly broke pumpkin, others may prefer it be cut, crushed, or cooked. The decision is really up to you! ~Anna
I grate my Pumpkin, even the smallest chicks can eat it. I am working on a soil treatment to kill the round worm eggs before they ingest them. Any suggestions for this? Going to use Sulfur, it won’t hurt the big Oaks, what else?
Honestly, Raegan, it’s always a hard decision on how to treat soil. Since this is an organic Chicken De-Worming and Prevention article, a quick “Google” brought me to an article by Nature.com. In it they mention organic farmers have been using something called Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt) for many years as a way to treat their soil and protect from insects and other pests like worms. Good luck to you.
Hello! I am just wondering if canned pumpkin could work? They’re not in season at the moment
Hi Amber and thanks for the comment. A good quality canned pumpkin would do the trick, if you ask me… π
Thank you very much for the educational information in respect of deworming the natural way. Leaerning never ends especially with people generous with their knowledge. I really appreciate the good gesture!
Thank YOU, Evernice, for stopping by, reading, and commenting! We are striving to share the beauty of poultry and I hope that’s what we’ve done for you. π
I knew about pumpkin, now will incorporate the other veggies for a change.
Thank you for the article!
Thanks so much, Lilly! We’re happy to help! ~Shannon
I use diamatatious earth once a month, Just sprinkle their food with it…
That’s a fantastic idea!
Would any of these options work in powder/dry form in a free-choice feeder?
Amber, I would research the canned pumpkin. I have heard that it’s not actually pumpkin at all but different types of squashes. May still work, but thought I’d mention it. Good luck!
Can u add d pumpkin to their water
Hi there and thanks for the question. I suppose one could, as it wouldn’t be harmful to them health-wise, but I’m betting it might make quite a mess of the waterer. I would opt for another option with pumpkin, specifically. I hope this helps!
~Shannon
My birds are dying
I am so sorry to hear about your birds. Can you fill me in on what’s going on with them a little more. I would be happy to help in any way I can. If these are chicks you ordered through us, please also fill out our live arrival guarantee form or give us a call at 920-472-4068 and we can start one for you via phone as well.
Thanks for this article. Interesting reading. I have some pumpkins that haven’t quite rippened properly, would they do the trick? Cheers.
Can I squeeze pumpkin leaves if the seed is not available??
Thank you for your deworming advice I have made up all the ingredients and my hens loved it πI bought my hens 10 weeks ago they are 1 year old and have got them treated for lice which they had hopefully the wormer will work and I will finally get some eggs I am new to keeping chickens I have silkies /pekin cross
Thanks for the shared knowledge. Pls how do you treat gapeworm organically. Already lost some day old chicks to them gasping for breath and opening their mouth to breath and stretching their necks.
U have a FB I could get on?
I have a sick chicken we thought she was egg bound but she’s not took her to the vet they gave her antibiotic shot I soaked her in warm water and worms were coming out of her I’ve tried to find a dewormer I cannot find that on the market I was told apple cider vinegar black sunflower seeds I was told pumpkin none of that has seemed to work the chicken stomach is swollen and so is her ear she is not eating or drinking I don’t know what to do I have separated her from the other chickens any ideas
Hey there.I have a rooster named Gucci and he recently start crowing.But he crowed good for 2,3 days.Now it seems like something stopped him in the throat to crow though he is trying hard but he failed..He is eating and walking normally.But i am worried about his throat.What kind of problem he is facing.I saw his throat with a light to see if something is stuck in his throat.But his throat is clear.And he is shooking his head 4,5 times a day.I thought he might have parasites in throat or ear.So i start giving him garlic.Is this work.
Thanks for giving this information.
Is there any related literatures about the organic dewormer for chicken?
Hi everyone. I baked pumpkin for my chickens or boiled.. they eat it better then fresh and it is a lot easier for me.Did anyone try to sprinkle diatomaceous on a ground? I have chickens and ducks.some people are saying if diatomaceous gets wet itβs not efficient. Thank you .
Hi we are in South Africa. Does butternut gave thw same properties as pumpkin – they are in season and more affordable. LOVE reading all the comments!
Thank you for such wonderful information!!!
I am new to this forum, and with that said,
I have a sick chicken (I have 4 others who apper healthy.)
She began walking like a penguin and was told, oh shes just getting old… well yesterday I picked her up and examined her, to sadly find out she had dried feces cacked onto her feathers and built up around her
vent and on her belly!!!! :-(( looking closer as I was bathing her yes worms and eggs!!!!horrible poor girl.
I still have more work to do, but I doused her with diatomaceous earth, gave her some colloidal silver, doused the coop (will do a thorough cleaning today)
What more can I do for her!!!! Should I get an antibiotic to be aggressive since sh is in such a condition?
Thank you for you patience upon reading this!
Hi Janelle,
This condition (referred to as pasty butt) does require a warm wet cloth applied to the fecal matter and washing her bottom until it’s removed. Having her vent clogged will lead to death of the bird. Because you already bathed her I am guessing you know this but it’s important to say in a public forum. This said, it sounds like you’ve given her some remedies that might help and we swear by a little bit of Apple Cider Vinegar in your chickens water on a daily basis to help avoid parasites in the water and internally in your birds. I also really like Nutri-Drench for my birds when they appear sickly as I’ve seen it work wonders.
Warm Regards,
Shannon
Hi Jeanne,
I’m not exactly sure but I bet they are close and very nutritious for your flock!
HI there. Look for Wazine. This is the wormer that we suggest for peafowl and I’ve found it in several locations. I’m sorry to hear you’re having trouble. I wish you the best of luck.
Warm Regards,
Shannon
Hi and thanks for reaching out. He may have a pebble stuck in his throat for which there is not a ton you can do, especially since you don’ know. But he may also have been practicing and will start crowing again soon. I would say that, in the absence of any swelling, feeding or hydration issues, or other signs of a problem, he will likely recover his crow soon.
Hi Lozada,
I would suggest reading up on diatomaceous earth specifically as it is likely to be your best bet.
Warm Regards,
Shannon
facebook.com/purelypoultry We sure do!