A papaya a day keeps the vet away [and maybe coccidiosis]

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by ho-hum, Jun 12, 2006.

  1. ho-hum

    ho-hum New Member

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    Researching something and found this link.

    It is highly technical but reaffirms my belief that papaya/pawpaw is the best chook companion plant going for anyone in a tropical/subtropical situation. It is now believed that pawpaw is an active safeguard against the ravages of coccidiosis.

    In previous writings I have explained how and why to use pawpaw as a food plant/vermifuge for chooks. They also eat the leaves and wont roost in them. I believe the male flowers are the best source of vermifuge. My chooks also did not suffer from ticks or lice either but I am not sure if that wasnt down to me being paranoid about poultry bought onto the place.

    Pawpaw are also a good water user/grey water plant. They are a good primary soil conditioner as their roots are fairly shallow and thick helping break up soil. We often planted a pawpaw in a new garden bed to help things get started.

    Pawpaw trunks readily break down at the bottom of a compost heap and turn into something nearly like peat or sphagnum. The leaf stalks are hollow and can hang around in a compost heap but are not really an issue.

    The papain in their leaves is a good meat tenderiser. Try a pork loin wrapped/marinated in pawpaw leaves some time. Leave it in the fridge over night.

    Pawpaw are also a great vegie garden shade plant providing wonderful microclimate. In a seasonal garden by the time the pawpaw get big enough to really compete the rest of the vegies are just about finished. You can then plant beans etc up the pawpaw and fill in the gaps with your new vegies. As your trees get bigger, thin out most males. Chop them off and toss them over the fence into the chooks.

    Oh yes, and you can eat the fabulous fruit ripe or even green in a salad.


    floot

    [edited to include link.. :( ]https://www.poultry.kvl.dk/upload/p..._of_3_medicinal_plants_on_eimeria_tenella.pdf
     
  2. Sonya

    Sonya Junior Member

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    Hi Floot,

    Thanks for that. We don't have a lot of experience growing pawpaws, but have a lot of pawpaws (we are on the Sunny Coast in Qld), so your posting is appreciated. We also have chooks and we have left a rogue pawpaw growing in their enclosure - without realising all the benefits for them - but now we know.

    Do you use other natural remedies for your chooks - garlic in their water for worms and nasterium seeds for parasites?

    I'm also going to start adding molasses and Natrakelp to their water (not both at once) to help with their health.

    Cheers, :wave:

    Sonya.
     
  3. christopher

    christopher Junior Member

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    Floot,

    That's really interesting! We have papaya in their old run, and throw the extra papayas over the fense, which they devour with gusto.

    It appears that the link is not in your message, so if you could either edit your entry to include that link, or repost with the link, we could see the link you allude to!

    Sonya, we put garlic in thier water, and also ginger pulp, which supposedly helps with intestinal parasites. Also, molasses is great for chooks. Is Natrakelp a seaweed supplement?

    C
     
  4. Sonya

    Sonya Junior Member

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    Hi Christopher,

    Natrakelp is a kelp supplement from the seaweed forests off the Tasmanian coast.

    It is very beneficial for seeds (pre-soak before planting to innoculant them) and to use on seedlings to reduce transplant shock.

    Very good all round, but also found out it can be added to chook water for their health.

    I will try the ginger pulp in their water - I'd drink that!

    Cheers,

    Sonya. :wave:
     
  5. christopher

    christopher Junior Member

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    Ho Sonya,

    We drink it, too, as the making of it is for our benefit!

    To get the ginger pulp, I take an amount of ginger (depending on strength desired) and put it in a blender, with cold water and some lime juice. I then hit frappe, which grinds it all into wet shredded ginger dudt, for two minutes. I strain out most of the water into tall glasses, and take some more water, put it in the blender, hit frappe again, and then pour that into the choooks bowl.

    The tall glasses we drink with sugar, and the ginger beverage is medicinal, has an effect like coffee (so people say, I can't feel coffee, but the ginger has a zing to it). It is delicious!

    The kelp sounds multi-use! We collect bags of seweed for the gardens, but have to leave them in the rain to rinse out the salt....

    Good luck with the ginger pulp!

    C
     
  6. ho-hum

    ho-hum New Member

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    Sonya,

    I am a bit of a Luddite when it comes to medication for chooks. For a number of years I bred and raced pigeons which are a performance animal. Others I knew were forever medicating for one thing or another. I seemed to have great results and less sickness by letting their genetics & good management. I raced about 25-30 pigeons in a huge loft. Others would regularly put 100 birds into the same area.

    I like natural methods and dont like to interfere. If you have your management and conditions right chooks are very hardy although some losses are natural. I will however pay for the occassional post-mortem if I am concerned. I had a chook swallow a nail, another time a pigeon swallowed a string. I once had a dead pigeon with a crop full of dirt. I surmised the birds were lacking in a mineral so I dusted some epsom salts over their food. No idea if it helped..... :shock:

    My chooks did get annual seaweed & cuttlefish [and beach sand]. They would kick it around and peck at it.

    The biggest things for free-range domestic chooks is stress caused by a variety of factors, poor nutrition, poor hygiene and lack of suitable shelter. These cumulatively can kill chooks or lower their natural resistance to parasites and things like coccidiosis.

    Stress in chooks is caused by temperature extremes, hunger, dirty water, over-crowding, draughts, shortage of roosts, too many roosters and bullying by bigger fowl ie turkeys, guinea fowl, muscovies etc.

    floot
     
  7. christopher

    christopher Junior Member

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    Hi Floot!

    Thanks for adding the link!

    C
     
  8. Boab

    Boab Junior Member

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    Molasses is not the ideal as it's a refined sugar. If you feel you must, for whatever unknown and irrelevant reason, add a sweetener, then think natural: stick to cane sugar.

    Adding kelp to water messes it. Feed it separately.

    For a good all rounder that eliminates nasties of all kinds, stick to the wonder herb, garlic. A decent garlic mash every week - (oats, water and mashed up garlic cloves) keeps the nasties at bay.

    As for nasturtiums, I have a large patch of them and merely harvest a few handfuls every day and add to their greens.
     
  9. FREE Permaculture

    FREE Permaculture Junior Member

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    Yeah that's a goood link, thanks floot :)
     
  10. ho-hum

    ho-hum New Member

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    Molasses is often fed to stock of all sorts and rarely as a sweetner. It is sometimes used to disguise the taste of other substances be it urea or tetramyecin. It is used in 'salt licks'.

    This is the real reason that molasses is fed to stock [and taken by people].

    https://www.bundysugar.com.au/molasses/products/molasses/nutrient.htm

    floot
     
  11. Boab

    Boab Junior Member

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    Well that is its use, to mask other agents and that's exactly what a sweetener does. Even in your spec sheet above - which doesn't state to which type of molasses the stats refer to (ie. beet, cane, citrus molasses) sugars are listed as being 85% in total. The presence of chlorine is a worry too. Both this and refined sugars are not good for chickens.

    Do with that information what you may. :)

    Ultimately, stick to natural stuff (which is actually the easiest and cheapest method in this case) and you can't go wrong.
     
  12. Tezza

    Tezza Junior Member

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    Personally I dont use any added medication to my birds diets......


    Being run ona Free range/open range basis,and with copious amounts of mixed herbs growing in my garden.They are able to browse when and if required on a variety of herbs and the odd self sown garlic..

    I been breeding choks on off for 15 years,and only had coccidiousis once,and that was caused by feeding my hens with baby chick starter....

    Paw paw or others may do the trick also,Its good to find out other ways of prevnting this horid problem.....

    Always try to check the hygene befre bying from outside....not everyone is dillegent in health......

    Tezza
     

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