[harry]

anyone had sucess with various worming methods ie not commercial products... whole garlic in water, garlic powder, etc etc

[northfifeduckling]

apparently parsley water is good, supposedly parsley works as well. Don't remember where I read it and have not tried it on my birds. I successfully used wormwood tincture and olive leaf tincture on my kids  . The dose is only a few drops for humans a day, I have no idea how I would dose it for birds...

[shetlandpaul]

you used wormwood on your human kids. have you any idea how toxic that stuff is. were did you get it and did the person know what you intended. please just get the proper wormer from th chemist. that stuff may work but you could end up poisioning your kids

[northfifeduckling]

Paul, my kids are fine and I used it as prescribed by a herbalist - as I said drops!

[shetlandpaul]

it highly toxic. the herbal society don't recommend its use. they urge the use of others. please don't use it. the normal drugs are safe and tested as this stuff is not classed as a medicine then its not tested. its not even recommended for animals.

[HappyHippy]

I was very interested in this thread so went looking for info (ah, the net is a wonderfull thing  )
Here's a snippet I found on the encyclopedia of alternative medicine
Wormwood has a historical dark side: absinthe. This clear green alcoholic beverage, which contains essential oil of wormwood and other plant extracts, is highly toxic and presently banned in many countries. A favorite liqueur in nineteenth-century France, absinthe was addictive and associated with a collection of serious side effects known as absinthism (irreversible damage to the central nervous system). The toxic component of wormwood that causes absinthism is thujone. Wormwood may contain as much as 0.6% thujone. On the other hand, wormwood soaked in white wine is used to produce the liqueur called vermouth (derived from the German word for wormwood, Wermuth), which contains very little thujone
But on the whole the only contraindications I could find were linked to young children and pregnant women. More research needed me thinks, now, where did I put that bottle of absinthe 

[shrekfeet]

I'm all for a bit of natural healing but for god's sake these are your kids. Not a rescue hen! Use properly tested medicine on humans or live to rue the day!

[northfifeduckling]

To my defence - it was many years ago and freely available then. I trusted the herbalist at the time and my kids had no nerve damage from taking very few counted drops diluted over a couple of days. But of course I take your advice to heart, folks.

[BadgerFace]

Interesting debate 

I have a old remedy book. Horse's, Dogs, Birds & Cattle - Accidents, Aliments and First Aid (published 1902)

On the subject of worms in birds........

Domestic fowls, as well as cage, and wild birds, serve as hosts to a large number of parasites. We have not space to enumerate them, but as to the important business of getting rid of them, we may remark that there are two chief classes, the round and the flat, and the former can be expelled by santonine, and the latter by areca-nu and oil of male fern,

The majority of bird will eat a sop containing the two first named drugs, but the latter must be give in pill form.

A quick google revealed santonine to be made from Artemisia pauciflora (oliganthous wormwood) 

Mind, the same book often recommends a dose of lead for Equine injuries, administered to the brain !! 

I've always found cider vinegar a good all round tonic - and never had any problems with worms 

[shrekfeet]

funny i've found cider without the vinegar to work wonders!

[RUSTYME]

NFD, as far as I know it is still fine to use in small doses , as per ; 'Pure wormwood oil is very poisonous, but with proper dosage poses little or no danger.' which is taken from ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemisia_absinthium
I also have it in all of my herbal books too , which all say the same . As for sticking only to safe tested drugs , which would those be ? Thalidomide ? that was "SAFE" !!! swine flu vaccine ? .... since when is mercury safe ?
Not having a go here shrekfeet, just that not all drugs that you either buy in the shops , or are given by doctors , are always  'safe' . Some are quite the reverse...

cheers

Russ

[Wellieboots]

And walking along an average pavement is also technically harmful due to the aromatic hydrocarbons/benzenoates, heavy metals etc that are given off from catalitic convertors when not operating at optimum temps (eg. 400c) due to the average car run not giving them enough time to get to working temp (ever smelt a rotten egg smell in or around town when driving...that's why).

Not having a go here shrekfeet, just that not all drugs that you either buy in the shops , or are given by doctors , are always  'safe' . Some are quite the reverse...

They are as safe as technology & science know at the time - that is the proviso. Asbestos was safe until our understanding of it improved. So either remove yourself from the grid entirely (however you cannot ultimately remove yourself from the effects of modern day society), trust in what you are told or judge for yourself. Scaremongering helps no-one but does panic those who choose not to check for themselves. It can be as harmful as those substances/products etc we are wanting to reduce/eliminate.

Oh and "back in the day mercury was considered safe" until science defined otherwise (mad hatters!!). What else can we use......

[RUSTYME]

Wellieboots ...use what the f*ck you want ... I wasn't having a dig nor scaremongering ....

cheers

Russ

[shetlandpaul]

To my defence - it was many years ago and freely available then. I trusted the herbalist at the time and my kids had no nerve damage from taking very few counted drops diluted over a couple of days. But of course I take your advice to heart, folks.

i was not picking on you sorry if you felt i was.

rusty only one vaccine has mercury in it. the baxters one does not. thalidamide is still used and is safe in use but its only safe after testing. wormwood has not been tested it is not safe in children and pregnancy. i would rather get a dose of a tested substance than risk it. but it upto you to choose.

[northfifeduckling]

Apologies, Harry, for bringing humans (my kids) into this thread. Had no idea there were such strong opinions unleashed. Allopathic medicine versus herbs/complimenary of any kind are a very controversial issue, a lot of argument based on mis- or lack of information (on both sides). It would be worth discussing it on a different thread??