Control of Parasitic Worms in Poultry
Saturday, April 23, 2016
For nearly two years ChalkMine has been conducting a series of field trials in commercial free-range layer flocks investigating the efficacy of various Mount Sylvia Diatomite products against the most common and troublesome of poultry parasites, roundworm and red mite.
Conducting the trials of behalf of ChalkMine, Michael Sommerlad of "Poultry Works" said that whilst there is a significant body of anecdotal evidence to support the effectiveness of diatomaceous earth in these applications, little if any research had been conducted in this country to support the claims. For this reason, ChalkMine instigated a series of field trials to collect data for appropriate statistical analysis. These latest trial results have demonstrated that when fed to the birds at 5% of total ration, "Molodri®" has the capacity to significantly reduce the number of roundworm eggs being excreted by the birds, indicating a reduction in overall worm numbers'.
Molodri® is a blend of molasses and fine diatomite, a product mined by ChalkMine near Gatton in Queensland. It is dark grey in colour, and looks (and tastes) like powdered molasses. Michael Sommerlad notes that "it appears that the birds fed with the "Molodri®" treated ration also had improved feed efficiency and overall egg shell quality, however further research is required to accurately quantify these observations".