Homestead mailing list

[Lisa Perry <lkvp AT floydva.net>]

Paul Hillman wrote:

> Does anyone know anything about chickens & their eating of, and 
> contact with, Poison Ivy?
> <>Do they eat it? If so, does it have any adverse affect upon the 
> chickens & their eggs? Would a person be affected by the egg content 
> because of their eating it?

I can't answer your question, but I offer the following:

Legacy for Life makes products (Biochoice and Immune26) containing 
freeze dried eggs from chickens innoculated with a wide assortment of 
germs and diseases including staph and influenza.  The freeze dried eggs 
contain antibodies from the chicken and the antibodies supposedly make a 
person more resistant to the menu of innoculated germs.  It's a little 
more complex than this, but you get the idea.  [I am not a distributor 
nor do I take the product.]

Goats eat poison ivy and produce milk that contains the antibodies.  If 
you drink goat's milk from a goat who consumed poison ivy you supposedly 
are less susceptible to getting poison ivy.  If chickens will consume 
poison ivy and you eat the eggs they produce, I would think you would be 
eating antibodies and become less susceptible to it. 

Burt's Bees makes a great soap called Gardener's Friend or Gardener's 
Soap (or something like that).  It contains jewel weed which takes care 
of poison ivy.  Technu is a great liquid soap that also controls poison 
ivy.  I think both of these products work far better than calamine lotion.

Looking forward to learning something new today...

Lisa