Is DE safe to mix with our chicken's dust bath?

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Please do not use DE (even good grade). I use it for myself personally and breathing so much as a small amount in causes an awful cough and lingering irritation. Now imagine you're a chicken surrounded by it, walking on it, bathing in it, etc. It is microscopic fossilized sharp phytoplankton that irritates the lining of the respiratory tract and lungs. That is why it works for insects with exoskeletons..it scrapes them and dehydrates them to death (good for ant infestations). As for using it as a dewormed, yes, it can be used as a parasite cleanse when ingested in water. Please trust my personal experience on this. If you don't believe me, breathe a bit for yourself. There are alternatives. If you're looking for a better dewormed, apple cider vinegar is great.
 
Ackchickens said:
DE kills bees. I'm new to chickens and am researching like crazy about all the options for runs, coops, dust baths etc. We also keep bees on our property and I'm trying to find a solution to help with mites etc with the chickens, but I'm not going to have a dusty material flying all over our property that kills honey bees, and urge everyone out there keeps that in mind. I'm not trying to be nasty. But I just wanted to state on this thread that if a bee comes in contact with DE it will die. Everyone knows the problems with the honey bees and I'd hate to be adding to it. I understand that the bee has to come in contact with it, and honey bees are probably not going to be hanging out in the chicken coop, but even if some of it is blown around to say the flowers outside of your run, the bee is going to die. Again, I hope people take the honey bees into consideration. (I'm not a crazy lady I swear, we just spend a lot of time and money on our hives and want the best for all the creatures we care for!)
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This is what I've been wondering about, ever since I've seen people on this site talk about using DE, it seems that's the time the bees started to be in trouble, I will never use it, it's unnatural, my chickens like dry dirt and a bit of dry manure for dust bathing.
 
But not in my chickens, or on them, and not in such quantity. Or in my lungs.
 
Last edited:
MeepBeep said:
You are aware it is in fact a 100% natural deposit? It's every bit as natural as dirt, clay or sand...
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Correct. And it is already in the feed, FYI. Granaries use it in the grain prior to mixing it up into feed to repel insects from the grain. Food grade DE is as safe as the dirt you stir up when you walk, and excellent natural mite/ louse deterrent. I'm 100% organic; have used it for decades, great stuff ;)
 

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