Coop treated with DE - safe for week old baby chick?!

[ChickenMama308]

Hi everyone! It's been a crazy week trying to get rid of mites, lice, and cocci while caring for a newborn chick. I have 3 hens in our large coop and now we have one baby chick. 3 days ago I removed and discarded all bedding, nesting boxes etc. and went to town with dusting the coop, nesting boxes, roosts etc. with food grade DE for the mites. I had all the chickens stay in my house for the past three days...! I treated the 3 adult hens today with ivermectin pour on today, and everyone has been drinking corid water. I put mama hen and baby back in the coop but now I'm a little nervous if this will be ok for the baby, because mom is going crazy kicking up all new bedding and inevitably making DE dust go everywhere I'm sure. What is everyone's thoughts on this and / or experience? I definitely don't want to compromise the babies health but I'm not sure what else to do... I'm nervous about the mites returning and going after her.

Thank you!

 

[Chelsa'sChicks]

I have Red Lake DE I spread. It's food and feed safe.. meaning you can eat the animals it's given to and you can add it to the animals food.
Instead of scarring my birds by grabbing them and making my life harder and them scared I sprinkle it on their backs. They come running over for food and most don't realize they are about to be lice free cause they are stuffing their faces.
Also i sprinkle it in all common areas, nests and bathing areas.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

@KikisGirls

 

[ChickenMama308]

I have Red Lake DE I spread. It's food and feed safe.. meaning you can eat the animals it's given to and you can add it to the animals food.

I used food grade DE so technically it's safe to ingest however I heard it can be tough on your respiratory system if you breathe it in... even with a face mask I still have experienced some discomfort from breathing it in - and the baby chick is much smaller / more vulnerable than I am! Hopefully some irritation will be the worst of it, in that case it's worth it but I don't want to cause issues for the baby chick if I can avoid it.

 

[Chelsa'sChicks]

I used food grade DE so technically it's safe to ingest however I heard it can be tough on your respiratory system if you breathe it in... even with a face mask I still have experienced some discomfort from breathing it in - and the baby chick is much smaller / more vulnerable than I am! Hopefully some irritation will be the worst of it, in that case it's worth it but I don't want to cause issues for the baby chick if I can avoid it.

Oh I agree. Chickens have a sensitive respiratory system. I'm sure I breathed some it too, but the barn is large and very well ventilated. After the dust settles I think your chick should be ok to go in the coop. I would monitor your chick, but I'm sure it'll be ok. A week old is a good age and chickens in general are pretty tough.

 

[21hens-incharge]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...or-week-old-baby-chick.1228975/#post-19714275

This thread is duplicate.

I responded on the other one.

 

[Chelsa'sChicks]

https://www.backyardchickencoops.com.au/diatomaceous-earth-a-natural-remedy-for-troubled-chickens

This is the article I read amount others regarding DE. Like I said I use Red Lake DE food/feed safe.

I'm not sure how bad your mite infesting would be for this to not work, but also ashes from a wood burning stove or bon fire are also an old natural remedy to prevent lice, mites, etc.

 

[llombardo]

https://www.backyardchickencoops.com.au/diatomaceous-earth-a-natural-remedy-for-troubled-chickens

This is the article I read amount others regarding DE. Like I said I use Red Lake DE food/feed safe.

I'm not sure how bad your mite infesting would be for this to not work, but also ashes from a wood burning stove or bon fire are also an old natural remedy to prevent lice, mites, etc.

Good article. I use this with my dogs. I have a 50 pound bag. I wonder if it can be used around ducks and/or rabbits? I'm going to pre-treat the coop before they go in.

I did learn that it's hard on the lungs when I dusted my dogs with it. I couldn't breath and it burned, that won't happen again.

 

[Chelsa'sChicks]

Good article. I use this with my dogs. I have a 50 pound bag. I wonder if it can be used around ducks and/or rabbits? I'm going to pre-treat the coop before they go in.

I did learn that it's hard on the lungs when I dusted my dogs with it. I couldn't breath and it burned, that won't happen again.

The DE Red Lake I get has states it's safe for all animals from horses to chickens so I don't see why not. I'm not sure if it's specific to Red Lake DE or if other brands are similar.

 

[JaeG]

Just a note - I tackled red coop mite and found them happily living in a thick bed of DE that I had in my nestboxes. There's very little available in New Zealand to combat mites but I finally found (after weeks of ineffective treatment) that neem oil worked a treat. I painted the inside of the coop with a 50% mix of neem diluted in warm water and I only had to do it once. Keep checking for mites because when the next generation hatch they will be back. You generally have to treat at least twice to break the life cycle. Neem deals to all stages so it was a one hit wonder that I really needed after 6 weeks of failing to make a dent!

Vetafarm also do a spray called Avian Insect Liquidator that's gentle enough to use on newly hatched finch chicks and gives up to 6 weeks protection against mites. I sprayed it on some mites in the coop just out of interest and they stopped moving very quickly. My girls all got a good spray with that especially on their legs (as the mites climb up them to feed) until I knew I'd won the battle (though with rats around due to the waterway going through our backyard there are always more rats and so always the risk of more red mites as they are a carrier)!

Mites can be mighty frustrating. Hopefully you can get your girls and little chick right.