How Much DE?

[simplynewt]

I am getting ready to aquire 4 Dominique Hens and their home will be a 4 x 4 coop with a 4 x 8 run attached to it.

Being that I am new to this, I was wondering how much DE do I need to purchase at first to sprinkle in my coop? Does the DE also get sprinkled into the run as well?

Thanks for all the comments in advance.

 

[CMV]

I buy it by the 50 lb. bag for the cost savings. It sits around for quite a while before I need to buy anymore. I have not found DE to be particularly effective at anything other than drying things out to keep smells down. It is not great for keeping external parasites away and is useless for internal parasites. I know there are a lot of folks that swear by the stuff, but I am not a huge fan.

Use your own judgement. Good luck.

 

[GardenState38]

Good question! I've been wondering how much I should be applying to the coop litter.
(I would think how big a bag you'd need to begin with would depend on how often you'd be changing out the litter. It's pretty light-weight stuff, so 50 lbs is a lot!)

I have a coop of similar size, with a deep layer of aspen shavings.
I've sprinkled what amounts to about a cup over the shavings and the hay in the nest boxes, and mixed it in (while the girls were in the run--didn't want them breathing in the concentrated dust). I also tried to dust it into the cracks and corners of the coop.

Unfortunately, I don't know if I'm applying too much or not enough. Hopefully someone will weigh in who has found it to be effective.

BTW-You may already be aware of this, but make sure that you purchase Food Grade DE!

 

[moetrout]

I have a 6' x 8' coup and I bought a 50lb bag of food grade DE over a year ago and still have probably half a bag left. I can't really remember how much it costs. I'd say Gardenstate was spot on for your coup size. I do the deep litter method and clean my coup just twice a year. After I clean out all of the old litter and sweep out the coup I usually dust the coup floor, base boards, perches, and nest box while it is bare. Then I fill the coup with 3-4 inches of pine litter and dust the top of that. After that I only add more when it looks like it needs it. That is usually if the oder is getting bad, litter seems damp, a lot of poo build up. I will occassionally redust the perches if I just scraped of a lot of poo. As stated by someone else it is good for drying things up. It may be good for bugs in the coup, but I don't know, I'ver never had any. So either I am just lucky like that or maybe the DE is taking care of it? I do believe in using it to keep the poo in the litter dried up. If I didn't use it I don't think i could go 6 months between cleanings. I don't dust my run as my hens free range and the poo in the run is not much and dries up on its own.

 

[simplynewt]

Thanks for the comments thus far. Being that I am limited to my storage space, I think I will start out with a smaller bag. Maybe 25 lbs. instead of 50. Wondering if this stuff will work in the goat pen as well...

 

[yinzerchick]

I use it in my goat pen and barn. Just a dusting every couple, few, several... weeks or so. (when I'm cleaning and think of it) Same in the coop. Everyone's usually outside all day, so inside don't get so bad. I really like Sweet PDZ. Same sorta stuff, not dusty though, and there is a noticable difference in the odor when I use it.

 

[RattlesnakeRidgeWV]

I sprinkle it all around every two weeks when I clean up. It keeps the pine chips dryer and smelling good. I have not had any problems with creepy crawlers for the last six months. I also sprinkle it in the attached yard, roosts, and nest boxes. 50 ilbs lasts a long time.

 

[mdbokc]

I have an 8' x 12' coop with pine shavings. I dust DE over part of the floor once or twice a week. Just depends. I dust the poop boards and roosts occasionally. A 50# bag lasts me a couple of years easily. I use a floor sifter which allows real good control of the amount applied.

No DE in the run. I might use ag lime once a year in the run to handle that area.

 

[simplynewt]

Thanks for all the replies. Is the Sweet PDZ more economical that the DE?

 

[moetrout]

For 4 hens I don't think it will matter much. 25 lbs of DE will probably last you a couple of years. One other worthy note is that I don't use it outside in my run. Not saying you can't, but i don't think it would be all that effective. Once DE gets wet it's ability to dry anything out is gone. I use it in just the coup. I have sand in my run and just use a leaf rake once a month to clean up the poo in there.