opinions on diatomaceous earth?

[hannahchicken]

I have baby chicks right now that are far too young to give diatomaceous earth to but I was wondering what everyones opinions are.
i am very nervous about the parasites they can get once they are outside.
thanks!

 

[casportpony]

ROFLMAO!

-Kathy

 

[enola]

I don't know why, but my phone will not down load most links.

But, I want some one to explain how if DE goes through the digestive system, it is going to kill heart worms, liver flukes, eye worms and gape worms????

 

[dawg53]

To People who are biased against natural home remedies, please keep in mind that many of them relieve aginizing suffering and save lives when traditional medicine is unavailable or unaffordable.

To People who are biased against traditional medicine and chemicals, please keep in mind that relieving the suffering of your animals must be the top priority.

To People who spend a lot of money acquiring the trappings of success, or "spaving" on Craig's List, but are too narcissistic and cheap to spend money for the reasonable care of your animals, anyone who pud therefore resort to home remedies because they're mainly cheaper (even though you talk a good game about "natural" blah blah), I will call animal control and report you for felony animal cruelty if I see your animals suffering.

To People who are so biased against chemicals that you will allow your animal to suffer day after day, for example, from a raging infection because you've been brainwashed against antibiotics, I will report you for felony animal cruelty if I see your animal suffering.

To People who are low income and do the very best they can, and use effective home remedies because that's all they can afford, if I see your animal suffering even though you're doing your utmost for them I will help you; and if your animals are happy and healthy, God bless you and yours.

I'm not biased against home remedies...only certain ones that dont work, including DE. Anyone who acquires birds off Craigslist is asking for trouble. It throws biosecurity out the window, period. Anyone who doesnt take care of their animals, doesnt need to own animals, period.
Priorities are mixed up this day and time and common sense out the door...family first before owning any animal.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

My opinion is that it is the "band wagon" item du' jour - and it's not a band wagon I am willing to drink the kool aid and hop on. It does not offer nearly all the benefits it is claimed to and it's efficacy has not been proven for many of the claimed benefits via any sort of scientifically tested information.

 

[casportpony]

DE had zero effect on poultry lice when I used it on my hens. I put it in all of their bathing spots and covered them in it, and they all still had lice. IMNSHO, it's a waste of money.

-Kathy

 

[TheRambler]

My "coop" had wire sides, a dirt floor with DE all over it and one wooden perch. All birds were dusted and the next three days still had lice. So I bought some poultry dust, dusted them again and voila, no more bugs, not one!

-Kathy

Permetherin is much more potent than DE, so i dont doubt it resolved your problem rapidly. DE takes some time to work, and unless your mixing or tilling in an exorbitant amount of it into your dirt floor then your not touching the source really. DE works better as a preventative and as a spot treatment than as a way to stop an infestation.

Permetherin works totally differently than DE, and so dusting an area with it has a major impact. Its also a very harsh chemical. I strive not to use chemicals unless absolutely necessary.

 

[dawg53]

DE is hyped, a waste of money. I know, I used it long ago.

 

[JeanR]

Studied Geology in College, years ago, spent hours, over weeks, with Diatoms under the microscope, and learning about them. (They are beautiful and like snowflakes--endless designs! ) Use it, eat it, drink it, feed it to your chickens, spread it on the bedding of the coop====if you want to. It will do no harm, except to your pocket book. Ever see a bug that was poked by a diatom? You won't , it is not alive and does not seek out creatures to stab..They are not too hard to smash and if this is done, the dust will be effective, as is dust from soil, so will do the job of snuffing, not poking a mite, to death. Dry, it is just a "silica=like fine sand. Wet is it just like fine wet sand. Internally, it is wet and just like any foreign material in the digestive tract, carried right through like candy or yogurt! Either way, it does nothing better than fine dust, but do not recommend eating it yourself!!!! (Your bird's dusting holes are good, but your soil structure may not be fine enough to do the best job until well used!.) However, if you wish to use it, and believe it does magic, it does not bother anyone at all. Harmless, clean, and It Sells.....Advertising pays....In the garden, slugs may dry up, same as with flour or dust. Other bugs and insects would have to be buried in it, same as fine dust-and wet, it is easier for a bug to tunnel throughor crawl over, just like wet soil. Sprinkled on soil and wet with rain, it just fades into the soil. Still, "if it works for you"....you are taking good care of your birds and that is what is important......

 

[ConPollos]

You're thinking of a less common type of tapeworm that Safeguard fenbendazole doesn't kill; but it most certainly does kill the more common tapeworms.

I have watched tapeworms die, diminish, and disappear from infested rescued dogs over the years using various wormers, including ones from the vet. So when I say I watched DE kill the tapeworms in my rescued dog and in her pups, that's exactly what happened. And since DE kills mechanically instead of chemically, I don't see why it wouldn't kill every type of tapeworm.

I think there's too much bias, and some of it is financially motivated. I had an excellent vet in his 70s, one of two best in a town that revolved around the professional horse industry, and by association hounds and all sporting dogs, which had cutting edge vet care, and he wasn't biased towards either traditional or alternstive medicine. He said neither one can cure everything.

He would use whatever worked best in each case, sometimes traditional and sometimes natural. He didn't care about peer pressure. He successfully treated kennels full of heartworm positive dogs with Levamisole boluses orally so they could still run and hunt during treatment. He said that always worked in the old days, so he saw no reason to switch to the modern Imiticide Arsenic derived cure, especially since it doesn't cure all the heartworms...something vets don't tell you.

So, I make it my business to find out whether or not a thing works, and I'm not biased. If I can save money using DE and the animal fares as well as if I'd used a chemical, I'll use DE. But if not, I'll use a chemical. My top priority is relieving the suffering of the animal. I have seen many natural home remedies work as well or better than chemicals, but I've also seen the chemicals work better.