Eek! DE?

crazygoatlady915

Songster
8 Years
Mar 30, 2011
404
1
111
Idaho
Is DE (Diatomaceous earth) okay for chickens? As in smell remover? I thought it was ok, but it has a 70%-80% silica content WHOA! What else will work? Baking soda maybe?
 
It's probably not your chickens that stink but their manure. If you're using the deep litter method, it may be your bedding has gotten too much moisture in it. Might be time for a spring cleaning.
 
I just cleaned my coop out about a month ago, and it started to stink..So, I threw more hay in there, and it stinks no more..I did throw DE in too, but it does not help with smell..Throw some more hay in.
 
okay, chicken poo stinks. No matter what. Chickens start to stink if the coop isn't clean enough. Chickens in a clean coop have less of a smell than a clean dog that is kept in the house.
 
Wet poop smells more that dry poop. So, DE can help to dry out wet poop.

Also, I have never cleaned my coop in 6 months, and it does not smell, usually, so cleanliness is not a requirement. My coop has accumulated 6 months of poop and pine shavings on top of a dirt floor and generally does not smell. The floor has a slope to it, so I do have to toss the litter back up the slope once a week otherwise unmixed poop can accumulate on the uphill side and that will smell. I think I got the poop to shavings ratio about right to where it is composting good and that seems to also keep the smell down.
 
As was mentioned earlier, just make sure the DE you buy comes from a feed store and not somewhere like Home Depot. Their DE is not meant for animals; it is used for pools, I believe. I sprinkle DE on the ground of the enclosure. It's not the girls that smell bad; it's their poo. I rake it out everyday. to avoid stinkiness.
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I like all these answers, but my question was will the super high silica content hurt the chickens? will they get silicosis?
 

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