I used to feed veggies & fruits along with grass clippings and then table scraps cause I've read/know others have, also ferment their feed (Flock Raiser). I put a halt to all the "treats" when I noticed they seem to be loosing weight. I was cautioned about so much "nutritional treats" could throw off the nutritional balance in their feed.
I stopped all table scrap & occasionally gave them some veggie/fruit/grass clippings, continued with the FF. Guess they were getting more "treats" than necessary, they started putting back weight back on and looking better.
As for DE ... It does not kill mites/lice but think it acts as a preventative. I do sprinkle the nest box, them and their CH with it. But they get a dusting of Poultry Dust or Sevin monthly as there's alot of wild birds.
I stopped all table scrap & occasionally gave them some veggie/fruit/grass clippings, continued with the FF. Guess they were getting more "treats" than necessary, they started putting back weight back on and looking better.
As for DE ... It does not kill mites/lice but think it acts as a preventative. I do sprinkle the nest box, them and their CH with it. But they get a dusting of Poultry Dust or Sevin monthly as there's alot of wild birds.