California - Northern

[EZFarms]

im new to DE im just trying all i can before going to sevin

 

[dldolan]

For those interested, I purchased 40-50 pounds of food grade DE and put it *everywhere* but my birds still got lice. Next step was dusting them with it, so that's what I did and it had zero effect on the lice.

I've also tried ivermectin to treat lice and it didn't work either. The products that work for me are poultry dust, 5% Sevin and the very expensive Vetra 3D.

I prefer poultry dust to 5% Sevin and have used it on many birds, including very young and very sick ones with no ill effects. You can find poultry dust at most feedstores that sell poultry supplies. Cost should be $6-$9 for two pounds.

-Kathy

Yes, I have used DE religiously for four years and my flock got lice this year. Easily taken care of with three ten-day apart applications of Sevin to get rid of all eggs/hatchings. Wear a dust mask. I did have to bathe one of the girls with puppy lice shampoo. She was, ummm, too fat to groom herself properly, so I think was having a recurrance. (Sulmtaler/Red Ranger X) Anyway, pretty easy to get rid of with the Sevin since the DE didn't take care of it. I'd also prefer to do as little as possible with the chemicals, but when that fails, get rid of the little buggers before they cause a bigger problem!

 

[chrissyr]

im new to DE im just trying all i can before going to sevin

I totally understand. It's best to go all natural as POSSIBLE. But I would check every night. I thought the DE was helping but mine died of mites anyways. When I found him there were thousands of mites crawling all over him because he no longer supported them. UC Davis must have loved to open that bag with all of the bugs on him. Seven is the only thing that helped my birds

 

[EZFarms]

i covered them with DE i cleaned out,bleached and DE'd their coop i did everything possible. it looks like a bag of powdered sugar exploded in the coop xD

 

[Flowers of Abba]

I had birds for 6 years at a property with DE in the coop and on the birds and and never had lice. Now here at this property (3years) DE has not stopped the infestation. Either did the herbal treatments or whitewash and on and on. Maybe the wildlife is more infested here ,perhaps it was the aggressive dogs I had protecting the coops at the other property, perhaps it's the richer soil. I now settled on a seven spray during coop clean out alternated with flea and tic oil for dogs. My birds are clean, alive and healthy. My birds my decisio- all the advice in the world couldnt force my choice. Advice is for the taking or leaving. Let's all remain respectful of each other .

 

[rancher hicks]

I have had chickens since 2008. I have one hen who is 7 yrs old. I in fact hatched eggs from her last fall.

My habit its to clean the coop and dust the entire coop with DE, heavy in wet and dark areas. I also clean and dust all nesting boxes. Put in new hay and sprinkle DE on top the new bedding. I also dust all roosts heavily and I advocate rubbing roosts with vaseline or Bag balm. Mites come out at night. Vaseline or bag balm should also be rubbed on the birds feet and legs.

I also dust my birds and I've used Ivermectin since the beginning.

I have never seen the likes of things I've seen others have. I've never seen piles of worms nor mites on my birds.

Prevention is best. Regular cleaning is a must. Mites live in dark and damp places.

I absolutely oppose heat in the coop. I have never lost a bird to the cold. Chickens like dogs do not sweat. They exhale a great deal of moisture. A large fowl bird generates 10 watts of heat. This is why ventilation is key. As is natural lighting. Coops should not be dark. When the sun comes up the coop should light up as well.

At present I'm feeding Agway Egg Producer pellets 21% protein. I have read that Heritage breeds need a higher protein than hybrids such as Golden Comets and Sex links. Egg laying has increased since I went back to a higher protein feed.

This is my experience. I will not back down on opposing using poisons on birds.

Many things can happen with chickens and some are just not preventable, but others are. I'm sorry I've upset people but using poisons on birds may just be why they're sick to begin with.

Rancher

 

[dldolan]

Wow, did you other NorCal folks just get a big blast of wind for the past two hours? Hope it doesn't blow off my baby peach blooms!

 

[ronott1]

Wow, did you other NorCal folks just get a big blast of wind for the past two hours? Hope it doesn't blow off my baby peach blooms!

We have had high wind since about 10 this morning!

 

[Sylvester017]

okay so long story short i had to learn a lesson the hard way. woke up this morning to m on silkie and polish dead and both of my seramas. i think it was due to cold but just as a precaution i bought DE earlier and put it on the birds and around the coop and now im looking for new seramas since they were my show birds. ive already messaged OCseramas and a few other people but anyone have any good serama owners? (im going to ask in the american serama thread as well)

Don't be adding new birds until you know what killed your current ones. Cold stress can manifest symptoms of some other underlying condition. I read that up to 98% of backyard flocks have MS/MG carriers but may never exhibit CRD symptoms until a time of stress like brooding, molting, prolific egg laying, heatwaves, cold temps, etc, and then you can walk out one morning and find a seemingly healthy bird dead for no apparent reason. Plus AI has been found in Calif. Foster Farms had to destroy 4,000 turkeys in a remote farm and AI can kill a chicken quickly in 24-48 hours after contracting the virus. A necropsy is the only way to know for certain what got your birds. You don't want to add healthy birds until you know what's up for certain. Yes, it's a hassle but that's the responsibility we take on with chicken keeping.

Re DE: I had Leghorns that were particularly sensitive to dusts and always sneezed for an hour after just a plain old dirt/dust bath so I never used powdered treatments on my birds -- I use organic Manna Pro Poultry Protector spray which has no massive danger warnings like the labels of pymethrin or DE dusts and my coop/chickens have been lice/mite free for 31/2 yrs. Poultry Protector can be used as often as you need without danger - just follow label instructions. The following website presented DE pros/cons intelligently IMO: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/05/diatomaceous-earth-de-benefitrisk.html

Make your own decisions -- I'm just throwing out things for your perusal.

 

[TheKeeper]

Wow, did you other NorCal folks just get a big blast of wind for the past two hours? Hope it doesn't blow off my baby peach blooms!

It's been blowing 20-25 knots all day here in Fairfield.
I was told by a local fruit tree farmer that the wind should not knock off your blooms if the tree is healthy & grew strong flower/fruit stems.
We had a big bud drop a couple years ago but it was because of a mold?mildew? problem with a long wet spell.
I'm sure gale-force winds would be an exception, though.
I'm hoping for a decent crop this year too - apricots, plums, apples, pears, & figs.