No DE here either. If the back of the bag warns us not to use it without breathing protection, I don’t understand the logic of having that fine, powdery dust flying up and them breathing it in either.
Another reason I don’t like it is the false sense of security it gives folks. “I use DE so my birds won’t get mites or lice.” And “I mix DE in their food so I don’t worry about internal parasites.” What happens? Because they think they’ve made their chickens almost invincible, they aren’t as vigilant about such things as they should be. Infestations can sometimes strike fast and heavy, but usually they just kinda creep up on us. Catching something early and dealing with it right then is always far better than not noticing a problem and having it already be out of hand when you finally take action.
I use dirt. I let ‘em find a prime piece of real estate that they think is ideal and let ‘em go. With a little pre-prep like loosening the soil or even dumping a bag of garden soil in an area, they’ll usually use just that area, although it will expand from what we sorta envisioned.
