DE for dust box for chickens

[NicoleinSA]

Hello, I am new. I wanted to share that having a raised wooden box with some soil and a lot of food grade Diatomaceous Earth, ( not the kind for pools) will allow your birds to bathe themselves for parasites. It has always worked well for me.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hello, I am new. I wanted to share that having a raised wooden box with some soil and a lot of food grade Diatomaceous Earth, ( not the kind for pools) will allow your birds to bathe themselves for parasites. It has always worked well for me.

Hi, welcome to BYC!

I think EVEN food grade DE is harmful, not only to my chickens but to myself, my family, and the environment. And the over rated and over used stuff isn't welcome at my house.

Curious... how do you KNOW it works well and not that you simply DON'T have the issue in the first place? Not all environments are created equal, nor are all chicken immune systems. Even among the same flock... some birds will have parasites while others don't.

Anyways, I don't mean to hammer you on your first post. We are all here to learn from each other and our experiences.. even if it isn't the same as our experience. Thanks tons for sharing!

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

I think EVEN food grade DE is harmful, not only to my chickens but to myself, my family, and the environment. And the over rated and over used stuff isn't welcome at my house.

Curious... how do you KNOW it works well and not that you simply DON'T have the issue in the first place? Not all environments are created equal, nor are all chicken immune systems. Even among the same flock... some birds will have parasites while others don't.

Anyways, I don't mean to hammer you on your first post. We are all here to learn from each other and our experiences.. even if it isn't the same as our experience. Thanks tons for sharing!

I found this post when searching for DE information. I notice the OP didn't answer your questions. And at the same time you didn't explain how it is that you KNOW DE is harmful and how and what you recommend as an alternative. Would you recommend chemicals instead of DE with Mite infestations of animals and/ or home ?? Personally I don't have an opinion YET, like I said I'm doing research. I'm clear that breathing DE is harmful so there are ways to negate that. So if you'd explain why someone wearing a mask should still not use DE, and what makes DE harmful for the environment, that'd be useful information that I haven't come across yet.