DE? How the heck do I use the stuff??????

[Jkioneil]

Okay so i just bought some food grade DE. I put a light sprinkle over the area where the chickens dust bathe. Do I put a coating all over the ground? Do I put it on the chickens? I also put some in the hen house and stirred the litter but how much do I use? A light coat a thick coat? There is no directions so I have no idea what to do with it. Can someone help me please?

Thanks

 

[dawg53]

It's really up to you how much you want to use. I lightly dust everything except the chickens themselves.

 

[NancyinAlaska]

I put some where the chickens take their dust baths often, a few cups, and then put a handful in each nesting box. I also put some in with their food, it helps with worms too.

 

[Jkioneil]

ok so not the chickens but all over the ground and in the nesting boxes and in the litter and some mixes into their food. this wont effect the orchard they live in right?

 

[Jkioneil]

How often do i put the DE down?

 

[suzettex5]

Bump-

I'd like some more info too...

 

[Jkioneil]

thanks i am so in need of understanding how it works!

 

[Jkioneil]

Ok so i put a nice thin shake around the whole pen and extra in the places where they take dust baths. i also sprea some in the hen house litter... Today i woke up to a rain storm. when it dries out do i do it all over again? I live in oregon so it rains quite a bit. does the DE still work in the ground after the rain or recoat? what is the average amount of DE that people need to buy and how often?

 

[bakerjw]

I recently put in a concrete mixing tub full of sand so that the girls would have a place to take a dust bath. I then mixed in some DE. They haven't quite gotten the hang of taking a dust bath but soon after putting in the DE I found that some of it hadn't mixed in too well causing some of the girls to run around looking like they had a cocaine habit. They seem none the worse for the wear.

 

[speckledhen]

I use a parmesan cheese shaker and sprinkle it in the nests, under the roost and under the wings and petticoats of the birds, too. I also put a cup or so in each feed bag to kill whatever bugs may get in.

I go through a couple of 50# bags of food grade DE each year.