Diatamacous earth and turkey poults..

[zekii]

Anyone here using DE with their turkeys as a preventative..?
How soon can I start mixing DE in turkey poults feed ?
I have had my poults on Apple cider vinager in their water since hatch.

 

[ElizabethAz]

DE is an excellent dewormer, but if you feed too much it will cause constipation--or diarrehea. I use it on all my animals from zebra finches, dogs, cats, all the way up to horses, goats, and cows once a month.. I don't see how a little DE could be harmful to Poults.

I like to pour some on the ground in a corner of every Turkey, duck, goose, and coop for them to dust in. Also from time to time I will sprinkle a little bit in every nest box. It helps prevent/kill mites

 

[frank53061]

Anyone here using DE with their turkeys as a preventative..?
How soon can I start mixing DE in turkey poults feed ?
I have had my poults on Apple cider vinager in their water since hatch.

Things I do to keep my birds healthy...... good feed.....fresh water..... free range and put Diatomaceous Earth in there food and dust there coop and also each bird for parasites.
I also put one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar per quart in there water all of this keeps the Chickens fat happy and healthy.

2 to 3 tablespoons per 5lbs of food maybe every 2 to 3 weeks diffrent for everyone.

 

[Frosty]

I have seen more than one post here in BYC where people find round worms in the feces even though they have been feeding DE and using ACV. I wouldm't feed DE and just assume that worms are taken care of. The way it works is that it gives bugs tiny cuts, then they dehydrate and die. The question I would have is how much of it would actually make it through the gizzard, and if it did, are the worms going to get dehydrated when they live in such a moist enviorenment? As far as using it for a dust bath, I never have because I really don't know what it does to the birds lungs if they inhale it.

 

[ElizabethAz]

The other thing DE does (aside from dehydrating a bug) is allow fungus and bacteria to enter the bugs body through those cuts--thus causing the bug to get sick and die. There is plenty of salmonella and e. coli to go around in the gut of any animal. Also any eggs will also be lacerated and damaged. So eventually with regular treatment worms can be naturally controlled/prevented. If you have a consistent 'relapse' of internal parasites, then using a rotating schedule of commercial de-wormers should correct the problem in addition to a full 'sanitization' of the coop..

Signs of internal parasites is not limited to visual identification in feces. Many times the worms that are attached to the intestine of the animal lay their eggs in the animals feces, and the adult worms are never seen. Signs of infestation are varied, and can include.. increased appetite with no obvious weight gain, loss of weight or body mass (birds that look and feel bony), dull plumage, loss of feathers, watery stools, respiratory issues, lethargy.. Parasites on the whole can be difficult to diagnose without consulting a vet, the symptoms are very similar to, and can be confused with, other serious diseases..which is why DE makes a good preventative.

As for getting into the lungs and doing damage, if the pen has very poor air circulation and the birds are forced to walk on large amounts of it all day every day, and its everywhere it could then cause a respiratory problem. Using it as an occasional dust bath would not be harmful, and using it to feed to the birds would not be harmful either. The mucus lining in the lungs protects the membranes from damage. Small amounts are not harmful....but if you threw the poults in the bag and shook them around..then yes the DE would most likely cause damage, just because there would be so much of it.