Diatomaceous Earth anyone?

[slfg]

Am I using this right? I've been mixing a little in their feed and grit, and sprinkling in the coop, and run. Is this overkill? I'm using a little half pint freezer container about half full, and adding this to the entire 50# bag of feed. I'm just guessing..and what I've read is vague. What are you doing with DE? And is it working for you as far as fly control and worming? :/

 

[cafarmgirl]

It's not overkill if you are really wanting to use it but it may be costing you a lot of $$. I tried using DE about 4 years ago to see what all the hype was about and as far as I'm concerned that's mostly what it is, hype. There is no difference in my coop or my birds from when I was using it compared to after I quit. I keep my pens and barn very clean so I have almost no flies and my birds have never had mites/lice whether using DE or not. When I strip the coops spring and fall I mix Poultry Dust into the new bedding and along the walls as a preventative. And I absolutely do not depend on it as a dewormer. I deworm my flock twice a year using Safeguard and Valbazen in rotation. So in light of all of that I could not see continuing to spend the money on DE, it's pretty pricey stuff.

 

[RMiller]

I use DE in my coop since we do the deep litter method. I do not feed it to my birds though. So far we have not had mites, lice or any other issue. We have not had a problem with flies all summer.

 

[4mybcs]

I use DE in my garden to naturally kill bugs. It seems to work well on nearly all bugs. Not much luck on ants but I think I am not being persistent enough about it. I am going to start using it in the coop to hopefully prevent mites/lice. I don't mind bugs in the run, they make a good snack