Diatomaceous earth--- Really that harmless?????

[arwmommy]

OK everyone, I have a question!

We are getting everything ready for the babies, and being a hyper mom, I am getting everything I *might* need for them anytime in the next 6 mos! LOL! I have an area in the coop that I am going to put a little dust bath area, and was going to mix wood ashes, sand and DE together for the dust bath. I was also reading about how fabulous DE was for mites/lice and had planned on sprinkling it into the deep-litter pine shavings.

So off I go to the feed store, and ask for DE, and the owner looks at me like I am crazy! "Are you sure you *really* want that?" He says. I tell him what I am planning on using it for and he says this "Well, I worked in the poultry industry for 25 years, and DE is a carcinogen (cancer causing ingredient) and is VERY bad for the lungs. It is silicon, which is powdered glass, and can be very harmful if inhaled. The way it works is that the tiny glass powder cuts the lice/mites and they dehydrate, but if you keep your coop cleaned you should not have a problem with them. Yes, technically it is "food grade", but you can have real problems if it is inhaled"

OK, so now my head is spinning. My 2 kids both have asthma, and the thought of purposly putting a known carcinogen powder in the coop for the chickens to roll around in, and kick up on the deep litter, and then have my children hold them seems CRAZY!! We are raising these 7 chicks as pets, with a bonus that we will get eggs, and are raising them ORGANICALLY!!! Is DE really all that harmless, or is this guy onto something???

We are now looking into using Sweet PDZ in the deep litter, and just letting the chickens bathe in wood ash/sand. But now I am even wondering about Sweet PDZ!

Help!

 

[SandraChick]

What I've learned about food grade DE internally is that is "scrubs" the lining and CAN give animals better feed conversion. Think of it was cleaning your pipes- it is also thought that this is the way it helps the worming process--

I'll say that I give every single one of my pets DE internally and take it myself occasionally (I do better taking care of others than myself!).

It has done wonders for my aged dog that had food allergies and eating problems (vet could not "fix" it for over 10years, and DE did).

My cats have not needed to be wormed since I started the program (used to be at least 3-4 times a year).

My chickens are in good health and I don't use ANY chemicals (miticides, wormers, etc.)

Do your research, then do what YOU are comfortable with.

I'm personally very uneasy about giving wormers to my chickens and having to not eat the eggs for a given time. I'm much more comfortable with DE. That's ME.


Sandra

 

[sportpony]

Diatomaceous earth is crushed oyster shells. It has been widely promoted as a non chemical dewormer. There are several studies outlining the dangers of using it for this purpose, but a whole industry has been built around the use of DE in Canada ( alot of high end horse supplements contain it), so the results have been kept quiet. Feeding it to an animal is the equivalent of feeding them glass shards. In terms of worms, the parasite has already embedded in the gut wall, so it's a lot like ticks, the back end is scraped off, leaving the worm head intact. DE is awesome in your garden, as a fertilizer and in areas where you want to keep fly populations under control. Flies landing in DE, get their feet and wings ripped up. I haven't had access to the studies, only heard of them from my equine nutritionist, and had it confirmed by my vet (also a research vet), as well as my neighbor a PhD, and post doc in parasitology.

 

[kevinnini]

Here's another thing to consider....DE is a powerful insecticide; I stopped using it when I wondered what it might do to the honey bees that I depend on to pollinate my gardens, and what it might do to the soil critters when I add DE contaminated chicken compost to my gardens. Just because it's a natural product doesn't mean it's safe...I think we need to exercise a bit of judgment when manipulating nature. Kevin

 

[skeeter9]

That guy doesn't know what he's talking about. Diatomaceous earth is completely organic - it is the remains of little critters. Do a search on the internet and you can get a lot of info on it.

 

[nikkimay]

DE should not be silicone... it the 'd' stands for diatom.... and that's what cuts up bug bodies and acts as a desiccant...

if you have a natural food store, or natural pet products store in your area they should sell it in canisters for flea prevention.

I have used it in my home and yard with out any problems for anyone... But i got it for fleas for my dogs - my chickies have never had any bugs, so you probably don't need to mess with it unless/until you have a problem.

Good luck!

 

[SandraChick]

I personally would not freak at all.

You might ask if he ate a bunch of it. It is known that if you eat it, one should slowly increase the amount of DE as it has a Detox effect...email me if you want to know more. I'll be happy to share what I have learned.

Sandra

 

[MoonGoddess]

suburbanchick, he'll be ok... My daughter did the same exact thing when she was 5 and she gets asthma so bad she needs the nebulizer several times a year. She didn't have the tiniest bit of a reaction to it. We took her to the doctor immediately and he checked her over and gave her a clean bill of health. He told me just to monitor her for a few days to see if she was breathing heavier, but thought she would have had a reaction already if she was going to. She never did.
I think it's more hyped up then needs to be. My personal opinion is that it is FAR safer then chemicals. Think if it a pest killer he got into.

 

[mudhen]

Thank you all!
Wow, that would be something, a paved run!

 

[freshH20]

There seems to be a lot of misconceptions about DE. Years ago, I put together the most comprehensive site on the Internet on food-grade DE. Most of the sites out there have copied stuff from my site. Anyway, check it out and it will answer all your questions.

http://www.freshwaterorganics.com

You can also order from the site and have product within 2 - 3 days. No need to drive anywhere.

but for the record, you should give it to chickens to eat and to dust themselves in. It will not harm them or your kids. You will also find that there will be less odor, and much less flies.