Diatomaceous Earth

[quiltedchicks]

I know, I know. You have talked about this soooo much- but please bear with me.
I have 36 chickens, 29 Rhode Island Red/White Barred Rock crosses and 6 Auracanas. Some of my hens have very loose stools,and I saw some worms. So I decided to treat them with DE. I read and found out how to mix it, made sure I got the proper kind (have you ever heard of 'pharmaceutical grade'?). What I don't know : 1. Is this a constant in their feed? Or am I just supposed to do this every month or so? 2. Do chickens need a place to dust bath in the winter? If so, how do you provide that? Am I supposed to dust them with DE in the winter for lice?
I have learned SOOOOO much from this forum, and thank you for all of your posts, they have helped me a great deal in taking care of my hens.

 

[MakNat]

Not sure about the DE dosage, but I'm pretty sure the mites can be worse in the winter. I've heard wood ashes are good to put in their dusting spots. At least it is totally natural.

 

[swtangel321]

I might be wrong but I think DE is only used to kill mites/bugs not worms. I know you should only use the "food grade" kind.

If i'm wrong I had no clue that DE could be eaten/put in food !!

 

[jeldridge6]

There is a company that can give you all your answers. I've spoken to the people at this company and they were very informative and they knew what they were talking about
DIRT WORKS/New England Natural.com