Diatomaceous earth?!

[2 many chickens]

I had grain mites in my quails food.. I sprinkle DE in their feed and it keeps them at bay. Grain mites live off bird food..not the birds. So DE is good for little things like that.

 

[ValerieJ]

I've been using FGDE in my coops for 4 years and have never had mites. I think if you have an infestation, you would be rid of them faster with something like Pyrethrin, and then use the FGDE to keep them at bay. I never had an infestation, so haven't had to try it. If you are trying to stay chemical free, and need to use something stronger than FGDE, then the Pyrethrin is the chemical free version of Permethrin. I had to order it online as TSC only carried the Permethrin. I did spray my coops with it once just because BYC members convinced me that everyone has mites. I never did see any before or after I sprayed, so to me that was a waste of money. For now, I'm sticking with the FGDE. Good luck! Best to use it when the chickens are outside so it is well settle before they come back in, but I have not had respiratory problems with my hens. I use one of these for spreading a fine dusting, which I bought at Amazon:

Harris Diatomaceous Earth Powder Duster with 6 Inch Extension Nozzle
Sold by: PF Harris
$7.99

 

[JessMay]

I got my two 10lb. bags from AMAZON yesterday. I have removed all the straw, deep litter, now I have a dirt floor. I'm going to dust the floor, nest boxes, and roost with it while their out free ranging. I'll put fresh straw down and sweep all the large amounts of DE off the roost and walls ect... I'm putting some in the bottom of the nest boxes and the fresh straw. Does all this sound ok? I've never used it either.
I want to add sand and DE to the dust bath area in the run. Is that OK?

I use pine shavings in their coop instead of straw.. I heard mites and bugs can crawl into the straw making them worse. I get a big bag or pine shavings from farm and fleet for $5 and it lasts about a month

 

[Shadrach]

I just bought a 2.5 lb thing if diatomaceous earth.. I’m wondering what you use it for because I’ve heard it’s good to put it in their dust baths.. what exactly do you use it for and how much is a safe amount?

It's not good for anything.
The first misunderstanding is that chickens dust bath to remove mites and other parasites.
This is not the case. Chickens dust bath primarily to soak up the oil that they spread from their preen glands and that gets excreted from the feather follicles.
Next, the most common mite, the so called red mite doesn't live on the chicken.
Another common mite, the scaly leg mite burrows under the scales of the legs and feet. Throwing dust of any sort at it isn't going to do a thing. that's why you have to use a chemical, or drown/suffocate them.
The above is based on science. There have been a number of experiments carried out and none report DE as being effective on either of the mites mentioned above.
Northern fowl mite does live on the chicken as do lice.
In the experiments some lice were removed during dust bathing. They get knocked off the chicken, not decimated by a shower of dirt.
If your chicken has an infestation of Northern Fowl Mite no amount of DE will eradicate it.
DE is one of those strange products that has somehow gained acceptance despite test that have proven it infective.

 

[CountryFlock]

The DE creates an environment in which mites or the mites I was dealing with could not live in. With all the DE I rubbed under my chickens feathers I’d assume it made it near impossible for the mites to make a home. Whether it kills the mites or not..

A day after I dusted up a roo, who was nearly dead from the mites, the amount of mites dropped dramatically. He then quickly recovered. He was so ridden with mites that any feather could just be pulled out of him. Even his secondary and primary wing feathers just fell out if pulled. He made a speedy recovery right after I bombed him with the DE.

 

[Folly's place]

If you decide to use it anywhere (I wouldn't!) be sure to wear at least a N95 dust mask to protect your lungs, at least. It doesn't stay on the ground, it flies around, not good. And it has limited effectiveness against most parasites, so not worth it.
It is effective in controlling grain mites in dry grains, but that's about it.
Pyrethrin is the approved organic product, and permethrin is a more effective but not approved for organic analog. With an infestation of mites or lice, the permethrin spray concentrate is easiest to use and the least expensive choice.
Mary

 

[getaclue]

While many use DE, and can tell you how it's been years, with no outbreak, which they attribute to the DE, what they fail to realize it that it's not the DE that's preventing an infestation. Even more people will tell you that they were using DE, and got mites in spite of using it. At that point, they learned quickly that the DE was useless, and they had to turn to effective measures to get rid of them.

I was just chatting with a friend that in 7 years, has never had mites until recently. The thing is, she doesn't use DE, or anything else. The breeder I got my chickens from, had never had mites until just before I bought my breeding trio from him. He treated, and got rid of them, and he's been almost 4 years now without further incident. I personally went over 4 years without incident, then had to treat, and went a couple more years without incident, then we moved. New coop, new everything, and much different conditions than before, but I'm still in the process of getting the soil, etc. all working together correctly.

Basically, the bottom line is, if you don't need to treat for them, don't. The biggest reason for that is you don't want to build resistant mites. When you do have an infestation, get something effective to get completely rid of them. While permethrin is safe to use, and works fine, pyrethrum is approved for organic farming and is effective too. It is sold in both spray, and powder just like permethrin.

 

[Bamas-Chicks]

I use it for mite control and sprinkle some in Thier feed from time to time,it's also good for worm prevention. I know some will debate this. Don't bother,I've been using it this way since I've had chickens and it works great.

 

[getaclue]

Bama, I'm not saying that your chickens are not worm free. I'm saying that DE has nothing to do with it. DE totally breaks down when wet. The bodily fluids, even before it totally hits their gut, renders the DE worthless. Again, I've heard this same story before, and they were shocked when they finally did get a case of worms. Parasites are not automatic. People can, and have gone years without mites, worms, etc. It's not automatic that they get them.

 

[Uff Da]

Whether or not DE is effective for anything in the chicken coop, I don't think people realize how hazardous it is to breathe. It works the same way asbestos does--causing millions of tiny cuts in the king tissue, which results in scarring. It doesn't help to say, "Well I've been using DE for years and it's never made me sick!" Because the harmful effects are cumulative. You won't see them for many years. And some may never see the effects--how many people grew up in buildings full of asbestos that never got sick? But that doesn't mean asbestos isn't harmful. People also argue that they are careful not to use it in a manner that gets it into the air, but it's microscopic--if you are using it, it's going into the air and it is being breathed it.

Why use something as hazardous as DE when there are dozens of remedies for the things it treats and prevents that aren't going to slice up anyone's lungs?