diatomaceous earth?

[countrymom28]

Im new to chickens I have 8 girls they havent began to lay yet. they are not free range but are kept in a chicken tractor but we move it daily, I put diatomaceous earth in there coop will this help prevent worms or should i be mixing it with food? I have other pets as well (Rabbits, dogs, goats & ducks) should i give it to them to help prevent worms? are there other uses for the diatomaceous earth?
Thanks for ur advice!

 

[Judy]

No, it will not prevent internal worms. It is used in small quantities in food as a dessicant and to control hatching bugs. It helps control odor in the litter, by drying the poop. It kills some types of ants and soft bodied insects, but not inside an animal. For example, it will kill tomato hormworms in the garden. Be careful not to inhale it as it is quite irritating to the lungs; of course the chickens also should not inhale it. And be sure to buy food grade if you buy it, not the type used in pool filters.

 

[countrymom28]

the kind i bought is food grade i put it in the coop to help keep dry, a friend of mine said she worms her animals with it wasnt sure so i wanted to ask? thank u!

 

[stevodod]

DE, the snake oil of the agricultural internet. How is it in taking out stains?

 

[fowlmouthgirls]

I just spread a bunch twice this last month because we are having a horrible chigger problem. I did my whole yard. It seems to have helped a little, but not completely, but we've also had a lot of rain. I suggest wearing a mask while spreading it. I also dust the chickens with it and put it in their litter in the coop.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I've never been a big DE fan, but had to buy some recently. I have broodies sitting on eggs, and then discovered they had mites. I didn't want to put any pesticides down around the eggs, so I got the DE. Honestly, I'm pretty impressed! I spread it the first day and notice a dramatic difference in the number of mites I saw. Waited a couple more days and reapplied, haven't seen any creepy crawlies since. I didn't change out the bedding either. I'm waiting to do a thorough clean out when everyones done hatching. I got the DE to simply control the bugs until I could use something stronger, it did a great job of getting rid of them!