Different types of diatomaceous earth?

KiwiSue49

Chirping
Oct 28, 2018
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I myself have on and off - more off than on - had food grade fossil shell flour myself in water.

I added some to their dry feed (food grade).
Assuming this means there is non-food grade?

Just had a new 1Kg bag of food grade delivered today. I sprinkled some in their nesting boxes, a little bit in their run (not a very big run), and in one of their places on the property they nestle down in.

Should I be using food grade for everything?
Have not looked into non-food grade. Assuming it is cheaper?

Cheers,
Thanks for your help in advance.
Sue
 
I found red mites (lots of the little suckers) living quite happily in the deep bed of DE I had in the bottom of my nest boxes under the bedding. So it's useless against mites. They'll move away from it if it's air borne but it certainly doesn't kill them.

Flowers of sulfur from a farm/feed store sprinkled about the coop is a better deterrent for those little pests, but if you have rodents or wild birds entering the run or coop it won't be enough to prevent an outbreak of external parasites they may be carrying. My problem has been mite carrying rats chewing through wood from underneath to break in. :barnie
 
My understanding of food grade vs. non-food grade DE is that food grade is less angular, doesn't have as sharp of a cutting edge to the points, thus less likely to do damage to the GI tract. It also has been decontaminated for various parasites, bacteria, and other organic contaminates.

Both are dusty and shouldn't be inhaled. Can cause/aggravate respiratory illnesses. Highly irritating to lung tissues and eyes.
If I were to use it I would use only food grade. If you want it for a swimming pool filter or aquarium filter, than non-food grade is fine.
 
Regarding DE - users are split rather evenly between those that think it's some kind of miracle, and those who feel it is entirely worthless. I fall into the last group.
So do I.

Flowers of sulfur
What an odd term...'flowers'....should it be 'flours'...meaning fine powder?
 
Flowers of Sulfur was commonly used as a fungicide, insecticide, fumigant. I’m not sure of it’s safety in the chicken world.

It's no more toxic than table salt. You can add a little to chickens food as a supplement and you can buy it as a human supplement as many soils are now deficient in it which means our food is too. It's good for healing wounds as well.

Compounds such as hydrogen sulfide, carbon disulfide and sulfur dioxide on the other hand are highly toxic.

It is an odd term....this is the 1st time I have ever heard sulfer powder called "flowers of sulfer"! Is that a Kiwi term @JaeG ?

That's what it's called here and in the UK - I think it's called elemental sulfur in the US. Its old name is brimstone.
 

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