Food grade D.E. ?????

[sniper338]

Ive read a few times its good for the birds, wormer somewhat, and good in their feathers for mites and stuff...


So i got some today, sprinked some in with their food and mixed it up.... then gave em a shallow box with DE and dirt mixed up together....


Now it crossed my mind about HOW MUCH i should use in their food and how much mixed in with dirt....

They got about half a cup DE in with about a gsllon of feed... then they got enough in the dirt mixed up where you can tell theres DE in it...


Its food grade so i dont suspect over dose issues... but just in case im wondering.... they are all 2 month to 3.5 month old...

 

[ArcticMermaid]

I have Read mixed reviews about the use of DE. I have seen some say it is easy to overdose them with it in food. I do use it in the coop after cleaning it out. I sprinkle it on the floor then put the straw and pine shavings over it. I also sprinkle it on the birds themselves every couple of months. As far as the dust bath the recipe I found and use is 1 part dirt, 1 part sand, 1 part wood ash, and 1 part DE mixed well.

 

[shortgrass]

For feed, we mix in 2% of weight ration, so per 100 lbs of feed, 2 lbs of DE go in the grain. The elevators put DE in the grain as soon as it comes in from the field as well, so there's already a wee bit in the grain if you're using fresh grain to mix your feed with

For dusting, I keep it on the low side because of the dust, but I probably use a cup in the entire coop when I clean it, twice a year. I just sprinkle a but in each nesting box and maybe a bit in the floor.

DH is asthmatic, so I try not to actually coat the birds; some owners dust them with it, but I just let them dust themselves; I've never really had a need to dust them myself anyway, though

 

[Bridebeliever]

I just read that HUMANS consume food grade D.E. as an anti-parasitic! 1 tbsp per day for a week!! And
You have to drink extra fluid because it's extremely dehydrating...that just scares me!

 

[shortgrass]

I just read that HUMANS consume food grade D.E. as an anti-parasitic! 1 tbsp per day for a week!! And
You have to drink extra fluid because it's extremely dehydrating...that just scares me!

They sure do! Why is that scary? I eat it too; its an amazing organic source of a whole slew of trace minerals that we can't get enough of in our food...

I gave up trying to even convince ANYONE of the anthelmintuc properties if it, because everyone gets so involved with the "it's useless when wet" theory...

Lol its not useless when wet. It's vitamins and minerals, dead sea creatures, good source of calcium

But here's some research of it being used in cattle...

http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S1357729800009206

Here's"pest control"
https://www.google.com/patents/US5439690

And here's some human research...

https://www.google.com/patents/US5089530

https://www.google.com/patents/US4346171

It's not dangerous, its good grade crushed up dead Diatoms


And yes, some ignorant rude people have made fun of me for eating it, but I find it ironic that most people don't know that if they're eating ANYTHING that contains grain, they're already eating DE, because grain is dusted with it at the granary to keep the weevils from hatching in your flour in summer

 

[Bridebeliever]

Oh I don't think anyone is crazy for taking it! I read how good it is and I believe in a good parasite cleanse because I know people can get loaded with them too. I'm just scared of taking the first time for me! I got it on my hands once and couldn't believe how it dried my hands out! What does it feel like I'm the mouth? Does it dissolve in your drink? DE isn't inaffective when it's wet...unless a chicken is trying to dust bath in it! LOL

 

[shortgrass]

Oh I don't think anyone is crazy for taking it! I read how good it is and I believe in a good parasite cleanse because I know people can get loaded with them too. I'm just scared of taking the first time for me! I got it on my hands once and couldn't believe how it dried my hands out! What does it feel like I'm the mouth? Does it dissolve in your drink? DE isn't inaffective when it's wet...unless a chicken is trying to dust bath in it! LOL

Wow, lol, you are the very first person that didn't make fun of me for "trying to kill lung worms" just by using it on my chickens, much less myself lol !)


I'm speechless...almost


We put it in grain when it comes from the field, then we mux it in again when we mix rations, so the animals get it with their grain...

For us, I would mix it into a smoothie, just a teaspoon of so... I betcha I can find a link with a recipe....


Hmmm found info on why not to use anything else but natural...
http://www.inwardbliss.com/howtogetridofwormsinhumans.php

And here we go, perfect

http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2014/01/diatomaceous-earth-homestead.html


Lol I've read if people being more scared of what they might find when they do it, less than taking the actual "medicine" ha-ha

I just figured I live out in the yard with all the exposure, so I self medicate just like the animals; DH prefers to eat an entire jar of pickled garlic over anything else, but I can't stand the smell lol

 

[WildestThing]

Dear Shortgrass,
Your info on DE is from a while ago, but I just wanted you to know I found it really helpful. I have 30 chickens and 8 turkeys. It's very wet here in Hawaii, and especially in their run. I just had a turkey come down an infection. The vet said he also had whip worm, and gave me Panacur to treat it. He is doing much better. She said most likely, the entire flock has whipworm. I'm debating on whether to treat all of them. They seem very healthy, but do have some poopy eggs. I'm going to try the DE in their food to see if it helps.
Thanks!

 

[ChickNanny13]

@WildestThing - Some say DE worms, some say not but I do use it in their Coop, Run, Nest Box & for dusting them (rotating with Poultry Dust & Sevin) for external parasites. Again some say it works, other say not. I read somewhere & know I saw it in the past, it's in Purina's Flock Raiser ingredient list but haven't seen it lately.

I'm in Hilo, it's been VERY WET lately Living in a residential area with neighbors close, I only have 4BOs in my "enclosure". I'm able to keep it dry although one section wicks water from the ground when we get the constant rain but able to keep 3/4 of their 8x12x7 dry.

 

[WildestThing]

Hi ChickNanny! I'm in HPP and our run is wet and muddy now. It doesn't drain very well. The coop is off the ground so it stays dry inside and under it. Now and then I use Permethrin for mites, but haven't seen many lately. I keep their dust bath full of sand, dirt, DE and ashes when I can get them. That's helped a lot with the mites and lice except for the male turkeys who don't dust bathe. Have you ever used Ivermectin for lice? That's my next step for the male turkeys. The lice eat their feathers.