Food grade Diatomaceous Earth question...

[clanreed]

There are published short term studies on the efficacy of DE in livestock that show DE to be as effective as anthelmintics(chemical dewormers

Feel free to show us your source.

I'd love to see actual proof instead of hearsay

For any natural product like DE you will find a hard time finding published studies. Who wants to spend millions of dollars and many years of research for a product that cannot be patented and make a pharmaceutical company billions of dollars. There are many "clinical observations"(google search they are very easy to find) as to the effect of DE and some short term studies on the efficacy of DE like the following--

THE INCLUSION OF DIATOMACEOUS EARTH IN THE DIET OF GRAZING RUMINANTS AND ITS EFFECT ON GASTROINTESTINAL PARASITE BURDENS
http://www.mtsylviadiatomite.com.au/mod/files/research/DE_Natural_Dewormer_Study.pdf
The basis: "Two studies were carried out to assess the efficacy of diatomaceous earth as an alternative to anthelmintics in grazing ruminants."
The results: "Inclusion of a specific type of diatomaceous earth in the diet of grazing ruminants may offer some benefits in controlling internal parasites"

All the ones I've seen say it doesn't work

http://www.motesclearcreekfarms.com/asp/articles/DE.asp

This article seems to have more positive references to DE than negative.

According to Anne Zajac, DVM, PhD, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blackburg, VA, “…there have been several studies done by parasitologists in different parts of the country that have found no beneficial effect to feeding it or offering it as mineral.”

If you have links to the the above studies you refer to please post them as I(and maybe others) would find them interesting to read.

I am in no way trying to convince anyone to use DE. My original post was only to share my experiences using DE with my herd, pack and now flock and hope that someone can benefit as I have benefited from reading other peoples experiences with more natural and planet friendly ways to raise our animals.

Take care,
Shannon​

 

[Cpprpnny19]

Food Grade DE when fed to dogs has been proven to "slice up" internal parasites.

If you looked at it under a microscope you can see it's similar to shards of glass. (o:

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Food Grade DE when fed to dogs has been proven to "slice up" internal parasites.

LOL

No, it hasn't

DE kills by dehydrating, and it doesn't work in wet environments​

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

For any natural product like DE you will find a hard time finding published studies

Then you haven't actually seen any?

There are published short term studies on the efficacy of DE in livestock that show DE to be as effective as anthelmintics(chemical dewormers

This is from a company in the business of SELLING DE, and is not conclusive at all.
It's sales hype

THE INCLUSION OF DIATOMACEOUS EARTH IN THE DIET OF GRAZING RUMINANTS AND ITS EFFECT ON GASTROINTESTINAL PARASITE BURDENS
http://www.mtsylviadiatomite.com.au/mod … _Study.pdf
The basis: "Two studies were carried out to assess the efficacy of diatomaceous earth as an alternative to anthelmintics in grazing ruminants."
The results: "Inclusion of a specific type of diatomaceous earth in the diet of grazing ruminants may offer some benefits in controlling internal parasites"

There are not a lot of studies because they learned long ago that ingesting what is chemically "sand" won't do anything to internal parasites.

The sites that claim it does make a living conning folks into believing it will.

It's a fairly good mechanical insecticide, and not much else​

 

[BoltonChicken]

Food Grade DE when fed to dogs has been proven to "slice up" internal parasites.

If you looked at it under a microscope you can see it's similar to shards of glass.

I am afraid that this is not true. The reason it is not true is that once the diatoms come into contact with moisture they absorb the moisture and dissolve. Once wet, DE is no longer effective. So unless you are feeding it to dogs who have no moisture in their digestive systems then DE is completely ineffective as a wormer.

Unfortunately the DE sellers claim all kinds of magical benefits for the product that just isn't there. Even Tractor Supply Company sells the stuff as a wormer, although I cannot find anyone there who seems to actually know what it is, how it works or what it does. The feed mills put it into their feed not as a wormer but as an inert insect killer to keep out the mill bugs.

Now that being said, DE IS very effective in dehydrating insects such as mites, fleas, etc. and thereby killing them. As an internal medicine it is useless. Please read the following:

Diatomite is also used as an insecticide, due to its physico-sorptive properties. The fine powder absorbs lipids from the waxy outer layer of insects' exoskeletons, causing them to dehydrate.[9] Arthropods die as a result of the water pressure deficiency, based on Fick's law of diffusion. This also works against gastropods and is commonly employed in gardening to defeat slugs. However, since slugs inhabit humid environments, efficacy is very low. It is sometimes mixed with an attractant or other additives to increase its effectiveness. Medical-grade diatomite is sometimes used to de-worm both animals and humans, with questionable efficacy.[10][11] It is most commonly used in lieu of boric acid, and can be used to help control and eventually eliminate cockroach and flea infestations. This material has wide application for insect control in grain storage.[12] It has also been used to control bedbug infestations, but this method may take weeks to work.[13]​

 

[NoisyCricket]

From http://www.mtsylviadiatomite.com.au/mod … _Study.pdf

Cattle in the diatomaceous earth group had lower FEC (172 epg) in week 7
than cattle in the control group but this just missed significance.

It is either significant or it is not. The study did not prove it works, even if the authors claim the results show something different.​

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

I've spent a lot of time looking for studies on this topic.

I've found that every site SAYING it works also SELLS DE, and every study done by a UNIVERSITY says there is no proof it kills internal parasites at all.