How and how much DE??

[Sabrinainmiss]

O.K. received my 50 lbs of DE. Now how do you spread it, by hand or what? How much of it do you use? I want it in the coop, nests, and in the run where they dust bathe.

 

[cookinmom]

One nice person here told me how to make a duster by poking holes in the bottom of a coffee can with a nail, and attach a stick to the side for a handle, sticking up. Put the DE in it, put the lid on, and you can shake it up and down with the stick to shake it out. Works kind of like shaking baby powder out of a can. How much comes out at once will depend on how big of a nail you make the holes with.
I don't buy big cans of coffee, so instead I used a large ricotta cheese container (that I do buy!!) and heated up a nail over a candle and poked holes with that. I didn't have a stick, so I just shook it by hand. It took a few minutes, but it wasn't bad. Now I have a nifty little shaker can of DE.

 

[BeckyLa]

I use a large screen collandar I bought at Dollar Tree for spreading in the coop, nest boxs, etc. I just dump some in it and shake it side to side and it spreads nicely. I just put a light coating on everything.

 

[aran]

ok im lost what is the benefit of DE..and is this the same stuff as is in pool filters?

 

[webdawg]

I use the food grade DE and put 1/2 pound in 25 pounds of food.

 

[MrsCountryChick]

Quote:
I don't think it's the same as pool filters, but I dunno either

I 'think' it's for keeping the ammonia smell down in the poo in the floor litter floor in coups.???

 

[gumpsgirl]

Quote:
I don't think it's the same as pool filters, but I dunno either

I 'think' it's for keeping the ammonia smell down in the poo in the floor litter floor in coups.???

NO! The stuff you put in pool filters would be deadly to your flock! DO NOT USE THE POOL KIND!!! The DE that is being discussed here is food grade DE. There is a HUGE difference between the two. The food grade DE has many benefits and can be used for many things. The most common on this forum is to spread in the coops to help dry the chicken poo and keep the coops smell down and fly free. If the chickens consume the DE it prevents the fly's eggs from hatching, therefore giving you a fly free coop! It also works great to keep lice and mites at bay when the chickens are dusted with the food grade DE.

 

[spatcher]

Webdawg it should be a pound and a quarter for 25 pounds and the difference between pool grade and food grade, plain and simple is that the pool grade can kill you and the food grade cant! Simple enough?