How Much DE (Diatomaceous Earth) Should I Feed My Chickens

[R_Chickens]

Quote:
Yeah, I was hoping to see a response from someone like, "Use x when feeding, use y when treating a surface."


FYI. I did a search of the forum for "diatomaceous earth" and found LOTS of discussion about it. People seem to be strongly opinionated about feeding it or not. For surface areas, just spread some around lightly (a flour sifter seems popular).

Some of the links in the search talk about amounts, but I didn't really find a fixed amt. Hopefully someone who uses it for feeding will chime in...

- JC

 

[smirch9]

Quote:
Actually if you'll look at the topic name, and the question I asked in the first post (the OP), the question on the table is how much to FEED...
"How much DE (diatomaceous earth) should I be feeding? I only have 2 chickens right now so I only put out about 1 lb of food at a time. Would I add a tablespoon, teaspoon, 1 ounce... ? "

But a lot of folks keep pulling the focus to a wide variety of OTHER topics, making it really hard to get a useful answer.
.

I just bought a 50# bag of food grade DE. I am going to feed it to my dogs, horses, cattle, chickens, turkeys, ducks, and quail. What I've learned is that you only want to feed 2% by weight of food grade DE per 100# of feed.

 

[immyjay54]

I feed scratch on dirt floor. I have a 12 X 28 coop, dirt floor. I have the duster that I bought with my DE and I fill it up and dust all my roosts, walls etc. I spray heavily in the nests. I take a 3 lb butter bowl, (shed's spread) and fill it with the DE a couple of times and sprinkle it all over the floor. As they eat their scratch and pick in the dirt, they eat it. I do this just once in a while. No certain amount of time between each application. I've found that it won't hurt them. After all, I take a couple or three tablespoons full every day and it don't hurt me. IF I was feeding a pound or so of feed and was feeding the DE in with the feed, I would probably put 1/4 cup in with that amount of feed. I've never seen any problems with it. Hope this helps.

 

[pepperlady]

I simply sprinkle it on our feed like I would salt on my food. No set amount, just a good shake to "flavor it". I use 1 quart of feed at a time and only a sprinkle of the DE on top. They are always eager for fresh food, so I'm sure they all get some

Hope this helps!

 

[zookeeper15133]

I agree with immyjay54. I mix a 3# coffee can full to 50# of feed as I am pouring it into the can I store my feed in. It should be at least 5%. 3/4 to 1 oz. to a pound of feed. Don't worry about using to much. It wont hurt them in my experience.

The 2% that was mentioned before is as an anticaking agent.

When I make new dust bath, I put 2 or 3 coffee cans sand in the box, then I cover it with 1 coffee can of DE. They eat before they bathe!
I use Red Lakes DE.

 

[Medicine Man]

Quote:
Interesting. Did you not see the OP's link to the study published by a DVM in which DE was used at the 2% inclusion rate? http://www.dirtdoctor.com/Diatomaceous-Earth-with-Poultry_vq265.htm

C.S. Mangen, DVM, San Diego, California

Using two groups of birds with each group consisting of 8,000 white leghorn caged layers in their pullet year which had been producing for five months. After feeding the test group 60 lbs. of diatomaceous earth per 1 1/2 tons of standard mixed feed (17% protein) for 2 1/2 months the following results were observed:

1. There appeared to be less flies around the test group.
2. Droppings are of a drier consistency, making for easier cleaning of the house.
3. 75% less deaths in the test group.
4. A 2-4 case per day increase in egg production by the test group as compared to the control group

Or do you simply feel that strongly that your recommendation of 5% is better? I find it interesting that you're dispensing advice to use 2.5 times that of a veterinarian's recommendation and that you said, "It won't hurt them in my experience." Particularly since your experience is that you just got three chickens a little over a year ago. Am I missing something?​

 

[CarolynF]

Hi Medicine Man....
I didn't see anything in that study that said 2% was optimum, or that the DVM recommended a specific amount. When I read the information it seemed to me that it just happened to be what was chosen for that particular study. Did I miss something? I only cited that study because one of the earlier posts wanted to hear the results of specific, controlled studies by "experts".


Hi zookeeper15133...
Can you explain how/why you chose to use 5%. I believe I saw that on a site that sells it, but I haven't seen anything that actually explains how that number was arrived at. I'm really trying to nail down the hows and whys on DE so would love to find out what you've learned, too.

Thanks All!

 

[Medicine Man]

You're right, Carolyn...I wish I could find a study in which they used several different groups fed at various inclusion rates. I've found such studies for nearly everything but DE. Everything I've seen for DE so far has been done with a test group at 2% and a control group with zero.

Here's one considerably more in-depth than the previous: http://www.poultryscience.org/psa09/abstracts.pdf

268P Effect of diatomaceous earth on internal parasites of freerange,
organic laying hens. D. C. Bennett*, Y.-J. Rhee, A. Yee, and K.
M. Cheng, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Parasitic infections can have a significant detrimental impact on freerange
poultry production, but organic farming regulations do not allow
the routine use of pesticides to control parasitism. Therefore, there is
a need for an effective and safe method of treatment. One proposed
treatment is the use of diatomaceous earth (DE). The purpose of this
study, therefore, is to evaluate the effects of DE on internal parasites of
free-range organic layer hens. Day old pullets of two commercial egg
laying strains (Bovan brown, Lohmann brown) were reared indoors
until 11 weeks of age, and then transferred to hen-houses with access to
outdoor range. Birds were initially fed a certified organic grower mash,
which was replaced with a certified organic layer mash at 18 weeks
of age. Starting at 16 weeks of age, half the hens of each line began
receiving these diets supplemented with 2 % diatomaceous earth. Body
mass, and egg production and quality were monitored throughout the
experiment. Parasitic load was assessed by bi-weekly fecal egg counts
(FEC) performed on 40 individual hens (10 hens/diet/strain) at bi-weekly
intervals between 16 and 28 weeks of age. These hens were sacrificed
between 33 and 38 weeks of age, and their trachea and gastrointestinal
tract examined for the presence of helminthic parasites. DE had no effect
on the number of hens infected, FEC, or worm burdens. However, body
mass and egg production were greater in hens consuming the DE diets.
These hens also laid larger eggs with thicker shells. The results of this
study suggest that there is no evidence that DE is an effective treatment
to control gastrointestinal parasitic infections of free-range laying hens.
However, DE as a feed ingredient may maintain body mass, increase
egg production and improve egg quality in free range laying hens fed
an organic diet.

edit: I have not yet found any study in which they've used a group on 5%. Anyone? Bueller?​

 

[zookeeper15133]

Quote:
CarolynF,
I got the 5% from http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/diatomaceous_earth.html

Here is an excerpt of their recommended dosages.

HOW WE FEED FOOD GRADE DIATOMACEOUS EARTH TO SICK PETS OR THOSE WITH WORM INFESTATIONS

Thankfully, natural DE is not a "poison", but a natural method of eliminating parasites by dehydrating them. Since parasites are a major cause of dis-ease in everyone - human, plants, and animals, as well as the other great benefits of feeding natural DE, we immediately feed DE to all rescues or client animals (infested or not, as most often they have parasite issues and the DE will help strengthen their immune systems, get them healthier more quickly, detox heavy metals, provide 15 minerals, and eliminate any worms they may have). Our DE feeding protocol for worm infestations can be given once or twice per day as follows:

Kittens - 1/2 to 1 teaspoon
Cats - 2 teaspoons twice/day
Puppies less than 10 lbs. - 1/2 to 1 teaspoon
Puppies 10 to 19 lbs. - 2 teaspoons
Dogs 20 to 50 lbs. - 1 to 1.5 tablespoons
Dogs 50+ lbs. - 2 tablespoons
Dogs 100+ lbs. - 3 to 4 tablespoons
Cattle, Dairy Cows, & Hogs - 2% of dry feed ration & Free Choice
Chickens - 5% in feed & Free Choice
Goats & Sheep - 2-3 tbsps. per 100#'s of body weight & Free Choice
Horses - 1 to 2 cups in daily ration
*Humans - 2 to 3 heaping tablespoons daily (1 tbsp. AM, 1 tbsp. PM)

Here is another link to dosage. This is for Red Lakes, the brand I use. http://www.futralsfeedstore.com/catalog/item/8105057/8810412.htm

I add it to their feed as I get the feed. They will also eat it free choice. When I refill their dust baths, (3 parts sand, 1 part DE) I put the DE on top. They eat before they bathe.

Medicine Man,

Or do you simply feel that strongly that your recommendation of 5% is better? I find it interesting that you're dispensing advice to use 2.5 times that of a veterinarian's recommendation and that you said, "It won't hurt them in my experience." Particularly since your experience is that you just got three chickens a little over a year ago. Am I missing something?

Above you will find some of my reference material. I spent a lot of time researching it before I started using it.
I started out with 3 chicks. I now have close to 50.​

 

[Medicine Man]

Interesting sources of info. It's all good, we're all just looking to do the best we can for our peeps.