how much diatomateous earth should I use?

[1chicken fan]

Hi Guys,

I have a 8 x 8 chciken coop on a cement slab, I have pine down and wanted to have a area for the chickens to take a dust bath. I found an old drawer that would work for now so I filled it with sand and was going to put some ditomateous earth but not sure how much to use. Any ideas???

Thanks for the input,

Carolyn

 

[LilyAshley11]

Mmm ... get a screen to protect the chicks and put it on the box, the box filled with sand to 1/3

 

[canesisters]

??? uh-oh... I just tossed a scoop full on the sandy/rocky ground and they had a blast scratching and flopping around in it....

Was that a terrible thing to do??

 

[1chicken fan]

I heard the food grade was not dangerous?

 

[cfortier]

Hi there. You didn't mess up. As long as the Diatomaceous Earth is food grade only...you can use it for any and all animals, poultry, livestock - even humans. I use it myself every day (in a glass of water) and drink it down and have done so for 3+ years. I use it for all my animals, dogs, cats, ducks, goats, sheep, horses....you get the point. DE will help to cut down on odor, and keep away bugs with an exoskeleton.

 

[Chickadee30]

Why do you drink it?

I use it for pest control on my dogs and cats. It works pretty well. We still get fleas a little, but no infestations, and NO icky chemicals directly on their skin/spinal area. Yay!

 

[1chicken fan]

Thank you so much !!

 

[KathyJB]

I wonder if that will kill whiteflies?

 

[1chicken fan]

Why do you drink it?

I use it for pest control on my dogs and cats. It works pretty well. We still get fleas a little, but no infestations, and NO icky chemicals directly on their skin/spinal area. Yay!

How do you do it? do you add a certain amount to the food?

 

[azahn]

Make sure it is food grade -- I have a 12 lb hanging feeder, and simply dump in probably 1/2 cup of DE and stir it around with the feed by hand. (not every time I fill it up, maybe once a week). I was putting some in my waterer, but it looked dirty and I quit doing that, but that's just personal preference. The DE I also just sprinkle on the coop and run floor - kinda hit and miss. I don't make a separate dust bath for it, just try to apply it maybe every 3 weeks or so. It should help cut down on fleas, lice and flies, and works internally on the chicks for intestinal worms. I think it's a great preventative. Thus far, I have no mite or other issues with my flock. Friendly for the organic garden, safe. I used it on my carport when I found some black widow spiders.... to my happy surprise, it worked very well. Deceased black widows on the carport floor in the mornings. No more problems!