INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[bradselig]

I have always used DE as I read all the wonderful things its supposed to do. Here recently, I just noticed a few of my birds in the free ranging lock have mites (GROSS!). So for me, it didnt do anything for me and won't be purchasing it anymore. I have read wood ash (like he ashes from burning wood) are great o prevent mites and will be trying that as a preventative. In the mean time, I'm using Sevin dust and if this doesn't work ill be using eprinex (I believe that's what t is called) as it is an ivermectin the product but has not withdrawl periods.

 

[ellymayRans]

Anyone use D.E. I was beginning to think I'd never find any but TSC carries some mixed with calcium bentonite I'm going to try it out

I do and love it! WHATEVER you do with it be sure to wear gloves. Trust me you will regret it if you don't

 

[bloonskiller911]

we use wood ashes. usually once a year i burn brush in the "yard" and just let them have at it. they dust in it all year long or i scoop more as i burn off other brush. never had lice or mites. knock on wood.

 

[Mother2Hens]

Welcome kristiG~ I've bought food grade DE at TSC. You can probably find better deals online. I occasionally put a little in their food, which some say prevents worms. I also use it in their Spa area-- haha-- a part of the coop that they like to use for baths. I use a mix of dirt, DE, wood ashes, and sand. I've had my little flock for a year, and haven't had any parasite problems.

vickichiki~ You are quite a bird expert! I think the bird species that I see occasionally fly over is an Egret. I only recognized it because my Dad had a sailboat during my childhood and he named it Egret, "a white water bird." I have never been a bird person myself, but my husband and I have noticed that the older we get, the more interested in birds we are. haha My favorites are woodpeckers, and occasionally we see a pileated one on our deck, which is really exciting.

toofast~ Nice coop! I wish mine had a window. I just have a peephole! It does help that the roof on ours is made of clear, corrugated plastic that lets the sun in.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Anyone use D.E. I was beginning to think I'd never find any but TSC carries some mixed with calcium bentonite I'm going to try it out

This is just my opinion and some of it is based on "logic" so my "logic" may be proven wrong!

When I first started w/chickens I kept hearing everyone getting DE and putting it in the bedding, in the feed, etc. So..I got some.

Then I started doing some reading and I decided to QUIT USING IT except in 1 application since I already had some sitting here.

So...here's my thoughts after reading some and trying to figure this all out.

IN THE DEEP LITTER:
I wanted to have a good microbial flora going on in the deep litter due to the health benefits. I got to thinking that if I put something in the litter that was going to kill some things - it might kill the good things too. Now I have to say that I'm not 100% sure that is good logic but it seems right to me. So I don't use it in the litter. Here are a couple articles you can read that might help you make that decision:
This one is from some of the oldest research on benefits of deep litter: http://www.plamondon.com/faq_deep_litter.html

This on has 3 parts and the link to each part is at the top of the article. You'll want to read all 3: http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Deep-Litter-1.html

Now I don't use anything in the deep litter except for the litter material. When I need to remove some, I only take out about 1/2 - 2/3 of it then start putting new in again.

IN THE FEED
Again, after spending some time researching, I think folks have made a mistake on the WHY you'd put it in chicken feed. It seems that folks think that it will help deter worms in the intestinal tract. But...that seems to be misunderstanding as it's supposed to lose it's "sharp edges" as soon as it gets wet. Of course the digestive tract would be wet.

So...what I found was that the real reason that it was put into feed was to deter weevils from hatching in the feed. (A weevil is: any of numerous beetles of the family Curculionidae, which have the head prolonged into a snout and which are destructive to nuts, grain, fruit, etc. from Dictionary.com) DE was commonly used in bags of grain for this purpose. But it was not for the purpose of nutrition to the animals that were going to eat it - it was to kill any beetle larva that hatched before it could consume and ruin the feed.

Since I had some DE around I have been putting it in the top of my 50 lb bags of feed and whole grains and shaking it down into the feed. I have not had any weevils hatch since doing that.

DUST BATH
I had not tried it in the dust bath because I was thinking (again, just my thoughts) that anything that has the microscopic sharp edges probably wouldn't be the best thing to be inhaling into the lungs. In addition, everyone I knew who was using it in dust baths were getting lice and mites anyway

Then I read about the wood ash and have used that in my dust bath ever since. From what I understand, people have used that at least since the beginning of the last century (and surely longer

) and that if the chickens can find an old fire pit on their own, they'll seek it out and dust in it. I've read some really dramatic results from folks who do use it.

I've never had lice or mites so I don't know about treatment after that fact (although I know folks who have) so I can't comment from experience. For me, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure so I've used it in the dust bath since learning about it. So far so good.

Here's another article that shows the building of an indoor dust bath for winter. http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Dustbox.html
(Or any time of year if you have somewhere to keep it from getting rained on!)

For inside (this winter) I bought a rubbermaid-type storage container that has the low sides and used that. I also use the peat moss w a small amount of wood ash mixed in. They ABSOLUTELY LOVE that stuff and fight to get into it first.

Here's a photo of mamma and the babies in the winter dust box rubbermaid thingie:



THE SHORT ANSWER:
I only use it in the whole grain bags and dry feed bags to prevent weevils.

Sorry for such a LOOOOONNNNNGGGGG answer!


ETA to add link I forgot to put in!

 

[oldrooster]

Got back from the new Rural King in Bloomington, I really liked the looks of it, needs a little bit more to work out the kinks of the layout but I am sure they will tweek it to make it look better.. It really does not look like an old wal-mart on the inside, it looks like a remodeled big box store a little generic looking but as I said they will tweek it and make it look more like a RK I am sure, and I really liked how they had they chicks penned up, I could tell the guy working the dept. didn't know squat about chicks, but they where reasonably labeled (if you looked in the right spaces) and the chicks where in LOCKED bins, no way to mix them up or harm the little peeps, luckly I was not prepared for any new peeps so I never had the desire to get some little ones.... BTW they had a stack of old pallets out front if anyone is in the Bloomington area I'd ask if you need some extra wood for projects because it looked like they where tossed out and unwanted, not neatly stacked like they where going to send them back or re-use them. the outside of the building looks fair, new paint but ypu can tell it was a wally world due to the design and they haven't had time to switch out old signage on the light poles for walmart security cameras and they needed some attention to shrubbery and such there....

 

[bradselig]

Excellent post Leah's mom! That sums up what I think as well. I really wish i could do the deep litter method. I have not heard one bad thing about it.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Excellent post Leah's mom! That sums up what I think as well. I really wish i could do the deep litter method. I have not heard one bad thing about it.

What is keeping you from trying it?

 

[oldrooster]

Excellent post Leah's mom! That sums up what I think as well. I really wish i could do the deep litter method. I have not heard one bad thing about it.

this thread is about a coop plan where it is set up for a deep liter method and it tells you how to do it. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-cheap-good-looking-predator-proof-not-stinky

 

[bradselig]

What is keeping you from trying it?

I converted a shed into my coop, so it has a wood floor. I'd rather not rot out the floor, thus having a piece of commercial rubber roofing over the floor. From what I have read, DLM des best when you have soil underneath the bedding.