Is a dust bath necessary if you have a deep litter coop?

[gtaus]

I am getting ready for my next project, a dust bath. However, before I start, I want to make sure I'm not wasting my time. My coop has a deep litter system of primarily wood chips (4-6 inches deep). Currently, the 10 week old chicks will dig a hole in the wood chips and make their own dust bath. I was thinking about putting a small cement mixer pan in the coop with sand and some DE. But is it necessary, or at least a good idea, given the chickens already make their own dust bathes in the wood chips? Thanks for any feedback.

 

[DallasLoneStar]

I dont think deep litter with wood chips will provide the bug killing / suffocating benefit of a dust bath.

I have sand in the run and sand / PDZ in the coop. I have a kids sandbox (one of those plastic ones with a
lid) with a mix of top soil, sand, and DE and they like it a lot.

Learned the hard way to need really good drainage after having a dust soup after a storm. Drilled a ton of holes in the bottom then put river pebbles down, pea gravel, then the dust mix on top.

 

[Fishkeeper]

Milk is food grade, but inhaling milk into your lungs would be really bad for you. Plus, not everything that's sold should actually be sold. Food-grade activated charcoal isn't technically bad for someone, but will absorb any oral medications they've recently taken, including life-saving meds and birth control. Scented pads and tampons exist, but, without going into details, can cause someone serious issues. Essential oils can be hazardous if not diluted properly, and many are toxic to pets, but they don't mention that on the bottle most of the time.
And animal supplies have it worse! Hamster balls are stressful and dangerous for hamsters. Rawhide treats for dogs can be a major choking hazard. Heck, you can go buy a goldfish bowl right now, even though goldfish grow to be longer than most of those bowls are wide. The human-related FDA is bad enough about regulations, animal regulations are worse-to-nonexistent. Things can be sold for a purpose without actually being good for that purpose.

You don't need DE, anyway. Just give them dust that includes wood ash, and it'll be fine enough to suffocate the parasites. Heck, regular dusty dirt would help. Plus they like it.

 

[AmyJane725]

I wouldn't recommend DE as a dust bathing medium (or using it in general). The particles are really fine and they're an inhalation hazard.

 

[royal willow farm]

I wold give them some dirt for a dust bath over the summer they need it to cool them of!!!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I don't understand that because almost everyone recommends using DE. In fact, there is even a food grade DE. I can't remember what the local farm store carries, but I think it's labeled livestock DE. I can't imagine them selling DE for livestock if it is an inhalation hazard!?

Some people believe in using it, some people don't. It's so fine that it's a possible respiratory irritant, yet others have no issue using it. So up to you to decide how "safe" it is.

My feed store carries it and many pet stores carry it, but after having bought a bag, I ended up using it as ant deterrent. I really don't like how super fine it is and there's other good materials for use in a dust bath that don't seem to have the same amount of warnings attached to it.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Actually wood ash is great bug control they love it I have no floor in 2 coops they do dust bathes any place they want

 

[trumpeting_angel]

I tried DE last year to attack the armies of ants that invaded the house. I sprinkled it liberally in all the recommended places. It’s supposed to work because its sharp edges cut the insects as they crawl over it. It seemed to have approximately zero effect.

I’ve seen people recommend putting it in water to kill unwanted pests. Now really. If you have anything powdered, what happens when it gets wet? That’s what happens to DE.

If there’s something worse than our retail environment for creating markets for things that are bad, it’s YouTube. And the internet in general, I suppose.

People say they’ve used DE in the coop and had no problems. Well, sure. I’ve inhaled exhaust on a city street at rush hour and had “no problem.” There! Nothing to worry about! Sorry. I get sarcastic when research is ignored and “it worked for me” is given great credence.

ETA: Sorry for ranting. This kind of thing gets me going.

 

[AltonaAcres]

My chickens are free range, and they always find somewhere to dust bathe.

 

[AmyJane725]

I don't understand that because almost everyone recommends using DE. In fact, there is even a food grade DE. I can't remember what the local farm store carries, but I think it's labeled livestock DE. I can't imagine them selling DE for livestock if it is an inhalation hazard!?

Believe me, I'm not trying to be an alarmist or anything. When I first joined this site I saw tons and tons of threads where people were saying how great DE is, and I was going to buy some, but then I did some more research/talked to some more people and it's apparently not very safe. (And I am referring to the food grade stuff. It's fine to eat, but breathing it is bad). The particles are very fine and stay suspended in the air for a long time. Birds and humans alike can get sick from breathing it in. Here's a thread I made about it back when I was newer and trying to figure out if I should use it or not. Take from it what you will. To me it's not worth the risk. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/sweet-pdz-vs-de.1297731/