Is it safe to use lime in the chicken coop?

[gumpsgirl]

Quote:
Leggetts is the store who carried it here. TSC said that they just don't stock it. Figures. I think Brian said it was around $14 or $15 a bag. Higher than other places it sounds like, but they do carry it and we don't really have any other choice!

 

[flytpm]

How much of the Stall Dry and how often would I use it in a 4 ft by 4 ft coop with pine shavings on the floor? I have 4 bantams.

 

[seminolewind]

I use granular lime (home depot , lowe's, etc) for odor. It's great. I do wet it down in the runs. I use it for odor because it's so cheap. If I use a stall product, I use it sparingly cause lime is so cheap. Alot of the stall products work on "wet" waste, urine, etc. So I stopped using it cause chicken poop dries out so fast.

 

[blueundomiel]

Hi, I'm new to this forum, found you guys while trying to work out if it was safe to use lime in my chicken coop.... I'm still confused though, even after reading all the comments. I have hydrated lime at home which I brought to put around my first moveable chicken coop to keep snakes away. They say it burns the snakes belly so it won't cross the lime. But the lime bag has no warning on it and says it is used for lawns, sanitising and deoderising. One reader said that I could not use hydrated lime in the coop, but then others have said the one to use is lawn one etc. I live in Australia so the products may be different - but if anyone can offer some advice - most appreciated. I'm thinking that if the lime I have may burn snakes it could be dangerous for the chickens??

 

[cheraboo]

I am also confused. Can someone please weigh in on this as I don't want to hurt my chickens. We had "garden" lime. The bag also says hydrated and dolomitic. Are we safe?

 

[BigPeep]

I am concerned about the effects of both the DE and the lime on someone with asthma. The DE I believe is harmful if inhaled. I don't know about the lime. I have recently figured out that my great, great grandfather, who built the house we live in out of stone and lime mortars, probably died as a result of mixing the lime mortars. He died in his early 40's right after the house was completed and no one knew why. I have since spoken to a mason and was told that the lime mortars were very caustic on the lungs.

 

[gumpsgirl]

Quote:
I can see how it would be confusing.

The only safe lime to use in your run (I would not use it coop) it the agricultural lime. That is the same stuff they use to mark the baseball fields with here in the USA. Your farm supply store should have it I would think. It is also quite a bit cheaper than regular lime here.

Hope that clears things up for you.

 

[gumpsgirl]

Quote:
My son and husband both have asthma and they have never had any issues around the agricultural lime (I don't use regular lime) or DE. Of course, I gently sprinkle both around (ag. lime in the run and DE in the coop) so I don't cause a dust storm with either and that probably helps things there along with them not being present when either product is being applied.

Regarding your grandfather passing away due to mixing lime mortars. That could very well be a possibility, but the lime that has been deemed safe to use in the chickens runs is not the same as regular lime. It is agricultural and is the very stuff they use to mark baseball fields with. I figure if it is safe enough for children or even adults to role around in, then I'm sure it's fine for the chickens! I sprinkle a nice coating around the run when it's going to rain at night after the chickens are locked in the coop. That way the rain helps it soak into the ground and boy does it help keep the smell down, along with it helping to kill the bacteria that starts to surface after a good rainstorm.

 

[annek]

If stall dri isn't available Sweet PDZ works great too. Our horse suppliers carry that here instead. It is safe for chickens to eat according to their web site, comes in powder or granule and so far I have no smell and no flies in my coop-however when my chickens are in their tractor, that is a different story since I don't use it there. It is around 10.00 for a 40 lb. bag and it lasts about a month for me. I put it in the coop and enclosed run.

I used hydrated lime for my whitewash in the run, but I wouldn't use it anywhere else. It will burn and is very caustic. Do not breath it.

 

[RL]

I use Sweet PDZ. It works pretty well and is non-toxic.

After the very heavy tornado speed winds and rains we had here last week my coop got pretty wet and smelled real bad, the flies were getting plague like. I scoop out the coop and put the PDZ down and mixed it with the pine shavings. Dried it out nicely. All is well, the coop smells good again and the flies are almost gone.

I don't think it has DE in it thought. I'll have to research it a bit more.