lime insted of DE

[ellenscub]

I will be raking out my chickens run today. Can I spread out the lime that I have for my yard in there . I don't have any DE. haven't found any yet. I asked about it at my feed store and they looked at me as if I grew another head.

 

[Bawkadoodledoo]

don't use hydrated lime as that will kill the chickens

 

[riderbecky]

Just make sure its says "agricultural" or "garden" lime and that its a powder and your good to go. I actually use both the de and the lime...de for the bugs and lime for the ammonia from chicken poo. Put them in a metal sieve and go for it.

Good luck finding a good source of de. Perhaps printing off some material about the benefits of de and bringing it to your feed store would encourage them to consider bringing in some.

BTW... Welcome to the BYC.

 

[ellenscub]

What I have is "pelletized dolomitic limestone" I bought it to try to get my hygranga ? to bloom pink didn't work

 

[riderbecky]

the dolomitic lime is what you need...mine says granular but is a powder...pelletized...is it in pellet form...if so then you'll need to go to the feed store for the powdered stuff.

The reasoning behind the powder form is that it more easily absorbs moisture to keep the environment dry and ergo...odor free.

 

[bigzio]

Yep garden lime (calcium carbonate) that is the correct one to use. Simply check your label to make sure.

bigzio

 

[SusanJoM]

Quote:
Here's some excellent information on changing the color of your hydrangeas

http://www.vintagegardens.com/hydro_care.html

In case you are still interested in trying.

Susan

 

[Stephen in SoKY]

Just to set the record straight, hydrated lime does NOT kill poultry. It's been used routinely for years as a dessicant, odor controller and premise coccidiostat. If time allows, I aways lime my brooders between batches of chicks. If I were no longer able to obtain hydrated lime, I'd never brood another batch of ducklings. No, I'm not a person who says "I'll keep riding my horse to the blacksmith because that's how I've always done it" either.

Sorry if this came across as rude, but the information given was wrong, but was stated as absolute fact.

 

[Lunachick]

Since this topic has come up - can one use both DE and lime in the run?

 

[nccountrygirl]

Good ? and can you put it down and then let the ckooks on it. I don't want to burn their feet.