Mites and diatomaceous earth

[littlelady1]

can anybody tell me if diatomaceous earth have a life span on it. I have a hen that has totally stopped laying eggs and I have noticed that she has lost a lot of feathers down around her vent and bottom earea . When I picked her up I noticed she was really raw looking and red and noticed a small flea like bug run on her. I totally keep diatomaceous earth in the coop area and in the sand area where they dust bath. I buy it by the 50 lb bag and store it in a plastic container out side by their coop. I go through it in about a month or two. Does this stuff have a life span on it, and did it sound like mites or lice that she has and if anybody has any info it would be greatly appreciated no close avian in this area.

thank you
littlelady1

 

[Chick Charm]

DE works only when it is DRY. High humidity and moisture render it ineffective. It needs to be applied directly on the bird in a full dusting to help with parasites.

You can also use other stuff like sevin if DE isn't working for ya.

Wish ya the best.

 

[richarddhoward]

This is good to know, I use DE a lot, and I had a lice issue recently. It has seemed to help me greatly. I use it in the coupe, and the tractors I have. My layers get to free range my property. So I don't bother with putting it in the dust bath areas.

Have you thought about putting a cat litter box in the coupe or near it that is just full of DE, and you can change it often? I was thinking about this idea myself, for just the reasons stated, it needs to be dry, so I could control where it is. It rains a lot here in the 2 seasons, rain, and not rain season in the PNW, it might help you out.

 

[littlelady1]

Thank you for the response I went today and bought some fresh diatomaceous earth today because it has been raining sooo much here lately that the ground is staying wet and the humidity is so bad here in Florida that I'm sure the diatomaceous earth is probably no good anymore. One other thing I am going to start trying tomorrow is Poultry Nutri-drench. If this a bad idea please let me know. After giving a warm bath to my hen last night she seemed to be moving around a little more today and I also put some fresh diatomaceous earth straight on her body today. Thanks to this web site I have been learning enough to help take care of my small flock. So thank you all so much.

Littlelady1