mites

[tinman9952]

is de powder enough? Can the eggs still be eaten?

 

[tinman9952]

I should have added that i want to keep them organic.

 

[pollysmum]

If you have DE powder it has to be available to the birds at all times... or it doesn't work

You also need to have some of it in the dusting areas the birds use and their feed

As its not a chemical... there is no with holding period

Yes the eggs can still be eaten

If you want to clear the birds of worms.. use a chemical wormer to start them off.. and then continue to give the DE in the feed to keep them as worm free as you can

But some times it doesn't work... for one reason or another and you need to resort to using something stronger..

If fed to the animals, it goes into the droppings.. flies then come and lay eggs in the droppings, when the larvae hatch out the DE cuts though their outer skin causing death, so the fly population slowly reduces

The way it works is
It goes through the gut and nicks the soft skinned larvae of worms and kills them by dehydration then when it comes out in the droppings the flies do the same thing and dehydrate

Chickens 2% in feed, use at full strength in dusting boxes

Some people say use it at 5%, but why waste it, it works perfectly well at 2%

DE is 2% of the feed by weight.

My hoppers each hold 25 pounds of feed, so it's 25 x .02 = 1/2 pound of DE.

A one cup measuring cup holds 5 ounces of DE.
And since you can't over-dose, I just round it off

 

[megshenhut]

Yes, you can still eat the eggs. As for if DE is enough, they will probably have to be dusted several times. Only time will tell, it will probably be a battle to get rid of all the little buggers. The more chickens you have the more bugs, the bigger the task. And the bugs hatch about every 7 days, so you have to keep at it to get rid of everything.

 

[tinman9952]

i couldn't find any food grade DE in my area, and to order it online, the shipping cost more than the product. My local farmers union is tryin to order me some, but in the mean time i broke down and got some permethrin. I hated the idea of using pesticides but was afraid of it getting out of hand. Thank you for providing so much information, and have a great 2008.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

It's always a good idea to provide your chickens with a dust bath of loose, fine soil and/or sand. You can add DE or wood ashes to that, also. Chickens will make their own dust baths, too, but a big loose pile is a lot easier and more effective for them. We have heavy clay here, so I help them out. Mine dust bathe a lot. The only time I have had a problem with mites, was when they didn't have access to a dust bath.

 

[binkey]

Hi, I am new and had the same question about eating eggs when I am treating for mites/lice. I just ordered something called Buhach which is so post to be safe for everyone. Is it? Does anyone know???

 

[silky ma]

DE - food grade only- is great. I ordered mine online from WOLF CREEK RANCH. They are a great resource for all animal info--holistic!!!

FOR WORMS just use fresh diced garlic! For example:
For my 18 silkies I diced up one whole large head added to 3 cups of fully cooked brown rice with a couple of large handfulls of grated and chopped carrots. I just finished the 3rd day of treatment. All is clear. I will wait a few days watch the poop and retreat as needed. I dusted my yard with the DE--food-grade.

Wolf Creek also told me to add APPLE CIDER VINEGAR to their water for respiratory protection.
I had been using ELDERBERRY concentrate for quite some time on all my animals and us for virus control with fantastic results! But this is expensive
for the animals.

 

[pollysmum]

Quote:
this site has some information on it

http://www.jerrybaker.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1658

made from pyrethrum... so that's good

LICE ON CHICKENS
Dust the chickens and sprinkle about the henneries. For caged birds, dust lightly into their feathers.

 

[silky ma]

When a chicken is infected with lice or mites you can do what I did. Bathe them. If you can solicit help you can do this assembly line and get through it fast.
I did it with 10 silkies of all ages including 2 week old chicks and it worked. I had an infestation last summer and filled my garage basin with warm water added liquid ivory soap- 2cups. Do not mix to form bubbles- just to mix into water.
Have towels, veggie oil in small bowl and hair dryer on hand. Carefully dipthem in to their neck-- ( hold their heads out of the water)and a gentle swish back and forth, make sure to allow water to get into all feathers even under wings.-- DONT RINSE!!!
Take care with little ones.
Remove from water ,squeegee their body and place into large towel. As the towel is absorbing the water uncover the vent area and remove all eggs making sure to rinse your hand back in the water a couple of times. After removing eggs take a veggie oil and lube the vent area to smother any eggs. By this time you will need to change to another towel. Blow dry with hair dryer . Leaving the soap on helps to smother anyone who is left.
Place all bathed babes into a clean free zone. Make sure they have a clean dusting area with DE-dirt mix available. Leave them here for the next two weeks while you dust the infested area with DE or spray.
During the the two week time frame check all chicks for re- infestation. If even you suspect one may be infested than definitely repeat bathing sequence. Again wait 2weeks and all should be good. If possible it is good to rotate sleeping areas so you can do a full cleaning.