NY chicken lover!!!!

[Gramma Chick]

Anyone Looking for chicken borders ? they have some at real deals
..Pattern :. Warner cup3341 10 inches high
Dont take them all before I get there ...LOL

 

[Gramma Chick]

I don't use DE and I looked the ones I recently culled carefully for bugs, None. I try to keep a pile of wood ash in there coop, I have a outside wood boiler that produces lots of it but only run it in the winter. I can't say that this is why 'no bugs' but I hope it helps. Some people swear by DE and have good things to say about it. All I know is it is not good for using the 'deep litter method'
I dont use DE either ...Wood ash works too ! My chickens prefer just regular dirt ...never had any bugs either ..3 1/2 years .
I also use Deep litter ...mine on a dirt floor... I love they way the bedding breaks down to dirt ...compost

 

[Beer can]

Just to add to that little 'rant', I've mixed a lot of concrete and mortar rebuilding my garage and thinset redoing our bathroom in tile, never would have gave it a thought before, just dumping the bags kicks up dust, don't breath it in wear a dust mask. I had a young girl at work in the lab mention how great her husband was doing in cutting bluestone, told her about my dad, scared him so bad she said he now wears a painters respirator in the quarry, Lol!
NY State has the best bluestone in the world if you didn't know.

 

[Beer can]

I dont use DE either ...Wood ash works too ! My chickens prefer just regular dirt ...never had any bugs either ..3 1/2 years .
I also use Deep litter ...mine on a dirt floor... I love they way the bedding breaks down to dirt ...compost

I put wood ash in when I can, but mostly dirt dust baths for mine also, that's why I don't say ashes work, maybe it's just the dirt? Dirt floor here also, on both coops, dad had a huge coop with a wood floor deep litter it worked good also and never rotted out.
I just put a foot deep or more, probably more it was a lot, tree leaves this fall in the big coop to add to the bedding. Can't tell I even did it now they have it all shredded up and worked into the litter. Nice as the weather has been I have thought of adding more, still have plenty.

 

[HISIRISHGEM]

DE - if I understand the way DE works ...no reason to put it in the food ..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth
http://www.richsoil.com/diatomaceous-earth.jsp
Diatomite is used as an insecticide, due to its abrasive and physico-sorptive properties.[8] The fine powder absorbs lipids from the waxy outer layer of insects' exoskeletons, causing them to dehydrate. Arthropods die as a result of the water pressure deficiency, based on Fick's law of diffusion. This also works against gastropods and is commonly employed in gardening to defeat slugs. However, since slugs inhabit humid environments, efficacy is very low. It is sometimes mixed with an attractant or other additives to increase its effectiveness. Medical-grade diatomite has been studied for its efficacy as a de-worming agent in cattle; in both studies cited the groups being treated with diatomaceous earth did not fare any better than control groups.[9]

it works good on the outside but should be used with care
as it can be toxic to breathe in
Inhalation of crystalline silica is harmful to the lungs, causing silicosis. Amorphous silica is considered to have low toxicity, but prolonged inhalation causes changes to the lungs.[22] Diatomaceous earth is mostly amorphous silica, but contains some crystalline silica, especially in the saltwater forms.[23] In a study of workers, those exposed to natural DE for over 5 years had no significant lung changes, while 40% of those exposed to the calcined form had developed pneumoconiosis.[24] Today's common D.E. formulations are safer to use as they are predominantly made up of amorphous silica and contain little or no crystalline silica.[25]

Interesting! Well, I found from "Becky's Homesteading" that it can be used in chicken food, dog food and cat food to deworm your pets. This is of course food grade I speak of. Apparently I've heard that food grade is are ady used in many of our food already. I read there are two types. The food grade in it's simplest form is supposed to be safe for human consumption. I'm wondering What input you and BEERCAN have concerning the food grade or doesn't it really matter?

Here's the video from Becky's Homestead:

As far as the CD's go, my husband said he read where they were used to keep them occupied. They are attracted to the reflection like in mirrors. I don't know how true it is, so we thought we'd try them along with the cabbage tetherball idea that was mentioned in here. They LOVE the tetherball. If in fact the hanging CD's actually detract them from entertainment I will chuckle a little bit.

 

[Beer can]

Interesting! Well, I found from "Becky's Homesteading" that it can be used in chicken food, dog food and cat food to deworm your pets. This is of course food grade I speak of. Apparently I've heard that food grade is are ady used in many of our food already. I read there are two types. The food grade in it's simplest form is supposed to be safe for human consumption. I'm wondering What input you and BEERCAN have concerning the food grade or doesn't it really matter?

I can say there is 'facts' that prove DE is safe and works and 'facts' that say it doesn't and isn't.
DE works by being super sharp and cutting up worms/parasites. What does it do to their innards then? Only cuts the worm but not the intestines?
DE also dries them out, impossible in the digestive system system that is 99% water.
I don't worm my chickens, my father never heard of it and never had any problems in decades of chickens. I think a good strong immune system prevents them?

This woman has links, references, to all claimed 'facts',

http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0LE...isk.html/RK=0/RS=Dpp1LKKQWEdZeO7LvXDV52bxVHM-

http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0LE...ous.html/RK=0/RS=8sp467O7S96c_6R5zSySG8Ac.2w-

 

[Pyxis]

Since we're on the subject of DE I just wanted to share what I've learned. Personally I don't use it. To be effective it needs to come into direct contact with the bug that you're trying to kill, and in high enough amounts that there's enough of it to dry the bug out, since that's how it kills. So putting it in the bedding of your coop might kill any creepy crawlies in it - if you put enough in there that coming into contact with it will kill them by drying them out.

Which raises another issue - if you put that much in there, it's going to be dusty. Since DE is so dry, breathing it in dehydrates your lungs, which is not a healthy thing and is very irritating, especially for chickens that this time of year spend upwards of 12 hours in the coop during the dark times. And getting it anywhere on the body causes severe dryness - go ahead and spread some on your hands and see what I mean. Then tell me if you think it would be comfortable to spread it all over your body like you'd have to do to a chicken to kill any parasites they have living on them.

You can use it to worm, but very little DE is absorbed into the bloodstream so it needs to come into contact with anything that it's going to kill directly, and it doesn't stay in the body to keep killing and is passed very quickly, so you'd have to have in the food at all times to really be any help. Feeding it to them won't kill anything they have in their feathers, nor will it kill any bloodsucking parasites it doesn't come into direct contact with.

Plus, it doesn't kill eggs. So while you can use it to kill whatever it can touch on them and in them, it's not going to kill any eggs and they're just going to pick it back up again when they ingest the eggs or the eggs that were laid in their feathers hatch, etc. There's no way to stop this except to just be constantly treating and hope that it's killing whatever they do have.

 

[boskelli1571]

Since we're on the subject of DE I just wanted to share what I've learned. Personally I don't use it. To be effective it needs to come into direct contact with the bug that you're trying to kill, and in high enough amounts that there's enough of it to dry the bug out, since that's how it kills. So putting it in the bedding of your coop might kill any creepy crawlies in it - if you put enough in there that coming into contact with it will kill them by drying them out.

Which raises another issue - if you put that much in there, it's going to be dusty. Since DE is so dry, breathing it in dehydrates your lungs, which is not a healthy thing and is very irritating, especially for chickens that this time of year spend upwards of 12 hours in the coop during the dark times. And getting it anywhere on the body causes severe dryness - go ahead and spread some on your hands and see what I mean. Then tell me if you think it would be comfortable to spread it all over your body like you'd have to do to a chicken to kill any parasites they have living on them.

You can use it to worm, but very little DE is absorbed into the bloodstream so it needs to come into contact with anything that it's going to kill directly, and it doesn't stay in the body to keep killing and is passed very quickly, so you'd have to have in the food at all times to really be any help. Feeding it to them won't kill anything they have in their feathers, nor will it kill any bloodsucking parasites it doesn't come into direct contact with.

Plus, it doesn't kill eggs. So while you can use it to kill whatever it can touch on them and in them, it's not going to kill any eggs and they're just going to pick it back up again when they ingest the eggs or the eggs that were laid in their feathers hatch, etc. There's no way to stop this except to just be constantly treating and hope that it's killing whatever they do have.

Agreed! I used to use it as an insecticidal, but then read up on it. It's use is quite limited, plus it's mined in open strip pits - which is terrible for the environment.

 

[rancher hicks]

I don't use DE and I looked the ones I recently culled carefully for bugs, None. I try to keep a pile of wood ash in there coop, I have a outside wood boiler that produces lots of it but only run it in the winter. I can't say that this is why 'no bugs' but I hope it helps. Some people swear by DE and have good things to say about it. All I know is it is not good for using the 'deep litter method' (I thought that was the only way until BYC, never heard of 'poop boards' and cleaning coops, Lol!) so I don't use it.
Silicosis!!! My dad has it! Not something to mess around with, if you use DE, or ANY concrete products, thinset mortar etc, wear a dust mask when mixing! Dad has it from yrs of working in bluestone quarries, I worked in them for many years also, no dust mask, cut off saw, tracer saw, kicking up dust like a huge cloud of smoke, heck you just cough and snot it out right? Nope! He started getting light headed, passing out almost, went to the hospital, doc said he had silicosis, stone dust has clogged his lungs. He asked 'well can't you just flush it out?' Nope, said the stone dust was like concrete in his Alveoli (air sacks) in his lungs, depleted lung function, lack of sufficient oxygen for the rest of his life. Dad uses water on his score saw now, always used water on the big block saw anyways, but not very often on the score saw, makes a muddy mess, sucks dragging the little water hose around, but no dust. He'll cut rock until he dies I figure, I miss it and would love to get back into it, I'm seventh generation bluestone quarry from my mom's side, lots of $ in it, great to be self employed, but the wife thinks a guaranteed paycheck weekly and health ins. is worth more than my happiness, Lol!

I intend to do both DE AND wood ashes. I figure I'd do it all and maybe it will keep the cooties away. I'm getting ready to toss some Peat moss in the run. That keeps things soft and workable for them to dust in too.

Just putting this out there. I've bought flannel shirts at different places but so far I like the cheaper ones from TSC. The large seems not to shrink so much. Yes I know I'm fatter but still the large at TSC seems to work. I do howoever wonder why they had them for $8.99 BEFORE black friday but glad they did. In either case they're pretty good for the price.

I'm old now so I'm at the flannel stage.

 

[akaruby]

My DH finished brewing his second beer tonight and all Christmas decorations are up. Finally got around to getting everything for making my own chicken feed and it's a success! Tomorrow the girls will get some spent grains from brewing the beer...hope it's a hit!