Question Regarding Diatomaceous Earth

[Keeperoflock]

I went to Rural King and looked for just plain DE but the only thing I could find was Red Lake DE with calcium bentonite. I'm pretty sure it's ok but thought I would ask you DE educated people.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...atomaceous-earth-with-calcium-bentonite-40-lb

This shows it from TSC but I got mine at Rural King. It's the same product, just different stores.

I've read a lot of posts that says to put it into their feed. How much and how often?

 

[TheTwoRoos]

Don’t use ditamicous earth.Its not good for their lungs.Whets your reasoning for using it?

 

[Kessel23]

Don’t use ditamicous earth.Its not good for their lungs.Whets your reasoning for using it?

Food grade diatomaceous earth, I believe, is used as a dewormer in poultry.

 

[Keeperoflock]

Don’t use ditamicous earth.Its not good for their lungs.Whets your reasoning for using it?

Mainly putting it in their nest boxes, dust bath, feed. Prevention mainly. I have 17 8 week olds.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Calcium bentonite is clay left after volcanic eruption. It contains calcium, magnesium, sodium, and other trace minerals. It won't hurt them.

As to DE, there is legitimate concern that it is harmful for chickens to breathe. Birds have very sensitive lungs, and DE is a known respiratory irritant (for both man and beast) due to the silica content. Food grade is better as it has the less harmful type of silica in greater number but still contains the more troublesome type as well. (Pool grade is the worst for inhalation).

DE has very sketchy results as a dewormer. Some studies showed slight worm load improvement in birds who ate DE. Other studies showed birds who ate DE had a heavier worm load.

To remain effective for external parasites, it should remain dry, but that also keeps it air borne. It also has had very mixed results for effectiveness for external parasites.

If you do use it, try to keep it in places that do not allow for air borne distribution.

Because of the known respiratory risk, I personally prefer to use other things such as permethrin dust in the nesting boxes and on the birds.

For worming, there are far more effective things than DE. If you want a preventative, simply mix up pumpkin seeds with cayenne pepper and garlic. Feed several times a week. That will help purge worms but will not prevent a gradual build up as the worms are left alive to be picked up by the next bird. Organic methods require strict litter management to be effective. I also recommend keeping apple cider vinegar in the water to help keep the gut acidified. That won't kill worms but it helps boost the immune system and overall gut flora that keeps worms in check.

Unfortunately, no herbal will treat a worm build up. Once you've got a build up, worming drugs are necessary. Fenbendazole is coming back onto the market for poultry, and it is an excellent choice for deworming.

But with strict litter management and some regular herbals, and limiting wild life access, drug use can be greatly reduced.

Unfortunately, while nice sounding, DE is likely more harmful than helpful.

My thoughts.
Lofmc

 

[steph1200]

I've used it many times, but not very often maybe 2 to 3 times a month on their food, it works as a dewormer (does not work on gapeworm) and helps the control and amount of mites on the chicken if you use it as a dust bath for them. i try not to use it all the time because it can pick up and get in their lungs and can cause respiratory problems (i make sure when i put it in their feed that the DE is settled and not kicking up before giving it to them) If you are going to get DE make sure it is FOOD GRADE!!
https://www.amazon.com/Diatomaceous...eywords=diatamatious+earth+food+grade+organic
This is where i buy mine.

I only use DE as a wormer and if mites to appear then ill put the DE on them myself.

 

[SE_Gardener]

Calcium bentonite is clay left after volcanic eruption. It contains calcium, magnesium, sodium, and other trace minerals. It won't hurt them.

As to DE, there is legitimate concern that it is harmful for chickens to breathe. Birds have very sensitive lungs, and DE is a known respiratory irritant (for both man and beast) due to the silica content. Food grade is better as it has the less harmful type of silica in greater number but still contains the more troublesome type as well. (Pool grade is the worst for inhalation).

DE has very sketchy results as a dewormer. Some studies showed slight worm load improvement in birds who ate DE. Other studies showed birds who ate DE had a heavier worm load.

To remain effective for external parasites, it should remain dry, but that also keeps it air borne. It also has had very mixed results for effectiveness for external parasites.

If you do use it, try to keep it in places that do not allow for air borne distribution.

Because of the known respiratory risk, I personally prefer to use other things such as permethrin dust in the nesting boxes and on the birds.

For worming, there are far more effective things than DE. If you want a preventative, simply mix up pumpkin seeds with cayenne pepper and garlic. Feed several times a week. That will help purge worms but will not prevent a gradual build up as the worms are left alive to be picked up by the next bird. Organic methods require strict litter management to be effective. I also recommend keeping apple cider vinegar in the water to help keep the gut acidified. That won't kill worms but it helps boost the immune system and overall gut flora that keeps worms in check.

Unfortunately, no herbal will treat a worm build up. Once you've got a build up, worming drugs are necessary. Fenbendazole is coming back onto the market for poultry, and it is an excellent choice for deworming.

But with strict litter management and some regular herbals, and limiting wild life access, drug use can be greatly reduced.

Unfortunately, while nice sounding, DE is likely more harmful than helpful.

My thoughts.
Lofmc

I use diatomaceous earth each spring to add along with baking soda to the run after lightly rototilling. It keeps the soil fresh, provides additional mite control for the birds when dust bathing and also add to coop floor with shavings at cleanup/change and also with shavings in the nest boxes. There is NO legitimate research showing the powder can cause respiratory issues no more than for humans. It all started with Gail Damerow, in "The Chicken Health Handbook" where she suggests "particles of diatomaceous earth can stick to chickens' lungs and create respiratory problems.' If she had properly researched her claim she would have learned crystalline silica, not amorphous causes respiratory issues. Products like Red Lake Earth are food grade amorphous diatomaceous earth.

Please adjust your thinking or at least not spread disinformation. This is a simple and easy topic to research. I suggest you do so.

 

[mcdze]

everybody im sure has their own opinion on the subject .. i bought a bag of food grade stuff, high quality, because people were saying its the best thing since dunkin donuts for everything from bugs in the garden to parasites on your birds ... my opinion after trying it for everything several times - get Merke safe-guard to deworm your birds, get Bifen and a pump up sprayer for bugs in your coop, and spray your garden plants off top to bottom with a strong stream of 'water' EVERY morning religiously and it controls bugs on your plants .. the earth stuff ..maybe it helps .. not in a degree that matters much though ..

 

[SE_Gardener]

everybody im sure has their own opinion on the subject .. i bought a bag of food grade stuff, high quality, because people were saying its the best thing since dunkin donuts for everything from bugs in the garden to parasites on your birds ... my opinion after trying it for everything several times - get Merke safe-guard to deworm your birds, get Bifen and a pump up sprayer for bugs in your coop, and spray your garden plants off top to bottom with a strong stream of 'water' EVERY morning religiously and it controls bugs on your plants .. the earth stuff ..maybe it helps .. not in a degree that matters much though ..

You may not like the answer but this isn't opinion, it's fact. You can choose to ignore it and continue with putting chemicals on/in your animals. I have chosen not to.