Scratch & Peck Now Contains Diatomaceous Earth In Their Feeds

[Batzilla]

Hello! Would you please link to this item that lists DE in the ingredients? I use S&P starter mash, and was very content continuing to stick with the company for the future (organic, non-gmo, non-plastic packaging)... Now I am concerned after reading your post. But I can't seem to find DE listed anywhere on their online ingredient list. I also tried googling it and can't find anyone mentioning a change of recipe. Is it on the bag or listed on the website? Thanks!

I had seen it on their website the day I posted back in February and I should have take a screenshot. I remember looking at my bag and then at the ingredients on their website and saw the DE on the website. I just went and checked the ingredient list on their website just now and I don’t see the DE anymore. It do remember it was in the middle of the list and it bugged me enough to post here.

If it really isn’t in there, that will make me very happy!

 

[FeatherAndBloom]

I had seen it on their website the day I posted back in February and I should have take a screenshot. I remember looking at my bag and then at the ingredients on their website and saw the DE on the website. I just went and checked the ingredient list on their website just now and I don’t see the DE anymore. It do remember it was in the middle of the list and it bugged me enough to post here.

If it really isn’t in there, that will make me very happy!

I have reached out to their customer service team with the question and will let you know what they say! Lets hope its not in there!

 

[Batzilla]

I have reached out to their customer service team with the question and will let you know what they say! Lets hope its not in there!

Yes, please let me know what they say. I am on my last bag of layer and I would really like to continue with S&P. I know a lot of people are ok with DE, but I just don’t feel it is a necessary additive.

 

[Debbie292d]

I am not convinced of any of these claims and I know DE can be a respiratory irritant. Seeing that feed is dusty enough as is, I don’t like the idea of added DE in my feed. Chickens have very different respiratory systems than mammals and while there have been studies that show mammal lungs can clear food-grade DE easily, I am not convinced on chicken air sacs being able to do so. I just feel it is an unproven, unnecessary additive that everyone is jumping on due to popularity among influencers and hearsay and I am disappointed to see it in S&P feeds.

I've used it in my macaw parrot cages for over 20 years to keep fruit flies down. We've had chickens for 8+ years, so use it in their coop and in the growout pens. It's in the Kalmbach's Flock Maker crumbles we feed baby chicks all the way up to adults. Our flock is all Silkies.

We don't throw it in the air. I suppose if someone did, that'd cause problems. I have giant parmesan cheese containers I got from Sam's Club. I kick the chickens out, and sprinkle it everywhere including the nest boxes.

 

[tlcmurphy]

If something’s labeled as food grade, that means it’s used somewhere for people food. My understanding is DE is only approved if eaten (edited)

 

[tlcmurphy]

If it’s food grade it can be added to food. I don’t know of any instances, but googling it can be concerning

 

[Debbie292d]

If it’s food grade it can be added to food. I don’t know of any instances, but googling it can be concerning

My understanding is DE is only approved if inhaled

But you said this, and I'm assuming it's a typo as DE is not approved to be inhaled.

 

[tlcmurphy]

That's confusing lol. Do you mean only approved if eaten?

Yes, sorry. I meant not inhaled

 

[FeatherAndBloom]

I've used it in my macaw parrot cages for over 20 years to keep fruit flies down. We've had chickens for 8+ years, so use it in their coop and in the growout pens. It's in the Kalmbach's Flock Maker crumbles we feed baby chicks all the way up to adults. Our flock is all Silkies.

We don't throw it in the air. I suppose if someone did, that'd cause problems. I have giant parmesan cheese containers I got from Sam's Club. I kick the chickens out, and sprinkle it everywhere including the nest boxes.

Using it in the coop to keep it dry makes sense to me, but I would prefer to keep it out of the food. I am currently researching if I want to include it in the dust baths on the regs or just as a mite treatment, mostly because of the potential impact on our garden ecosystem and other insect life. I would rather attract some good insects for the chickens to eat than kill them all indiscriminately. Sounds like best case is to use it very intentionally with care!

 

[Batzilla]

If something’s labeled as food grade, that means it’s used somewhere for people food. My understanding is DE is only approved if eaten (edited)

My concern is that even the food grade DE can contain silica, and chicken feed is *always* dusty. Which means the chickens are going to be inhaling DE. Now, the studies show that mammalian lungs can get rid of food grade DE pretty quickly, but chickens have air sacs, not lungs, which do not have the same ability to quickly remove any dust or particles that they inhale. Mammals have cilia which is always moving and pushing particles out and then we cough it out. Birds don’t work that way, they use their immune system’s macrophages to go in and basically eat the particles to get rid of them, and birds in general do not tolerate breathing in many of the same things mammals do.

DE in chicken feed is probably used for anti-caking properties, but I just don’t like it in such a dusty environment where chickens are sticking their faces and inhaling it. They have enough issues with dusty areas, why add something additional to their food that has the potential to cause issues, even a small potential?