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Woah woah woah.... DE is not toxic!!! It is wholly organic and very beneficial for birds.
Organic vs. man made chemicals, I'll always lean towards God's goodness and keep as many chemicals away from my birds/eggs/kids as I can.
Do not inhale DE...its very dangerous to inhale it! Also, DE is a deterrent but not a cure. If you have worms DE will not kill them. Most chickens have worms...its just the way ti is. You can keep them in check by keeping your flock healthy and strong and using the things that prevent worms and lice etc...but that doesnt mean you wont get them and DE will not work as a wormer. This has been studied extensively and the anecdotal idea that DE nicks the body of the worm and kills it, is just not proven.
Im not sure about the use of it for mites etc...and if its any better than plain old sand, ashes from the fireplace or dirt...I use DE quite a bit, but after years of using only "natural" remedies, I lost some birds to very bad worms that had gotten out of control...I had to worm them with everything and it was pathetic how sick they got....
Now I am worming them regularly, using corrid for cocci type problems and using sevin dust and DE for mites.
If you flock starts to die and worms come out of them....well, you need to worm them.
I would use poultry dust with a mask AND eprinex pour on! there is no withdrawal for the pour on and its a great med.
meds come from natural sources in the rain forest or whatever. Its odd to draw a line in this because you stand a chance that you and your kids are eating parasites.
The problem with medicating huge factory flocks is that they give them medicine all the time and the birds never use their own immune systems.
In a small home flock that is wormed regularly and feed good foods, you are just ensuring that the birds are not overcome by parasites....If you are on top of that with the mildest forms of meds regularly, then you will not have to use the stronger things that require withdrawal.
its as if you wouldnt use meds for yourself or your kids because medicines are made from chemicals.....this isnt about giving cows hormones to grow bigger or giving all factory farmed animals meds to fight ever present infection and to produce more....this is just a wellness regimen.
And honestly, If I were eating factory farmed eggs and chicken I would want them to have been medicated because of the disgusting conditions they are kept in...as it is id prefer to not eat than to eat that stuff....but if I do ever because thats all there is, Im glad that there is some antibiotic onboard considering the amount of disease present in that food!
the really important message is that you must use a mask when you spread DE...dont breathe it...its dangerous. And be sure you sue food grade DE and not pool DE...
Good luck!
