Some DE questions...

[noodleroo]

As I recall, it is more of a 'supplement' than a preventative when taken internally. It is not a 'cure'.

As Americans who are sold everything, including pharmacuticals, we forget about the natural ways. Natural ways take longer to work and don't last very long on a shelf so they aren't profitable. You have to think for yourself. The idea of taking supplements is to prepare your body for what might attack it so its ready for the fight, not avoid the fight all together. DE, garlic, ACV; all great for supplements to help a chicken's system work optimally but not 'cures' themselves. They set up conditions that make parasites, bacteria and viruses less likely to take control...

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

And there's a TON of places that say it does work on insects

That's it's only PROVEN "clinical" use, as I also stated.
Other than that, it just absorbs moisture.

DE, garlic, ACV; all great for supplements to help a chicken's system work optimally but not 'cures' themselves

There is no scientific evidence to support that.

DE is indigestible, so it cannot benefit the body in any way.
There are no chemical properties about DE that would make it more beneficial than just eating a handful of sand

Natural diatomaceous earth (dried, not calcined) is regularly used in livestock nutrition research as a source of acid insoluble ash (AIA), which is used as an indigestible marker.

It ONLY has the "Food Grade" rating because it's used as an insecticide in grains used for human and animal consumption.

Diatomaceous earth (pronounced /ˌdaɪ.ətɵˌmeɪʃəs ˈɜrθ/) also known as diatomite or kieselgur, is a naturally occurring, soft, siliceous sedimentary rock

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth​

 

[Tomhusker]

My coop doesn't stink as much when I use DE. That's all I wanted it for.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

My coop doesn't stink as much when I use DE. That's all I wanted it for.

It DOES help keep things dry, which is also how it kills insects (by dehydration)​

 

[anbhean]

Wow, I'm glad I read this thread. I never even knew there were suggestions to feed it to chickens! I bought mine to kill ants and mites. Seems to work great for that so far. But then I only dust with it twice a year and only when the girls are not in the inside run. So.... I can't really attest to other uses.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
LOTS of folks say it is useful for worming.

 

[aprophet]

Quote:
Lime sweetens the smells here.

cheaper too

 

[junebug7334]

I have 48 lbs. of DE just sitting around! Not a huge fan.

 

[QuailQT]

Quote:
I was under the impression that it didn't HAVE to be federally approved because it is Food Grade and natural-NO added/controlled chemicals that need to be approved by the government.

I like to believe that it works. Might not be 100% and (can't be certain about the internal parasites yet, but) I have used on my coop floor/run, in our pig pen and the flies were reduced. I have also taken it myself and given it to my pets and livestock. I don't know for sure that it works that way as well (never took any of my pets (before/after) fecal samples to be tested), but would still like to think so. I thought that the "fossil" kept it's sharp edges regardless of being ground. Would like to think that it would work internally if any nasty parasites were lurking. I think that it would take time to work too, just as antibiotics do. They don't magically cure anything in one day. The powder probably should probably be used daily in small doses to break the cycle of the parasite.


I always believed that DE didn't get the big advertising like the wormer drug companies do, because it's natural.

 

[southerndesert]

We use it in the food... Why? Keeps out the bugs we used to get. Also use it in the dust bathing area, hen house, and nest boxes for same reason and it works. BUT I live in AZ where it is almost always very dry which helps effectiveness of DE. Wet it is pretty much useless I would think as mentioned.