Stall dry? Is it safe?

[mangled]

We use Sweet PDZ in the run constantly this time of year. We used it last year, it says it's safe for all animals.

It does greatly improve the odor up there. Phew! We have had so much wet weather, it's been impossible to get the run dried out. The Sweet PDZ, which I believe is just like the Stall Dry, takes the odor right down.

I cannot wait for some sun!
Em

 

[rubysmom]

What is AG lime? Can they eat that?

 

[SeaChick]

I called the company directly (can't recall it it was Stall Dry or Sweet PDZ, though...) and they assured me it was fine to use in a chicken coop.

For what its worth!

 

[rubysmom]

Thanks Sea Chick

Are those two products the same?

 

[curliet]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=483040


"Hydrated lime is sold in feed stores, lumber stores, etc. and is a finely powdered cooked limestone that is slightly caustic. Not anywhere near as caustic as quicklime, but a little. It has uses around poultry:
As a litter amendment. The original deep-litter bedding system for poultry involved stirring hydrated lime into the litter at the rate of ten pounds per hundred square feet of henhouse. You just scatter it over the top and then stir it in with a hoe or turn the litter over with a spading fork. It reduces the amount of caking, makes the litter seem a lot drier, and is hostile to coccidiosis.
As a deoderant and fly repellant. If you have a smelly heap of chicken manure (for example, under your roosts or in an outdoor heap after you've shoveled out the chicken house), sprinkling it with hydrated lime will kill the smell and also drive off the flies. Of course, if we were perfect farmers, we'd never have smelly heaps of anything, but in real life it's nice to have a sack of hydrated lime handy. It also seems to keep the raccoons away from our compost piles.
As hen repellant. As far as I know, this is my own invention. Hens don't like hydrated lime. If they're nesting, dust-bathing, or foraging where you don't want them to, you can dust the area heavily with hydrated lime, and they usually avoid it thereafter. I've watched them, and while they clearly don't like the stuff, they don't find it distressing or anything. (In fact, the effect is mild enough that it doesn't always work.) I've used this to keep them from nesting in odd corners and foraging in smelly manure heaps. It would probably also be at least partly effective in keeping them out of your garden beds, though I won't make any promises." R. Plamondon

 

[rubysmom]

So hydrated lime probably wouldn't be something I would want to put all over my run if the hens don't like it?

 

[Cetawin]

Quote:
Yes...my girls dust bathe in Sweet PDZ with our red clay from the yard...


Here is the info about chickens and using it:

http://www.sweetpdz.com/other-uses.html

Here is the link that tells you all about the product.

http://www.sweetpdz.com/our-products.html

 

[Cetawin]

Quote:
No..hydrated lime is toxic. Agriculturial grade lime is safe but most idiots working at these places have no clue of the difference.

 

[SusanJoM]

A month or two ago there was a discussion about Stall Dry, and if I remember correctly, it was determined that although it contains DE, it does not contain Food Grade DE, which makes it not safe for your chickens.

The subject came up when someone's young chickens were dying and the symptoms appeared to be respiratory....the same as would be caused by silicosis.....which is something that non-food grade DE may cause.

I'm not going to go back and look up the whole thread and discussion, but whoever is interested in using this product might want to look a bit farther into it.

It sounded really risky to me.

The other thing I've noted here is that if you aren't paying A LOT for your DE, you are not getting Food Grade. Period. It's expensive, and not very often available locally. Safe isn't always easy or cheap.

Susan

 

[curliet]

Well, I got to thinking that maybe i should ease my mind about this hydrated lime thing. I called my vet, (BTW, a country vet who has chickens) and asked about DE and ag grade hydrated lime. According to this vet, there is no place in west MI to even get DE except a health food store in another part of the state and it's sold in small quantities and very expensive. None of the farmers or animal enthusiasts in this area use it. As for the ag grade hydrated lime, he says that it's perfectly safe, and will do the things I had asked about, like keeping bedding and litter drier and 'sweeter'. It's also much cheaper. He himself doesn't use it, in fact uses nothing at all except pine shavings, that he turns every couple of days, and then replaces occasionally when they do begin to break down. I hadn't seen the post about stall dry being hazardous so I didn't think to ask about it. I know this post is getting long, but will mention that I'm wondering if the 2 products are simply the same kind of thing, but composed of a slightly different base. DE is ground up skeletal remains of tiny sea animals, like a coral. and hydrated lime is finely ground particles of limestone, could they be similiar enough to be interchangeable? Any thoughts on that? Sorry it's so long.