Stall Dry???

[dmhoob]

Hi all,
We are new to chickens and after reading lots and lots on this wonderful sight i went to the local feed store to get some food-grade DE for our coop. (the ladies will be moving in tomorrow!) They were out of stock, but the guy there led me to a product called Stall Dry. It is 75% DE and 25% clay. It is certified organic and cheaper than DE. He said he found it to work even better than DE because of the clay..absorbs moisture and odors even better.

Just curious if anyone uses this or has had any experience with it. I haven't read anything about it or even seen it mentioned here at BYC and that made me a bit reluctant to try it

Thanks!

 

[cityslickers]

I quess it depends on what you use it for..I feed it to my chickens to keep the flies down... I have tried it with the clay and it didnt work for me..But I have a 50lb sack I think I will try it and see if it works for moisture.. Also I have tried other brands of de and find that permagaurd works best for flies...

 

[EweSheep]

I've used it for six years and loved it!!!!!!!!!! Perfectly safe for bedding but not for food because of the clay.

 

[Kajunbanty]

I have used Stall Dry from day one. My coop has a dirt floor with cement yard pavers. I use a thick layer of large pine shavings with a couple cups of stall dry mixed in. Every so often I add more stall dry and shavings, the hens keep it mixed up well. I'm in Louisiana where it gets hot and humid, I have never had a problem with flies or bad odor. And like you I found its much cheaper than food grade DE.

 

[ND Sue]

I have used Stall Dri and am currently using straight DE. I will be going back to the Stall Dri because it does the same thing only with much less dust!

I put it on the floor and in a kitty litter pan for them to dust bathe in. I figure if they eat it, it won't hurt, but I'm not actually feeding it to them.

This was my first winter with chickens and I used the deep litter method. I cleaned it early March after using Stall-Dri all winter. I bedded it down thick again and have been using DE, for just a month.

Today as I cleaned the coop, I could have used a mask, it was so dusty. I'm not real impressed with straight DE. I don't like the fine "siltiness" ( I know, not a word!) of it!

 

[Peavy]

What is DE?

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

What is DE?

Diatomaceous Earth

http://www.motesclearcreekfarms.com/ASP/articles/DE.asp​

 

[eggseroneous]

Is the DE in the "Stall Dry" food grade? I saw it at TSC and I wondered if it was safe for the birds to eat. IS it grainy like cat litter with the clay?

 

[Imp]

I use Stall Dry in the cat box. It is fine like sand, finer than cat litter, not at all grainy.

The bag does not say food grade but does say less than 1% crystalline
silica. It is recommended for bedding for large and small animals, and for fly/odor control. So that suggests that it wouldn't have the same respiratory dangers as industrial grade DE.

Imp

 

[EweSheep]

It does not harm them so far when they pecked at Stall Dry.