Too soon to use DE?

[joebryant]

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Joe, you are truly a fan of DE. I just don`t ever see any proof that it works internally. I guess some folks have success externally, but do they really? In the 52 years I`ve had chickens, I`ve had maybe 3 louse problems and never used the stuff. I know that different parts of the country(world?) have different problems, so I`ll concede that. Guess with my limited experience with internal and external parasites, I`ll just wish you all well. I still see no proof that it does anything but cost money. Oh yeah, being in the south, my pens are mostly open air and I don`t have problems with smells, either. Maybe I`m the lucky one........Pop

I agree with you. I do not feed it to my chickens. I use other/better means to combat worms and mites. My coops are not open air, and I can assure you they would smell were it not for DE. My coops are right up by my house, see My BYC Page, and Anne would burn them down and kill the chickens if there were a smell.

 

[Judy]

Quote:
Joe, you are truly a fan of DE. I just don`t ever see any proof that it works internally. I guess some folks have success externally, but do they really? In the 52 years I`ve had chickens, I`ve had maybe 3 louse problems and never used the stuff. I know that different parts of the country(world?) have different problems, so I`ll concede that. Guess with my limited experience with internal and external parasites, I`ll just wish you all well. I still see no proof that it does anything but cost money. Oh yeah, being in the south, my pens are mostly open air and I don`t have problems with smells, either. Maybe I`m the lucky one........Pop

I think you missed that Joe said he won't use it internally.

I live in the south, too, and have had a few odors after a really bad rain blew in the wire "walls." DE does help with this, but so do pine shavings, etc. Mostly I know it is good for garden worms, though, and that's how I started using it, years before BYC. At this point I wouldn't buy it, but I already have a bunch.

You have convinced me to try the cayenne for worms.

 

[Lollipop]

ddawn, yes I did see that Joe uses DE externally. My statement was more directed at Maisey, who started this thread, although I can see why it was confusing, sorry.

Yes Joe, I did look at your page sometime back. Really nifty setup you have there. I`m fortunate enough to have lots of room for my pens, but still have only on very rare occasions noticed any smell. Being very remote, I didn`t take the time to make my facilities nearly as attractive as yours, nor most anyone elses, for that matter. Function is the key word in my yard. I do love to eyeball well thought out housing, though.........Pop

 

[maizey]

Thanks guys for all the good info and experiences... just what i was looking for. I have decided to go ahead and apply it to the coop litter and as soon as it stops raining to the dust bath area but I won't feed it. My decision was cinched by my observant 13 year old, actually. He pointed out an ingredient on the bag of DE that read calcium and quickly stated "Mom, I thought you weren't supposed to feed young chickens too much calcium". Good lad...he does pay attention after all

I hadn't noticed I had DE with "other stuff " in it. I can't remember the other stuff except the calcium but its the bag of RED LAKE DE. There is a thread on here about it and there are oposing opinions on feeding it even though it is food grade but is fine for dusting and using in the coop. There are apparently opposing opinions on feeding DE period, so thats good to know. I kinda like the red pepper idea anyhoo, no harm in that, im eating some in my soup as I type.

 

[joebryant]

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I hope it gets rid of all your worms.

 

[HeritageHens]

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Or lungs.

When I bought the bag of DE, the seller went out of their way to tell me how harmful this stuff is for the lungs. He said you should always wear a mask when you use it. So if it's hard on our lungs, it has to be hard on the lungs of chickens, right?

He said that the reason it was ok to ingest was that the lining of the lungs is different than the lining of the digestive tract. The digestive tract is not harmed by the DE; the lungs are (these were his words; not mine).

Consequently, I never sprinkle it to cause dust in the air or get it directly on the chickens. I put it under the straw in the run to absorb moisture. I also add a tiny amount to the dust bath along with sifted compost, some regular dirt, sand, and wood ash. The regular dirt is slightly moist and binds to the DE so that it is no longer airborne (hopefully).