Used DE for the first time

[JoePa]

I have two questions with regard to a chicken dusting themselves - I know all birds do it to rid themselves of fleas, mitts, ec. but what does the dusting actually do to the pests - does it kill them or just make the environment bad for them - also can you use wood ashes instead of DE? - thanks

 

[gryeyes]

Quote:
DE will kill the insect type pests but NOT if you have a huge infestation. It works best at preventing them from gaining a toehold on your flock. The chicken dust baths are their natural way of dealing with mites and lice, known genetically as part of their flock memory. As if they were in the wild.

Many folks mix wood ashes with DE and some peat, and/or sand. The chickens love that sort of stuff for their dust baths.

 

[audioguy]

DE is a mechanical killer to insects since it actually cuts their exoskeleton which in turn drys them out and they die. I noticed the same powdery issue and that is gets everywhere, which I guess for a chicken that always dusts themselves, is a good thing.
Kills them without pesticides, which is also a good thing!

 

[OHhappychicks]

We use de in our coop, also. Every time we clean it out, we sprinkle around the edge of the coop, in their nest boxes, and I even rub it in their roosts. Haven't had any issues with parasites or any insects for that matter. We use wood ashes in our dust pans because we burn with wood and have an excess amount!