Using DE AND lime AND sweet PDZ at the same time with pine shavings bedding in coop?

[Icie]

currently I use DE Sprinkled on the floor of the coop along with sweet PDZ and then I put the bedding on top of pine shavings. I understand a lot of you don’t like DE but I’ve never had a problem with it no one I know has had a problem with it and I used it on chickens for several years when I had chickens many years ago as well so my question is not about the safety of DE But I keep hearing about Saturday lime and I’m wondering if I can add that to my regiment. Can I use all three? I don’t want to ever get mites or lice and I want to be as proactive as possible. I cannot find anything online that says anyone has used DE, lime, PDZ at the same time Thoughts?

I'm seeing that people use and swear by whatever works for them- they have their preference and it's ok. I've tried pine shavings bedding, straw, deep litter method, and now sand and sand is by far my saving grace. I love it. No odors, moisture, or bugs and no replacing it over and over; I can top it off if I want to renew the color but that's all. Best move I ever made.

As for First Saturday Lime, I no longer spend money on DE, have never tried PDZ, and I use FSL for dust baths, nesting boxes, sprinkle around the coop, whitewashing the coop walls, and many of the suggestions and videos found on their website. I've had a monthly shipping plan for two spring and summer seasons and because I'll have plenty left over by fall, I take a break till April and restart my monthly plan. I no longer need to buy all that other stuff and I periodically treat the coop floor like it's a cat litter box, lol, by raking the poop out with one of those sifter rakes. I also keep a poop board under the roosting bars. Cleanup is easy, not as frequent, and it goes into my compost. With money I save by not buying litter, straw, DE repeatedly, I easily afford the 20lb bag each month but can reduce it whenever I need to.

 

[Icie]

I'm seeing that people use and swear by whatever works for them- they have their preference and it's ok. I've tried pine shavings bedding, straw, deep litter method, and now sand and sand is by far my saving grace. I love it. No odors, moisture, or bugs and no replacing it over and over; I can top it off if I want to renew the color but that's all. Best move I ever made.

As for First Saturday Lime, I no longer spend money on DE, have never tried PDZ, and I use FSL for dust baths, nesting boxes, sprinkle around the coop, whitewashing the coop walls, and many of the suggestions and videos found on their website. I've had a monthly shipping plan for two spring and summer seasons and because I'll have plenty left over by fall, I take a break till April and restart my monthly plan. I no longer need to buy all that other stuff and I periodically treat the coop floor like it's a cat litter box, lol, by raking the poop out with one of those sifter rakes. I also keep a poop board under the roosting bars. Cleanup is easy, not as frequent, and it goes into my compost. With money I save by not buying litter, straw, DE repeatedly, I easily afford the 20lb bag each month but can reduce it whenever I need to.

I wanted to add that I also no longer buy grit unless I need it for chicks.

I have 17 hens, no rooster, a 15 x 20 coop made from chain link overlayed with hardware cloth at the bottom half and netting top to bottom (prevents snakes from getting in). A single wall is the wall to my greenhouse and has 2 windows, kept closed. In winter I overlay the top half of the coop sides with plastic sheeting to limit drafts and it has never gone below 30 degrees in there- I'm in Eastern NC. The entire roof is a heavyweight tarp folded double but I have plans for a metal roof eventually. You can see there is plenty of access for flies or bugs but whatever gets in there is quickly eaten because I seldom see any...no rodents either and they have their food inside the coop.

 

[Vadard]

Thats the crystaline not the food grade!

Eating it isn’t the problem.

 

[ValarieF]

Eating it isn’t the problem.

wasnt talking about eating it I just had a whole bunch of tests and my lungs are the only good things on me and I smoke so DE is safe

 

[U_Stormcrow]

wasnt talking about eating it I just had a whole bunch of tests and my lungs are the only good things on me and I smoke so DE is safe

With respect, anecdote is not Data.

Not exactly new science.

Nor has the science changed much over the decades.

and its complicated, but still dose/exposure dependant.

Reading X-rays, otoh, remains as much Art as Science. Unless, of course, you are a B-reader for law firms bringing mesothelioma claims. Then they are all green.

 

[ValarieF]

Everything outside that you breathe is worse than food grade DE. I've already made this point. I'm not gonna debate this anymore there is no crystals in food grade to tear up your lungs that's why it is breathable and food grade.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Everything outside that you breathe is worse than food grade DE. I've already made this point. I'm not gonna debate this anymore there is no crystals in food grade to tear up your lungs that's why it is breathable and food grade.

DE is "relatively" safe, particularly at dosages and exposures likely in a chicken coop. Its also "largely" ineffective in chicken coops. Too slow to kill bugs, too susceptible to moisture, and generally present in too low a concentration to ensure the exposures needed to control insect populations with life cycles as short as those of the mite species commonly affecting chickens.

 

[Genene]

If it could do that to an insect's tough carapace -- and it may or may not actually work -- think what it would do to a bird's delicate lungs.

IMO, if you DO have mites/lice you should treat them with Permethrin, which is proven to work. If you DON'T have mites/lice you shouldn't borrow trouble.

First Saturday Lime Is perfectly safe. I do not & would
Le. Not use DE. Mites & lice do not have a tough carapace & are easily dried out by the lime.

 

[Bear4boo]

I use PDZ and First Saturday Lime in the coop with wood shavings. I use FSL in the run after it rains a lot too. It says it helps with mites, etc but I have no idea. I have never had problems with bugs. I do find it keeps odors under control in the run. I pu t the FSL down under the pine shavings after a deep clean and use PDZ on the poop boards

This is exactly what I do. Do you find that there is a lot of dust when scooping out the poop boards? I’ve been really happy with our set up except for the dust when I’m cleaning it.

 

[ValarieF]

This is exactly what I do. Do you find that there is a lot of dust when scooping out the poop boards? I’ve been really happy with our set up except for the dust when I’m cleaning it.

Whats FSL if I may ask??