worming questions

[Kevin565]

I'm a newbie: what is DE?

Poop today had worms in it, but they were not moving. That made me happy.

Diatomaceous earth

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Quote: Diatomaceous Earth

Depending on if you believe truth or fiction, it's either a Magical Dust that will cure anything, or just some overpriced powdered rock with good marketing

 

[ChicKat]

Diatomaceous Earth

Depending on if you believe truth or fiction, it's either a Magical Dust that will cure anything, or just some overpriced powdered rock with good marketing

I love the magical dust theory.

Here's wikipedia's take:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

​

A sample of diatomaceous earth​

​

"Diatomaceous earth (

/ˌdaɪ.ətəˌmeɪʃəs ˈɜrθ/) also known as D.E., diatomite, or kieselgur/kieselguhr, is a naturally occurring, soft, siliceous sedimentary rock that is easily crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder. It has a particle size ranging from less than 1 micrometre to more than 1 millimeter, but typically 10 to 200 micrometres. This powder has an abrasive feel, similar to pumice powder, and is very light as a result of its high porosity. The typical Chemical composition of oven-dried diatomaceous earth is 80 to 90% silica, with 2 to 4% alumina (attributed mostly to clay minerals) and 0.5 to 2% iron oxide.[1]
Diatomaceous earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. It is used as a filtration aid, mild abrasive, mechanical insecticide, absorbent for liquids, matting agent for coatings, reinforcing filler in plastics and rubber, anti-block in plastic films, porous support for chemical catalysts, cat litter, activator in blood clotting studies, and a stabilizing component of dynamite. As it is heat-resistant, it can also be used as a thermal insulator."

and HERE"S the magic.....

most insects have an exoskeleton. They rely on it to keep their bodies hydrated. DE at the insect level is very hard and very sharp. The DE in contact with the exoskeleton will cut or puncture it, and eventually the insect will die of dehydration. To be effective DE must be dry. It works on tons of creepy crawlies. It does need to be kept dry or re-applied. It's organic, won't harm people or pets and won't add poisonous chemicals to the surroundings.

I suppose an equivalent is salt on slugs and snails....although too much salt will be toxic to plants and animals.....too much DE probably not.

ETA in the UK they call it Diatom...and it can usually be found in garden stores for not too much money for a very large sack, and can be bought on line.

 

[itsthelaw37801]

It doesn't matter how much I read, I learn something new on this site everyday.

 

[ChicKat]

It doesn't matter how much I read, I learn something new on this site everyday.

Me too!

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Quote: Nothing really "magic" about that.
It's about the only PROVEN use for DE

Many will claim it treats internal parasites, and had nutritional value, which is false.
Others claim eating it or feeding it to your animals is a "cure-all" which is also false

It's nothing more than a mechanical insecticide and is composed of powdered rock that is chemically identical to sand

 

[Matthew3590]

During my early days of BYC I was told it is commonly used as grit or as floor material of coops I believe.

 

[galanie]

Yes, DE is mainly just a drying agent. At least the food grade is, which is the ONLY type that is safe to use. That's why it has to be dry to be effective. It doesn't cut them open but it will dry them out and kill them that way. There are people here that swear it worms them because "they never saw a worm in the poo" but there are a couple things wrong with that statement. First, you likely won't find them in it unless you see really fresh poo. And Second, if you wait til you actually see a worm, it's gotten REALLY REALLY bad. And third, if it has to be dry to work, then how is it going to work inside the bird? hehe

PS - Wikipedia is well known for not being exactly correct on a lot of things. For one thing, the pool grade DE is what that article is describing. It is different from Food Grade in that the pool and pest grade has been heat treated to have those spikes on the grains. That kind is not safe to use around chickens. The food grade is not treated in that fashion and so is safe for eating if you want to do that. There have been extensive links to studies on it that I won't bother looking up here but if you wish you can probably find them.

You can't just depend on Wikipedia or the website selling the product to always give you the whole story.

 

[cgmccary]

Quote:
Agree with the above. Good dirt and sand will do just as good for dust baths for your birds. I know because I used DE religiously years ago and still got mites on my birds annually. Some people swear by it because they have just been lucky and not got mites. Save your money & don't waste it on DE. It has no value as a wormer.

Years ago, there was a woman in AZ who swore DE did everything including curing cancer in people (hope she is not on this site; please don't be). She claimed to eat it every day herself. She fed it to her dogs for heartworms. She said that her chickens never had worms or mites, dogs never had heartworms & she was as healthy as a horse. I explained to her that AZ is NOT Alabama. Her lack of both external and internal parasites were primarily due to the dry conditions in the birds' & dogs environment. DE won't do it here in the hot, humid South or in most other parts of the U.S.

Think about it, if DE was the cure-all, end all, don't you think we would ALL be using it? There wouldn't be any need for the different wormers and other mite/ lice controls, etc. if it were just a matter of using DE.

 

[galanie]

Wood ash is, in my opinion, the best thing there is for dust baths, mixed with dirt. I manage to do this by having a burn pile where I burn brush a few times a year and sift out the charcoal afterwards. The birds LOVE dust bathing in it. We had a long wet spell where they couldn't dust bathe in that and they started getting mites. Once I was able to burn again, no more mites. So I'm sold on it. Forget DE. It's so humid here it gets too moist while still in the bag to do me any good.