Diatomaceous Earth: Great for Your Flock
Submitted by KT on Mon, 02/09/2009 - 17:30.
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Many chicken keepers swear by diatomaceous earth (DE), as it provides a variety of positive benefits for both your flock and your household. Our flock has benefited from DE, and it has helped cut down the cockroach population in our house and yard.
Food grade diatomaceous earth:
- Is a natural pest deterrent that is safe for you, your chickens, and other pets.
- It keeps your flock healthy by killing ticks, fleas, and digestive worms.
- It naturally keeps cockroaches and other pests out of your house, and away from your chicken feed containers.
- It can provide your birds with valuable trace minerals, when added in small amounts to chicken feed.
- It is good in the garden, as it will kill aphids and other pests naturally.
What is diatomaceous earth and how does it work?
- Diatomaceaous earth is the fossilized remains of Diatoms, which are microscopic one celled algae with hard shells.
- It kills bugs and unwanted pest by desiccation, which means it cuts their exoskeleton and drys them out. No nasty chemicals!
How do I use/apply diatomaceous earth?
- Its a VERY fine powder, so sprinkle it where you need it: In your chicken coop area, behind or under major appliances, sprinkle a perimeter around your house and property, and around and in chicken feed bins.
- You can use a homemade device to distribute it, or you can purchase an applicator.
- NOTE: It is a very fine powder, so wear a mask when you apply it.
CAUTIONS:
- Please use food grade diatomaceous earth only for your flock and your household, as other grades can contain chemicals which may be harmful.
- Food grade DE contains very low percentages of crystalline silica, while non-food grade contains higher amounts. Crystalline silica is not good for your lungs (it's sharp and drying), so wear a mask even when applying food grade DE (just to be extra safe).
Where can I find food grade DE?
- Call around to your local feed stores and organic gardening stores to find out if they carry food grade DE. (We found ours at the Gardeners Guild)
- If you can't find it locally, it can be purchased online from a variety of retailers, but with shipping costs it is much more expensive. Just do a Google search for food grade diatomaceous earth.
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Re: Diatomaceous Earth: Great for Your Flock
What is the difference between food grade DE and the DE that you can purchase at the pool supply stores?
Re: Diatomaceous Earth: Great for Your Flock
Pool store DE can contain harmful chemicals, so don't feed it to your birds. I think the "harmful" aspect of pool grade DE is from a by-product of how it is processed.
Re: Diatomaceous Earth: Great for Your Flock
I am new to this and will be getting my chicks in about 2 - 3 weeks so am now learning everything I can. This sounds like great stuff, but would appreciate it if you could answer my questions.I plan on allowing my chickens to run around my large yard and eat bugs, worms, grass, etc to not only increase their health but also the nutritional value of their eggs. Will this stuff kill the good bugs too? Do chickens eat fleas? Is it better to just use it around the coop and maybe in there flooring? Thanks, Debbie
Re: Diatomaceous Earth: Great for Your Flock
I'd use it around the coop and flooring, as it can kill good bugs too. You don't have to put it around your whole yard, unless you have a roach problem or something.
Re: Diatomaceous Earth: Great for Your Flock
I put it in my dog food and chicken feed it's good I get it in 50lb bags
Re: Diatomaceous Earth: Great for Your Flock
When your chicks are very tiny, please don't use DE around them in a way in which they will breathe the dust. The dust is as fine as talcum powder and the reason I say don't use the DE around them is that it easily creates a dust cloud, and when I dusted a couple of my chicks with it, they breathed the cloud and from then on had respiratory distress and breathed twice as fast as the other chicks. It did not kill them, but they had labored breathing. The best thing to do if your chicks have mites, is to take a damp paper towel, or mix a small amount of DE in water, then wipe the inside of their container down. This way, they still get the benefit of the DE after it dries, but they don't have to breathe the dust. I always put the DE on the plywood in the hen house, then put the pine chips over that, and I make sure the dust cloud has settled before I let the chickens back in the hen house. Also I put a small amount in their feed, and using it this way is totally harmless and keeps all mites away. Also put it on top of the board they roost on.
Re: Diatomaceous Earth: Great for Your Flock
Happy to find your site and the informations about diatomaceious earth. I'm very excited to soon become a member of the urban chicken movement. Unfortunately, it is not currently legal in my area which I find disturbing and amazing.
Re: Diatomaceous Earth: Great for Your Flock
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