[Janschooks]

Hi all,
It has been a manic few days and I'm all at sixes and sevens  I've sprayed the new coop with poultry shield before the girls arrived but for the life of me can't remember what I was supposed to do with the Diatom I'd bought  I remembered the apple cider vinegar in their water and a couple of pinches of poultry spice in their pellets, the sand for the dust bath will go into the run tomorrow BUT what do I do with the Diatom?  :blink:

Jan

[matilda duck]

Nothing .......unless your girls have lice or need worming .  It's just there ready for precaution

[poultrygeist]

Might be a good idea to sprinkle some in the nooks and crannies of the house and you can add some to their dustbath as a precaution. If anything nasty does wander in, it won;t last long enough to multiply. In theory 

Rob

[Roughlee Handled]

matilda duck why do you think that Diatom will help with worming?

[Vember]

"Diatomaceous Earth (DE), as it is correctly known, is a 100% natural powder for use on animals and birds against external parasites (lice, fleas etc) and internal (worms), and for general good health. It is also used for residual mite control when sprinkled inside the henhouse or on the birds, most of all it will kill red mite. It really does work, you can find many....."
Above taken from :
http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/Diatom_Parasite_Control.html#aDIAT1

Personally I always use flubenvet

Sarah

[Roughlee Handled]

But Sarah its not a proven method. 
Also do not beleive everything you read on http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=39571.msg469995#msg469995
They are incorrectly saying coxidiosis is caused by worms.

[Vember]

Wasn't saying it was correct Rough neither was I suggesting it as a proven method, as I said I always use Flub

What Sar was pointing out was maybe that was where MD got her info from


Sarah

[poultrygeist]

It is a method that some people choose Ruff, proven or otherwise. Not sure if garlic has a proven effect but we've all used it ! 

Rob

[matilda duck]

Ohhh sorry  didn't mean to cause an argument!!!  Yes Sarah thats where I got it from. I don't use it either for worms but some people may.

I'm going to hide now, I'm not answering anymore questions and leave it to them who know!!!

[Rivereden]

The best thing is to sprinkle the diatom over the shavings and create a barrier from the floor to the birds as well as the nooks and crannies in the coop. This will stop any red mite etc from crossing the sprinkling because its dries them out. They (red mite) a bit of moisture and diatom is very dry.

I use it on a weekly basis after cleaning the shavings out and touch wood i have never had any problems.

[Janschooks]

Thank you all for your comments.

Last night when I went to put them to bed, all 5 were piled together in 1 nest box, so cute. 
I'll put the diatom everywhere, I have a large tub 

Jan

[k66yla]

I sprinkle Diatom in the coop when I clean it out, especially around the edges and on the ends of the perch. I also sprinkle it on the floor of the run. Prevention is better than cure.

[stamford]

Got my order this morning of Diatom & Poultry Sheild.... I'll be covering the coop from top to bottem when I get home tonight