[gracie]

At present other than sprinkling ant powder under the floor of the coop ( my chickens walk on rungs so i put the powder around the removable tray under the rungs) I dont use any treatments for my chickens. They are now 21 and 18 weeks old and one started to lay this week. I was thinking I should be now using DE, if I do how do you actually use it as a preventative. I dont necessarily know where they dust bath, but if they are in the run when i am out they often congregate up one end under cover as it has boarding all round to prevent wind or too much sun. Do i just sprinkle it in the soil there?

Also another question if i put garlic in their water do i put a clove in, special garlic powder or press the garlic first.

thanks

[rachelr]

Hi Gracie what did you want to use DE for honey. The mites it is used for do not live on hens (they bite them loads tho) they live in the coop. I have a three monthly habit of making a slurry with DE washing up liquid and disinfectant(animal friendly one). I use a paint brush and paint the slurry on the inside of the coop. I clean out the coop weeklyi using a hard brush and dont worry too much about a little residue. Then three monthyly i give it a good scrub down and clean out and then re-apply the DE slurry. I have been mite free since. If you can check out hill footers advice which is what i follow.   

[gracie]

Thanks for that. I know I haven't had any problems yet but I just feel it all seems a bit too easy and I should be doing more. I poo pick in coop 2-3 times a week, dig run over every weekend and change paper dust free sawdust from the tray once a fortnight. I thought I had picked up from a thread that they rolled in the DE. Will definately use the slurry, which disinfectant is chicken friendly.
Sometimes I think it all sounds so complicated but I guess it isn't really.

Do you keep any sort of mite powder in the shed just incase, or does it go out of date quickly.

[rachelr]

i dont but other people do sprinkle with DE instead of the slurry. but i have found it aa much better way of dealing with mites (the slurry i mean).
you can sprinkle the run with DE to. vanodine 9 i think was the one suggested to me but could not get any so i went to my local pet shop and go a sachet of ......... bloomin heck i can believe i cant remember the name lol. it will come back to me i know at 3 in the morning.

[joyfull]

you can sprinkle satlosan f in the run - this is a powdered disinfectant and you can use it in the coop.

[Lindeggs]

DE can be used for a lot of things - you can even use it inside your house if you have a problem with ants or other critters!  For example you could sprinkle it ounder your fridge or behind the pantry. 

The slurry method is an excellent way of applying it in the coop because it goes just where you want it and makes it easy to manage.  You can also put some in the chickens' dust-bathing spots if you like, as it may help to keep the lice and other mites off them.

Another way many people use it is to put a little in with the chickens' food to help keep intestinal worms at bay.  I tried this and my chickens still got worms, so I certainly don't recommend it as a substitute for chemical worming.

As for the garlic, some people put a whole clove in the water, some use garlic flakes, and some use crushed garlic.  I add crushed garlic to the chickens' food as I find this an easier way to use it than putting it in the water.

[kegs]

Here's the slurry recipe.

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=81422.0