DIATOMACEOUS EARTH

[happy place]

as promised here is a report on what i have found useing this stuff
and i have to say i was on the verge of burning my coop cause there was some many red mite about but i have used this stuff for about 3 weeks and there is now minamal red mite activity
it would be untrue to say that it has totally iradicated them but i now have to look hard to find them so it is definately working and it is working loads better than the realy nasty chemical stuff
if anyone wants to know more just ask but nothing to tecnical

[Green Aura]

I think it's pretty good stuff - we put half a tsp in our cats' supper and they don't seem to need worming. I'm not sure about using it on their fur as flea treatment though - we read dire warnings about inhaling the stuff. So for the moment we're sticking with Frontline.

[happy place]

i have put some on the chooks to help get rid of any mites on them but made sure to keep it well clear of their heads
i would definatly avoid breathing any of it in and when liberaly chucking it around thier house i wear a dust mask as it works by being a very abrasive grit which cuts through the hard shell of the bug then because it is so dry it sticks to their soft mushy insides and dehydrates them thus killing them. so if it gets in your lungs it would do the same to you (well maybe not kill but i think it would be unplesant)

[sarahkeast]

I have red mites in my shed. I have 8 chooks, all but one are really strong and you wouldnt guess they are ex-batts, the eighth [also the alpha chook] has never fully feathered up and looked a bit scraggy.

So, how much do you need to buy ? I have seen it online [used to use it in pool filter when we lived in Texas in another life] in varying quntities. Any recommendations for sellers etc would be great.

How exactly do you use it ? sprinkle it around shed and on chooks ? what about the nest boxes ? in them too ?

Thanks

[Green Aura]

Don't know how you use it for chickens but we put a small amount in our cats' food to deal with internal parasites and then you sprinkle it round all their bedding etc and rub it into their fur to deal with the external ones. As I said above we've not done that bit yet - not wanting to breathe it in but outside should be easier.

We got a big tub of the stuff (about £20 for 1kg) from an online company called "holistic pet supplies" but I've just had a look on their website to give you a link and they don't appear to have it any more

[Big Al]

http://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/shop/pr ... uct_id=653

is a link for wiggly wigglers and it's about £20 a kg there. There is also a video of dusting a chicken etc.

[happy place]

here is a link for the people i got my stuff from http://diatomx.co.uk/epages/eshop439661 ... Categories
all i do with it is to chuck it liberaly about paying particular attention to areas where the mites are gathering. ie the ends of perches, corners, and all the little crevises where they like to hide. and hey presto they start dieing

[snackman27]

i started to use it when i found a realy bad infection or red mite, i was gutted.
I stripped the roof of the hen house ( felt and chip bored ) got a gas gun torched it all over and gave it a good dous of clenser and replaced the roof with reclaimed tin sheet.
This did not clear it up, i looked on line and came accross the DIATOMACEOUS EARTH and found it in Country wide in a red tin it says red mite kill on the pack but read the back and thats all there is in it. Costs about £4 and a large one for about £10, i used the large one for the 1st 2weeks now every week i clean out i spred the small one around
The red mite has gone down to nearly nill. Dont think i will ever get rid of the lil buggers totaly, but its controling them.
As for the hens quite a few have bald spots some are growing little feathers back, i hope they will grow back fully.

If any one elts has had bald spots on there hens will they grow back to the normal self ??????