Diatomaceous earth as wormer

[Jazzman]

Five days ago I sprinkled diatomacious earth on my birds feed, and repeated again the next day. Today while scrapping the floor I noticed some poops were looser and upon inspection could actually see a small worm, dull white, maybe 32nd inch diameter, curled into a circle. I'm new to pigeons and have had my 5 birds for 6 months now and this is the first time I've tried worming this way. I'm trying to stay away from the chemicals if possible, and wonder if this can be a viable means of control, and if so, how often do I need to do this. Also, has anyone had success dusting birds with diatomacious earth, and how would one go about doing this. Tnx for your input, I'm learning a lot reading these posts.

[Trees Gray]

I have used the diatomaceous earth to sprinkle under nest bowls and such. It definitely keeps ants and other critters away. I've never used it as a wormer, but have heard it used that way.

You can also use garlic caps to keep internal worms away.

[Larry_Cologne]

Hello Jazzman,

There has been a lot of discussion and many posts concerning diatomaceous earth in PT. There are several forms of DE, one of which is food grade. Be sure you are informed of the differences. You can search under "diatomaceous."

I have used DE for other purposes (in Texas, and in Cologne), against cockroaches, mixed with boric acid.

The former newspaper columnist L.M. Boyd (now retired) once listed the fact that ants will not cross a chalk line. Probably something to do with DE, or the structure of chalk (calcite).

Here is a Wikipedia link to DE:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth

Thanks for your input, and welcome to PT.

Larry

[SmithFamilyLoft]

Hello Jazzman,

I use this product, but I can't say that I would rely on this 100% as a wormer. I put some oil on my grain and then mix in the diatomacious earth. As far as dusting the birds, I have not attempted this only because I don't really want to inhale this stuff myself, and I don't know if the birds could end up inhaling the stuff in the process.

If there was some medical evidence that it is 100% effective, then perhaps I would feel better about it. I tend to use a variety of products and materials in order to insure the health of my birds. For instance, garlic is also thought to protect the pigeons from worms, among other good things. So, I would be more inclined to use a proven medical product such as Moxidectin put out by the Australian Pigeon Company 1st. (Which is also effective against blood sucking parasites) Then I would use the garlic and diatomacious earth, as a more or less preventative. The benifit as I see it from using the more natural products, is that they can be given more often. This might mean something during the racing season. I certainly would not feel comfortable giving Moxidectin every week, but the natural products...yes I could and do.

[roxtar]

There are several forms of DE, one of which is food grade. Be sure you are informed of the differences. You can search under "diatomaceous."

Definately heed this advice. The non food grade DE is really harmful to your health and the health of the birds (especially the stuff used for pool filters and such).

[bigislerollers]

Aloha Jazzman,
There was an article I read somewhere that stated that some people in the poultry industry use DE as a wormer. I mix it into my feed before I store my feed in the 5 gal. buckets. They say that the DE will kill the critters that hatch out in the feed and stop them from infesting the feed. I've been using it for about 2 years now and it has worked, so far. I've had feed stored for at least 6 months without any critters infesting them. I don't know if it rids the pigeons of worms but I can say that it hasn't hurt them eating the DE daily.

One very important point that can't be overstated. MAKE SURE THE DE YOU USE IS FOOD GRADE. Also, if you mix it into your feed, do it in a well ventilated area, you don't want to be breathing in the DE.

[SmithFamilyLoft]

Originally Posted by bigislerollers

..............

One very important point that can't be overstated. MAKE SURE THE DE YOU USE IS FOOD GRADE. Also, if you mix it into your feed, do it in a well ventilated area, you don't want to be breathing in the DE.

"Food Grade"....I take it then, if the container says "DIA-SECTICIDE" For control of crawling insects, for use by pest control operators...and then big yellow warning labels and such...is not Food Grade...is it ?.... You mean there is process by which this product is then marked FOOD GRADE ?

See there are times I don't know nothing ! The product in my hands should not be in my hands according to the label, much less marked "FOOD GRADE"

[rock]

Foy's sells it and claims it can be used for worms.

[Trees Gray]

I have bought the diatomaceous earth at Foys for my birds, but have also seen it used to protect organic flax seeds-(used very lightly), human grade. The instructions say to wash it out before using the flax seeds. I do use the flax seeds as an addition to the birds seed, sparingly though.

[philodice]

I have read some studies about food grade DE that indicate equal success to drugs in controlling internal and external parasites. When used on my ill rescue hens, that had never been wormed, the difference was immediate. For hens the ratio is no more than 2% DE compared to the rest of the feed. I mix it in the grit at 2% because after all DE is a lot like grit and doves love grit.
For the hens I put DE in the dust bathing hole and it improved the quality, beauty and cleanliness of their feathers. The rate of lay improved, symptoms of all worms decreased. Chicken hens would sneeze during bathing (maybe they inhaled some dirt with DE).

Sugar, my dove hen, laid better quality eggs and did not puff up so much after I treated her grit. I treated her with DE, colloidal silver, and African Bay oil to cover worms, bacteria, and canker since I didn't know what she had. Poops improved and activity, liveliness returned.

I bought my food grade DE online at Ebay, where the grade was garanteed.

[k-will]

you guys please report back after using it awhile.but,from what i have read so far....i dont know if i would use it.i would appreciate any reading on it anybody has as well if you could throw us the link.

[flitsnowzoom]

Rather than repeat the links here go to this thread
http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=19998 It has several links to diatomaceous earth, what it is and the pros and cons of using it.

Diatomaceous earth will not harm plants, it will kill insects that ingest it. Short and sweet -- diatoms are one-celled organisms that build little glass houses with lots of sharpies. When diatoms die, they settle to the bottom of the pond, lake, wherever they live. Over time, the diatoms decay leaving their little cell walls behind. We mine the layers of diatom leavings.