Diatom

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Anonymous

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Hi, I'm new here. Our 3 ex battery chickens came with a bottle of Diatom. Looking up on the net about it , it seems to treat worms , red mite and lice and fleas. Does this mean i do not have to buy other wormer, mite and lice powders? Hope it doesn't seem to daft a question.
Also I had not realized that Apple cider vinegar from the supermarket is not the same as the untreated ACV.
I'm putting it in their water everyday.

Carolyn
 
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steeple ducks

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I think with all these natural products it helps perhaps with the control of these things but if you really have an identified problem you do need to hit them with the "kills" rather than the "controls" stuff.

If you have new chickens on fresh ground not infected by existing poultry or wild birds they should be OK initially with the control stuff. Also be aware your ex-batteries probably wont have any built up resistance to anything, only resistant to what they have been vaccinated against.

I'm chucking Diatom and Stalosan about at the moment as mine are in various stages of moult and putting ACV in their drinking water, so anything natural that could help boost their system. Natural ACV can be found in the horse section. This is in addition to routine worming with Flubenvet and when red mites become a problem it is a struggle to control them with anything.
 
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snifter

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Diatom has good feedback. I've used it in the past with mixed results and tend to go with other things now. But I do use it on the perches and chooks from time to time.

Also AVC human grade in supermarkets really isn't going to touch chooks. They do need the unrefined stong stuff. Horse grade quality from most feed merchants.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Thank you for your replies. Looks like I will need to get some Flubenvet from what you are saying. I'm getting conflicting reports on natural verses supermarket ACV. Can anyone else shed light on this please?

Carolyn
 
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Anonymous

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Sorry meant to have said I will try Verminex wormer before Flubenvet.

Carolyn
 
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snifter

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carolynann said:
Thank you for your replies. Looks like I will need to get some Flubenvet from what you are saying. I'm getting conflicting reports on natural verses supermarket ACV. Can anyone else shed light on this please?

Carolyn
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Supermarket ACV is human grade and very refined. Its not got the stuff in it chooks need in their guts as its all been refined out.

You really need to be giving them horse ACV which you get from feed merchants. Human grade won't be effective. Both are natural, only the one for human consumption has had all the rough stuff that is needed to make chicken insides inhospitable to worms etc taken out of it. Its a waste of time giving it to chooks.

I've never met a poultry keeper yet who gives supermarket ACV. They all have said and give animal quality (horse). Some very respected poultry keepers I know have said this here and elsewhere. I don't know where you are hearing about supermarket being ok but my experience and understanding are its not. I've never given it and will only give rough ACV
 
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Anonymous

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Hi,you need to add 10mls to a litre of water.At times of stress or treatment,increase it to 15 or 20mls per litre.
Most ACV will have the dosing on the back for dogs,horses and chooks.
I find it is cheaper from my local countrywide stores(used to be West midland Farmers)in the equine section, it is under £4 for one litre which lasts a long time with only a few chooks.
 
Tim

Tim

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Herefordshire, UK.
There's more info on ACV in the Chicken FAQ section we've just started or on the main site here: Apple Cider Vinegar

If you look into ACV, you will find that health food shops / online health stores actually sell unrefined ACV. The refining process removes alot of the goodness. The stuff in the supermarkets is processed to be 'vinegar' that comes from apples. It's the same with lots of foods, the more you process it, the less mineral / vitamin etc content you get.

I'm a big believer in Diatom - it has a few good uses but for red mite, you do need to use it in sufficient quantities and keep everything dusted for a number of weeks. They do avoid it if they can but once they crawl through it, they dry up in 48 hours or so. I did a test on a sheet of glass inside a fish tank once and put some of them inside a circle of diatom. They all made it through the diatom eventually but 2 days later were dead :evil:

I successfully got rid of a big red mite infestation that appeared when I got back from holiday this year using only a pressure washer and lots of diatom.... but it does take a lot of effort and a few weeks. You have to be vigilent rubbing diatom into the perches every day or so and keep checking for mites every night. I blogged about it here if anyone is interested... How to get rid of a serious red mite infestation! I wouldn't recommend just using diatom though for red mites, you need as much help as you can get ;)
 
A

Anonymous

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Thank you once again for your replies.
Having read the articles on this site about red mite I guess I just have to be vigilant. i gather during the winter they lay dormant, should I still dust the perches with Diatom once a week? I have a Chicube, so the only wood is the perches and nest box.

Carolyn
 
Tim

Tim

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Location
Herefordshire, UK.
Unless you find Red Mite, I wouldn't in the winter months.

You can sprinkle a little in their food though as it helps provide minerals and keep endo parasites (worms) down.
 
A

Anonymous

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Thank you for that Tim.
How often should I check my chickens for lice etc? Should I dust their bedding once a week with Diatom to help prevention?
Sorry if I'm asking daft questions but I've been reading lots of books about chickens but none of them say, they give lots of info on what to do if they have lice. I guess it's just common sense but I want to try and do the best for them.

Carolyn
 
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snifter

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Everyone is different.

I check my birds over once a week but if they are mite free I leave them well alone. I check the housing every time I clean it and in summer every day/night for red mite etc. If I see mites in the housing then I treat my chooks.

I clean my housing using different products and don't really use Diatom much anymore.
 
Tim

Tim

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I only really do a random check for lice - Most of my birds are free range in field runs so it's difficult to catch them all the time. I do check my houses for red mite every time I clean which is usually weekly.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Thanks for the replies.
What sort of products do you use snifter? I want to try and stay natural/organic as much as possible. As you say everyone is different and I'm now into a routine.
Tim you must have a lot of chickens!

Carolyn
 
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