Diatomaceous Earth (DE)

lynordb

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@lynordb - I was advised to use DE once daily for 30 days, then 1 or 2 times a week to maintain the benefit. Maybe someone else (@Sweetened, @Baymule, ?) has a better idea?:hu
Thank you for that, what all is the benefit of it, I've been giving a teaspoon for every cup of food, which is a mix of grain 3-4 cups, 1 cup of whole corn, & 1 cup of sunflower bird seed all mixed together, that's like 5 cups of good with 5 tsp of red lake earth ,DE, for about a week now for one day, them some hay to chew on, and grazing in the yard. Does that sound like a healthy diet for my two twin 6 mths old Nigerian dwarf pygmy mix girls? Thanks for the info and suggestions, by the way what do your use to trim their toes and feet with? YHVH bless, you can or anyone email me or text my cell, which I posted on a post while ago.
 

sadieml

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@lynordb - I have 2 Pygmy boys, 2 of triplet bucklings born August 22 or 23, 2015. My boys get browse, free choice hay (alfalfa/timothy blend), and about 1/2 cup grain blend (my own recipe) twice daily. I also have loose goat minerals and baking soda free choice. My grain blend is this:

4 parts barley
4 parts oats (I use Quaker Oats)
1 part cracked corn
1 part BOSS (black oil sunflower seed)
2 parts shredded wheat (I just buy the cereal and crush it)
2 parts bran flakes (raisin bran crushed, with or without the raisins-sometimes I take them out just to hand-feed them)
1 or 1 1/2 Tbsp molasses

You can add your DE to this mixture, 1/2 tsp each feeding, so 1 tsp daily. When the weather turns warm again, I will stop giving my wether grain altogether, but will continue with my up-and-coming Herdsire. The benefits of DE are still up for debate, at least somewhat, but mostly, it promotes general good health by "detoxifying" the body. It also promotes healthier skin and hair (or fur), and helps rid the body of any parasites. You can dust your animals to help prevent external parasites, as well. Good luck with your girls!

edit to add: Diatomaceous Earth is a fossilized deposit of microscopic shells created by one celled plants called Diatoms. These plants inhabit all the waters of the earth, and serve as the basic food for aquatic life, just as grass is the basic food for land animals.

Also visit these links for more info: http://perma-guard.com/fossil-shell-flour.html
http://perma-guard.com/fossil-shell-flour.html

BTW - I am merely a consumer myself, I do not work for Perma-Guard or anybody else. Just thought I should tell you that. I just happen to think its a worthwhile product.
 
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lynordb

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@lynordb - I have 2 Pygmy boys, 2 of triplet bucklings born August 22 or 23, 2015. My boys get browse, free choice hay (alfalfa/timothy blend), and about 1/2 cup grain blend (my own recipe) twice daily. I also have loose goat minerals and baking soda free choice. My grain blend is this:

4 parts barley
4 parts oats (I use Quaker Oats)
1 part cracked corn
1 part BOSS (black oil sunflower seed)
2 parts shredded wheat (I just buy the cereal and crush it)
2 parts bran flakes (raisin bran crushed, with or without the raisins-sometimes I take them out just to hand-feed them)
1 or 1 1/2 Tbsp molasses

You can add your DE to this mixture, 1/2 tsp each feeding, so 1 tsp daily. When the weather turns warm again, I will stop giving my wether grain altogether, but will continue with my up-and-coming Herdsire. The benefits of DE are still up for debate, at least somewhat, but mostly, it promotes general good health by "detoxifying" the body. It also promotes healthier skin and hair (or fur), and helps rid the body of any parasites. You can dust your animals to help prevent external parasites, as well. Good luck with your girls!
Thank you for that recipe, that sounds good for them I bet, but does all those parts together equal a half cup each serving? And you r only giving a total of one cup a day, with one tsp a day, so aam I over feeding my two girls with a total of 5 cups a day between them plus 5 tsps of DE? And yes I forgot to add that I have a red salt block that I also put some baking soda on top of, or sometimes mixed with the grain mix? It seems expensive, but not if it's only one cup a day between the two, or is it one cup a day for each goat? And why do so many people wether their bucks, is it because they always want to breed, and already have a breeding buck, or do they want out must for meat, or to sell? Any more advice is welcome too? I'm going to try to post pictures here, and when are they old enough to breed a year? And it seems hard for me to find a buck their size that I can afford too. YHVH bless you sister. They are about 4-5 mths old here.
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Poka_Doodle

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Hey this might have been talked about already but is DE safe for chickens?
 

sadieml

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Hi, there @Poka_Doodle. I was thrilled to see you have joined GAA. Oh, wait, I completely blew the whole 2nd A part of that! Sorry! :oops:

As for DE and chickens, lots of folk use DE to set up a good locale for dust bathing. I've looked it up on BYC a little, and it seems most people use 1 part DE (pref. food grade, although pharmaceutical grade will do--just not commercial, like for swimming pools), 3 parts sand, and 1 part top soil OR ashes. You can set it up in something like a cat litter box or a small plastic swimming pool. The chickens will LOVE it.

ALSO, I know you show hens, well, tonight I went to a local auction and bought 4 Barbu d'Uccle, 3 hens and their roo. They belonged to a new friend who lost her husband in a tragic accident recently, and she has had to sell off almost all of her livestock. She said they are just about 1 year old, and love to sit their eggs together. They just sat a clutch of 18 eggs, and we have decided to let them do another clutch before we separate the from their roo. Actually, we want them mostly for eggs, but they are beautiful, so letting them sit a clutch from time to time will be nice. They are also very friendly. I will bribe my DD to take pics so I can post them. Of course, I'm still waiting on pics of our goatie boys to post, so I guess I'm not good at this bribery business.:p
 

Poka_Doodle

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I joined GAA just because I'm hoping to get goats in the future, LOL.
Thanks for the info.
 

MrsKuhn

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Can someone tell me where to buy it or show me a picture of your bag? I am looking all over and there are so many different types and brands and prices and I want to make sure I get the correct one to sprinkle in bedding for my goats and chickens.
 
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