Dust bath advice needed

[Artchickenlover21]

I've been researching dust baths on here and other places for a while now and there's a lot of conflicting information, so I would like to just confirm if this mixture is okay.

My chickens have not been able to go outside for weeks on end because of the constant snow and rain. I got a huge cat litter box big enough for them and am planning on turning it into an indoor-coop dust bath. I'm planning on adding wood ash, peat moss, and/or top soil. I was originally going to add a small amount of food grade DE as well but this is where the conflicting information comes in. I've seen people who have been raising chickens for longer than I've been alive recommending it, yet I see other people say it's not good.

My chickens have had lice and mite problems for a long time and I figured the DE and wood ash would help with that during the winter when they can't go outside. The two battling sides of "DO use DE" and "DON'T use it" is driving me crazy. I'm not planning on adding sand because they might not like it.

Anyone got any thoughts or preferably facts? Also do I only use peat moss as a substitute for soil or add both?

 

[Kiki]

Do not use DE.
Peat moss by itself is perfect.

Do you have any idea how much dust, no matter what you use, is going to fly around in your house if you do this indoors?

 

[Artchickenlover21]

Do not use DE.
Peat moss by itself is perfect.

Do you have any idea how much dust, no matter what you use, is going to fly around in your house if you do this indoors?

I figured, and the coop is already pretty dusty. Do you think wood ash be too dusty as well?

 

[nuthatched]

De is innaffective for pests and a respiratory irritant for you and them.
Get some permethrine poultry dust to treat your coop buy wood lice shouldn't bother your birds

 

[nuthatched]

I figured, and the coop is already pretty dusty. Do you think wood ash be too dusty as well?

Wood ash can be caustic if wet.

 

[TheSunnySideYard]

I have some good experience with getting rid of mites!

I had a mite infestation and covered the birds and their coop in DE. They were all fine, ...and so were the mites! It just simply doesn't work.

Getting the mites off the birds is extremely easy though!

To de-mite birds:
1) Make a lukewarm bath with some regular old iodine from your local pharmacy (or Amazon) and Dawn dish soap.
2) Soap up/scrub your birds thoroughly. You gotta ensure the soap gets down to their skin. Let them soak in the lukewarm water. Rinse with lukewarm water until the water runs clear and there are no visible mites on their bodies.
3) Keep them warm while they dry fully.
4) Quarantine them. It doesn't have to be fancy, I used my camping tent with woodshavings in the bottom, and kept them in my garage. They'll have to stay in quarantine for a week or two. Keep inspecting them throughout to ensure you didn't miss any mites. (If you find more, start the process again, and ensure the quarantine space is disinfected.)

NOTE: Do not place the chickens back into the infected coop before being 100% sure your coop is totally mite and mite egg-free, all you need is 1 mite egg to spawn an entirely new infestation.

To clean the coop:
This is where all the real work comes in.
1) Remove all dirt, dust, woodchips, sand, nesting materials, etc., and empty the coop out totally.
2) Scrub all surfaces, nooks, and crannies with Dawn dish soap and iodine mixed in water. (don't need a whole lot of the iodine btw, a tbsp will do). Make sure to do a good job on the nest boxes and the roosting bars especially.
3) Hose everything off.
4) Grab your heat gun, and run it over everything on high. Go over all the surfaces, nooks, and crannies, especially focusing on joints and corners. All the places where little bugs like to hide. (Note: If you have plastic, skip this step, but wood or metal is fine). The heat gun gets hot enough to burn off all the mites and eggs instantly and is more thorough than a scrub brush.
5) Leave clean, dry, and empty for 1-2 weeks. Inspect regularly for mites and make sure no pests are entering the space and re-contaminating it.
6) Once your quarantine time is over, place fresh wood shavings, sand, or whatever floor litter material you are using and let your birds back in!

Additional tip: If you can move your coop, do so! At least for a few months.

Identifying the source and more:
I noticed that the source for my infestation of mites was actually wild birds, so I fixed that and have not had a mite problem since! If you can find your source of contamination, that would be a good place to start to help prevent an infestation in the future. Also, your chicken's immune system can help fight off the infestation, if you are finding that they keep getting infested, it could mean that they need help nutritionally. I liked Nutrena feather fixer, this one:
https://www.nutrenaworld.com/product/naturewise-feather-fixer-poultry-feed
It has a formula that actually has helped keep the mite issue at bay. I got mine from tractor supply.

There are lots of good tips on what to feed them to help boost their immune systems

Anyway! I hope that helps, I solute you in your battle with the mites, you can do it!

 

[Rurumo]

I'm surprised elemental sulfur isn't more popular than DE for mites. It's a powder, so it's a little dusty, but at least it isn't ultra fine silica like DE, so it's much easier on the lungs than DE, though I keep their bath spot out in a covered run so the dust hasn't been a problem for me in the past. Maybe people don't like the sulfur smell? I actually like it a lot lol. Now that I think about it, using a sulfur bag might create less dust than putting it in a bath, which would be better for enclosed coops, here is one of the studies on sulfur bags: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27432937/. My grandma taught me about sulfur for chickens and "wettable sulfur" for plant mites back in the 80s.

 

[Artchickenlover21]

I'm surprised elemental sulfur isn't more popular than DE for mites. It's a powder, so it's a little dusty, but at least it isn't ultra fine silica like DE, so it's much easier on the lungs than DE, though I keep their bath spot out in a covered run so the dust hasn't been a problem for me in the past. Maybe people don't like the sulfur smell? I actually like it a lot lol. Now that I think about it, using a sulfur bag might create less dust than putting it in a bath, which would be better for enclosed coops, here is one of the studies on sulfur bags: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27432937/. My grandma taught me about sulfur for chickens and "wettable sulfur" for plant mites back in the 80s.

I got sulfur yesterday after researching it. I'm glad you mentioned it! It does seem much safer and more effective than DE. They have a huge run but I'm planning on making them a smaller covered run that they can sort of treat as an outdoor shelter for bad weather. Hopefully they can have a good outdoor dust bath when that is done.

 

[canne50]

I’m glad to have learned some new ideas about sulfur and clove.
Just goes to show even old hens can learn new tricks!