feeding DE

dkrabec · #1 06/20/12, 06:47 AM

I posted about my gelding who ripped a hole in the side of his mouth and about using sugar to pack it thank you all for your responses. Good news it healed, I ended up packing it with sugar and betadine for about a week after I ran out of the stuff the vet gave me. There is scar tissue but it healed and is almost invisible. We are now experimenting with biting options

but that is story in and of itself.

Now I have a question about how much DE to feed. I have read about the great benefits of feeding it and read that for parasite control to feed 1 cup a day. I have also read to feed just a couple tablespoons, to get the benefits. Any input from anyone who has been feeding DE would be appreciated. I have been feeding it for a little over a month now, at the rate of 1 cup a day. Thank you

pancho · #2 06/20/12, 09:39 AM

Please do a search on DE. There have been several long argument about it.

Joshie · #3 06/20/12, 12:07 PM

There are people on this site who swear by it and I'm not knocking them but DE hasn't been scientifically proven to do anything.

Scientific proof is more important than personal experience. Here is an example. Let's say I give my horse a mint every day and it never gets ill and never needs to see a vet. This doesn't prove that mints keep horses healthy even if one hundred people have the same experience.

Rogo · #4 06/20/12, 08:08 PM

I have been feeding DE to my house pets and livestock daily for over 30 years. I have been taking DE daily for 15 years.

You will not see "scientific" proof since no one wants to spend what it costs to do the testing on a product that's been used for thousands of years. You will only see testimonials.

I feed DE daily so there's no sickness, no diseases. I don't vaccinate. Many of us feel no need to pump the poison if they can't get anything. Whether feeding DE to deworm your critters or for good health for you/your critters, it will only work when the right amount is fed. That amount can be different for different critters/humans.

I have had no need all these years for any commercial dewormers for my critters, confirmed by vet's fecal tests. And some of those vets feed DE to their stock.

I've had no vet bills all these years for my livestock and house pets.

I couldn't tell you the last time I saw a doctor 'cause I don't remember. I have no prescriptions, over the counter medications, even an aspirin in my house. Not needed. I'm 73.

I love not having vet or medical bills!

My livestock free choice feed DE. If you hand feed DE to your equine daily on their feed, each gets 5 ounces daily. A one cup measuring cup holds 5 ounces of DE. So you're feeding the right amount. If you still see worms, just increase the amount of DE. You can't over dose DE. I take quite a bit of it daily.

I've seen or heard about DE reversing just about every "incurable" disease.
One of the reasons I take DE is so I don't get what my family has put in my genes....diabetes, cancer, macular degeneration and who knows what else. Instead of losing my sight with MD, I no longer need glasses/contact lenses for distance or near.

Doctors/vets I know who take/feed DE won't tell patients/clients about DE 'cause they know they won't see them again. It's sad, but they tell me they have to feed their family.

The only side effect of DE is you won't know when you eat tainted food. No salmonella, no e-coli.

So believe what you will, but a bag of DE will always be in my house. And we go thru a 50 pound bag every month. I haven't had to use Medicare yet - no need! Prices vary around the country. I pay $25 for that bag at the feed store. I use Perma-Guard Fossil Shell Flour.

southerngurl · #5 06/20/12, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Scientific proof is more important than personal experience.

I'm not a big proponent of DE but I have to disagree with a flat out statement like that. What happens in a lab doesn't always happen in real life. Science is in no way foolproof. All to often it considers only one aspect of something which can cause incorrect conclusions.

When I find something consistently works for me, I don't care if there is no "proof". But that is up the level of my own ability to judge. I learn in my own herds what is necessary to keep my own animals, in their own, unique environment, healthy. Yes, if you've never had a sick animal, in some ways you've never learned anything.

southerngurl · #6 06/20/12, 10:11 PM

Rogo, have you ever had a horse with a positive fecal be put on the DE and have the fecals become clean? Because otherwise you really can't tell if it works. Could be, in your arid, horse friendly environment, that parasites would not be a problem without the DE. Bring in a horse infected with parasites and get the fecals to get clear from DE and my interest will be piqued.

Thing is, horses are pretty hardy critters and don't have a big problem with parasites unless they are kept in cramped conditions or possibly young. I haven't wormed one of my horses in about 2 years. Not because he gets anything special, but because he's mature and lives on a large field with some cattle and doesn't have a big worm burden. His immunity is handling it because of closer to natural conditions. And I don't even live in a nice, arid place like you do. I've never had a horse get sick, just injuries and geldings.

dkrabec · #7 06/21/12, 07:57 AM

Thank you Rogo I appreciate your information. I too have began giving it to my dogs and I am seeing a difference as one of my dogs has always been hard to keep weight on no matter what or how much we fed him, he also has been having skin problems. The vet wanted to put him on steroids an fill him with poison. Since I have started the DE with him his hair is growing back, and he is putting on weight. My other dog came up with tape worms which is what lead me to start giving them the DE and after about a week I did not see anymore of them and it has been about two months. I do believe that if your body has the tools to heal itself it will and, will stay healthy if given the right tools. The DE will certainly not hurt and I am positive, with my dogs I am seeing the benefits. My horses have been kept on a regular worming schedule for their whole lives and within the first two weeks of using the DE my 16 yo gelding passed a couple of dead worms that I saw so I am convinced that the DE is working for that purpose. I just wanted to hear from someone else who is having positive results with DE, and see if I am feeding the right amount. I get it at TSC it's around $12 for a 20lb bag.

Cliff · #8 06/21/12, 08:52 AM

I wonder if de's contributions to health besides for the worming aspect have something to do with it's mineral content. Our soils (and therefore the commercially produced food that most of us eat) are horribly mineral deficient due to so many years of crops being grown with only chemical fertilizers.

dkrabec · #9 06/21/12, 12:22 PM

Cliff I do think the minerals in the DE contribute to the benefits. After I wrote earlier I went out to ride my 16 yo gelding and while I was tacking him I noticed how quite he was standing, and realized he has been quieter the past month. This a horse that has never been patient and has dug many holes standing tied. I have tried for years to correct/change his behavior with very little success. I started feeding the DE and changed nothing else, and suddenly his behavior changed. Makes me think something in the DE is providing a needed element, something to calm him down. Science or no science I am a believer in DE, to many positive changes are taking place since I began using it.

Rogo · #10 06/21/12, 12:38 PM

=== Rogo, have you ever had a horse with a positive fecal be put on the DE and have the fecals become clean? Because otherwise you really can't tell if it works. ===

I haven't, but I know others that have had big internal parasite problems and DE cleared it up -- not just for horses, but also other species of critters.

Rogo · #11 06/21/12, 12:49 PM

=== I wonder if de's contributions to health besides for the worming aspect have something to do with it's mineral content. ===

No one knows why DE works like it does (I'm just glad it works!), but many think that sickness/diseases are caused by parasites and DE kills the parasites.

Many also think the 28 trace minerals have a lot to do with it.

I was staying with a gal who had the most gawd awful cold I've ever seen. She kept saying she was sorry I would also be sick. I told her not to worry, that I won't catch it. And I didn't. She now has a bag of DE in her house and takes it daily!

Rogo · #12 06/21/12, 12:56 PM

=== if you've never had a sick animal, in some ways you've never learned anything. ===

Really? I look at it differently. I've learned how to avoid sickness and diseases.

DamnearaFarm · #13 06/21/12, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rogo

=== if you've never had a sick animal, in some ways you've never learned anything. ===

Really? I look at it differently. I've learned how to avoid sickness and diseases.

So why not take the snake oil show on the road?

arabian knight · #14 06/21/12, 06:24 PM

I try not to feed dirt to my horses, in fact I take persuasions against it, by feeding Metamucil to clear the system out and keep it clean.

wr · #15 06/21/12, 08:50 PM

I realize this can be a hot topic but you still have to keep it nice and remain civil toward each other.

southerngurl · #16 06/21/12, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rogo

=== if you've never had a sick animal, in some ways you've never learned anything. ===

Really? I look at it differently. I've learned how to avoid sickness and diseases.

Of course we want to avoid disease. But often running into it can help you learn how.

southerngurl · #17 06/21/12, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arabian knight

I try not to feed dirt to my horses, in fact I take persuasions against it, by feeding Metamucil to clear the system out and keep it clean.

DE isn't dirt. It's mineral deposits, like the limestone you probably have in your horses' very own mineral.

Rogo · #18 06/22/12, 12:24 AM

=== while I was tacking him I noticed how quite he was standing, and realized he has been quieter the past month. This a horse that has never been patient and has dug many holes standing tied. I have tried for years to correct/change his behavior with very little success. I started feeding the DE and changed nothing else, and suddenly his behavior changed. Makes me think something in the DE is providing a needed element, something to calm him down. Science or no science I am a believer in DE, to many positive changes are taking place since I began using it. ===

Many equine folks report the same.

Rogo · #19 06/22/12, 12:29 AM

=== I try not to feed dirt to my horses, in fact I take persuasions against it, by feeding Metamucil to clear the system out and keep it clean. ===

100% food grade DE is fossilized plants from the oceans and lakes.

I've never fed anything to 'clear the system,' just DE, and have never had a colic all these years.

Rogo · #20 06/22/12, 12:44 AM

=== So why not take the snake oil show on the road? ===

DE is nothing new. It's used by tons of folks all over the world and has been for thousands of years; its uses handed down by word of mouth. We who use the product become preachers of it. I hate to see folks/critters suffering when there's an inexpensive and safe fix.

World Minerals owns most of the U.S. deposits. Perma-Guard is their largest supplier, but anyone can become a dealer.