My neighbor swore by DE for mites, but it nearly killed my flock

So my neighbor Randy, who's kept hens for like 15 years, told me to dust the coop with diatomaceous earth for mites. Said it was the only thing he used, cheap and safe. I sprinkled it everywhere, in the nesting boxes and on the roosts, even puffed some on the birds themselves. Two days later my girls were sneezing and one had watery eyes, plus they stopped laying. Turns out DE is awful if it gets inhaled, especially in a dusty enclosed space. I had to clean out the whole coop, switch to a poultry dust from the feed store, and it took a week for them to bounce back. Now I'm torn because Randy swears he's done it for decades with zero issues. Maybe my coop is just more closed in than his? Has anyone else had a bad reaction to DE or am I the odd one out here?

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