Why do chickens take dust baths?

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Flippacase

Flippacase

Songster
10 Years
Nov 6, 2009
297
7
121
Massachusetts
With the word "bath" in the name, you would think it would be to clean right?
Well its raining here right now, and Gladyss is outside, rollin arouind in the dirt??? (she's silly)

I figured if it wasn't to clean...it was to cool down...but its pretty chilly here....
 
I don't know the answer to your question, but I can say that a "dust bath" is one of my girls favorite activity!
Then they come up on the porch and shake all the dust on the cement... silly birds!
 
That's kind of what I thought too, although I don't know it for a fact...so I occasionally sprinkle about a cup of DE in their dustbathing area
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They dust bathe as a means to clean their feathers. Also getting the dust on the feather shafts and on their skin lessens mite infestation. You can take advantage of their proclivity for dusting by first locating a couple of their more used "dust bowls" and add some DE to it. I occasionally add some Sevin to it as well. It the easiest method to use to prevent lice and mites.
 
They take dust baths for several reasons. First, the dust helps dry their feathers and clean any natural oiliness off. It think they also just like the feel of warm scratchy sand on their skin. Mine grovel in the sand and kick it all over themselves and each other. Today all four of them were out there in the same sunny square foot of sand having a blast...

Adding some Feed Grade DE (Diatomaceous Earth) to the sand helps control mites and lice by dehydrating the little critters.

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My little RIR are only 5 weeks old and when they came in today from their day in their run, they took extensive dust baths. It's so cute. They even roll their little heads around in it.
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Silly birds. I could barely come in to eat dinner because I was standing out there in the garage oooohing and aaaahing at the little sweeties.
 
My barred rocks hens take over the mulched flower/bush bed by the patio. I've given up on trying keep that area tidy, they don't get into any other bed than that one. Last weekend it looked like "girls day" at the beach (a real hen party) where the only things missing were fruity drinks with umbrellas in them.
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