Dirt baths

[Sammy Sam]

I introduced my chicks 2-3 weeks old, to dirt/sand(from my yard, mostly sand) for them to use. They love it! I only leave it with for about 3 hours and then I take it away from them. Question’s: First: Can I just leave it all day with them? Second: Can I reuse the dirt/sand after I clean the poop and wood chips out? Third: This might sound odd, but it was wet when I needed the dirt, so I baked my dirt/sand to dry it out. Is baking it harmful in anyway or is it safe to do? Also I was thinking, if I baked the dirt/sand that it would kill anything that was in the dirt/sand?? And then I was thinking would baking it also kill coccidia, if it was in the dirt/sand? Also they are on medication feed to protect them from coccidia.

 

[Debbie292d]

Baking probably does help remove any impurities but that's the reason we try to get our chicks outside as soon as we can so they get exposed to all of this. It helps them build up immunity to lots of things, including coccidiosis.

Yes, it's fine to reuse if you're picking out the poop and wood chips. I leave it in there for a couple of days just picking out some of the chunks now and then.

 

[rosemarythyme]

No reason not to leave it in with them full time, as long as they aren't gorging on it.

Really don't even need to clean out the poop and wood. I raise my chicks directly on the run floor - dirt, wood, grass, leaves, poop and all.

Baking shouldn't "harm" the soil however it did probably kill off some of the bacteria, microbes, etc. in the dirt which you'd actually WANT alive, even if it sounds contradictory. As Debbie292d mentioned it helps build up their immunity to be exposed to germs and stuff in the soil. Since it's possible you've killed off any coccidiosis in the soil sample you've brought in, don't consider your chicks "immunized" to it - they may still be a little vulnerable to it once they're moved out, compared to chicks that are exposed to live parasites.

 

[K0k0shka]

Chicks aren't human babies and don't need to be raised in a sterile environment. Even human babies shouldn't, actually. The push towards sanitation and hygiene was a great improvement from the "good" (not) old days when people died of mundane things because of a lack of basic hygiene. But now it's gone too far in the other direction, kids are raised in environments that are too sterile, and their immune systems don't have a chance to develop proper defenses. Chickens, being animals, need even less sanitation than humans. Think about a broody raising her chicks outside - nobody is baking the soil for them, nobody is cleaning anything, they set their little feet on the soil outside as soon as mama takes them out of the nest, and they live under the same conditions as the adult chickens. Now, the difference with a brooder, is that a brooder is much smaller than an outdoor coop and pen (or free range), so poop builds up faster and it gets dirtier per square area than the outside, so you do need to clean it periodically. But there is absolutely no need to bake and sterilize anything. Even damp/wet soil is fine for them, as long as it's not muddy. Let them meet the microflora of the outdoor world they are soon going to live in. If you are feeding them medicated feed against coccidiosis (very good decision!), they actually do need to encounter the natural soil outside, with everything in it (even cocci) while they are still on the medicated feed. That's because their bodies need to learn to recognize cocci and fight it on their own. What the medication is doing is it weakens the bacteria, so that it's unable to make the chick sick, but the bacteria is still there for the chick's immune system to recognize it and learn to fight it.

 

[Sammy Sam]

Chicks aren't human babies and don't need to be raised in a sterile environment. Even human babies shouldn't, actually. The push towards sanitation and hygiene was a great improvement from the "good" (not) old days when people died of mundane things because of a lack of basic hygiene. But now it's gone too far in the other direction, kids are raised in environments that are too sterile, and their immune systems don't have a chance to develop proper defenses. Chickens, being animals, need even less sanitation than humans. Think about a broody raising her chicks outside - nobody is baking the soil for them, nobody is cleaning anything, they set their little feet on the soil outside as soon as mama takes them out of the nest, and they live under the same conditions as the adult chickens. Now, the difference with a brooder, is that a brooder is much smaller than an outdoor coop and pen (or free range), so poop builds up faster and it gets dirtier per square area than the outside, so you do need to clean it periodically. But there is absolutely no need to bake and sterilize anything. Even damp/wet soil is fine for them, as long as it's not muddy. Let them meet the microflora of the outdoor world they are soon going to live in. If you are feeding them medicated feed against coccidiosis (very good decision!), they actually do need to encounter the natural soil outside, with everything in it (even cocci) while they are still on the medicated feed. That's because their bodies need to learn to recognize cocci and fight it on their own. What the medication is doing is it weakens the bacteria, so that it's unable to make the chick sick, but the bacteria is still there for the chick's immune system to recognize it and learn to fight it.

Thank you, I’m glad you mentioned the wet dirt is fine at this age. I just worried it would be too cold/wet for them at this age, seeing they have not been outside yet, it’s been cold and windy where I live. Hopefully soon they can enjoy the outside. Thanks again, for taking time to reply to me.