What do you use for a dust bath?

[branston]

I've tried everything.......they don't like sand (fine play sand), they don't like sand mixed with top soil or top soil on it's own. However, whenever I refill the oyster shell dish they all fight to sit in it and have a dust??? I was thinking of trying the Arm & Hammer Unscented kitty litter.....anyone tried this?

 

[cmclean]

My chickens found their own dusting spot. They started getting into a pot plant container. It was full of dirt, no plant at that time. They were so young that 3 could fit into the pot at the same time! So cute! Now that they are older and much fatter, they still chose that pot to dust in. I filled a cat litter box with potting soil/sand mix and put it beside the favored pot. Now there is always a bird in one or the other!! Mind you, they have the entire yard to dust in. This was just their favored spot from the beginning.

 

[BlazeJester]

Mine use the "garden box" in the front of my house. They also dug out a spot under some dead azalea bushes where the ground is super hard and dry. There are leaves there and they're lazy, though, so they moved to the garden box. Whatever floats their boat...

 

[Rosaleen]

My girls dusted in the soil in the yard so now that winter is here, I dug up some of the soil, mixed it with sand, DE, and wood ash and put it all in two large bins that fit perfectly in the bottom of a recycled wall-unit I use in their run...you can see a pic on my page. The bins are pretty well sheltered so there isn't too much waste. Also stays nice and dry and the girls constantly use them.

 

[SueBaby]

Quote:
X2

I'd recommend potting soil. The have a lot of space toward the back of my yard where it wouldn't matter how much they dug up the soil, but they either choose some pots with potting soil in them or spots near the house that are well watered and have soft dirt. My husband has big plans to try to make some "soft" spots in the back so that they will dust there, but I don't know if they'll go for it. What's the old saying "You can lead a chicken to potting soil, but you can't make her dust"????

 

[PAJerry]

I use wood ashes from the stove. Be sure to let them cool for a day or two. The chickens love them and I have read that it kills lice and other pests that can bother them.

 

[terryg]

In the winter when the ground is frozen/wet/cold/snow (what a mess!) I use a kitty litter box that is filled with sand, some fireplace ashes and a cup of food-grade DE (diatomaceous earth). It keeps their feathers in fine form and the lice at bay. You can see this bin and the girls using it on my live cam at www.HenCam.com. (You'll also see a rabbit in the box. Candy lives with the hens, and likes to sit in the litter box, but, no, she doesn't pee there.)

 

[Zigmont]

Mine love the corners of the horse stalls, where the shavings are deep and dense

 

[WestfarthingHomestead]

Cute, picture, Suebaby! The other chickens are like, 'Hey! It's my turn! You've been in there an hour, geez!"

 

[SueBaby]

Quote:
Exactly! If she wasn't one of the alpha hens I'm sure the others would have just gotten in there with her.