2 separate questions....

[RebelEgger]

I need to get off my butt and finally get the dust bath area made. So I have 2 options I’m thinking - which do you think would be better. i was originally thinking making it in the Rubbermaid bin which I can put the lid on in bad weather, I had this in the run when they were younger but they never used it. This time I was going to dig down a bit to sink it in and make it not so high for them to get in and out of. Good option?

OR
I can make it in the area under the coop, which they were dust bathing in when the soil was loose. I can maintain this now by just continuing to rake it up and loosen it, this area does get wet in weather but with winter coming we are going to be enclosing their run so weather won’t be hitting them. I feel this is probably the better option but wanted opinions. I have sand and ashes from our pellet stove to add to this as well.

ALSO,
I’ve been reading about metal roofing creating condensation in the coop, mine is currently exposed. I do have some styrofoam left over from us building our house which I can cut to fit. Do you think this will be enough? Should I do something different?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I need to get off my butt and finally get the dust bath area made.

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. You can provide a chicken a fabulously clean bowl of water with whatever additives you think they will like and they will probably prefer to drink from a mud puddle. If it's not muddy enough they will scratch in to to get the consistency and color they prefer. You can build a dust bath area with all the right dirt and additive and they are likely to scratch through the bedding to get down to dirt and dust bathe there.

You can try either method, they might work. If you try that bin I'd probably cut out the bottom or at least create drainage so it will dry out if it gets rained on. But don't be too surprised if they ignore your efforts and just create their own.

Should I do something different?

I would not use just styrofoam. If it is exposed and they can get to it they will probably eat it. If condensation is a problem I'd install a vapor barrier under the metal. That would be to try to keep moist air from coming into contact with the underside of the metal. If moist air doesn't reach the underside of the metal you don't get condensation.

You can put insulation under that to try to stop the metal form reaching the dew point on the underside but you still want a vapor barrier. And you need to make sure they can't eat it.

 

[KarynVA]

Ridgerunner said, " You can build a dust bath area with all the right dirt and additive and they are likely to scratch through the bedding to get down to dirt and dust bathe there. "


Yes, indeedy. Silly birds.

 

[RebelEgger]

Thanks for the advice @Ridgerunner

Well I went with the under the coop option. They had some pot holes in there anyways so I thought maybe they were telling me they liked that option. Plus I didn’t really like the bin idea as it also took up floor space in the run. I will just rake up the dirt under the coop every few days to fluff it back up. And yup, those darn chickens seem to have a mind of their own!

As for the roof, I’ll see what my husband can come up with for a vapor barrier. They can not reach the styrofoam from the roost, so at least no worries there.

I’ll update this post once we decide what to do and post pictures. We will soon need to winterize the run as well, so I’ll post pictures of that too. Thanks again!!

 

[RebelEgger]

Here’s pictures of the kids enjoying the fluffed up dust bath area.

 

[SBFChickenGirl]

ALSO,
I’ve been reading about metal roofing creating condensation in the coop, mine is currently exposed. I do have some styrofoam left over from us building our house which I can cut to fit. Do you think this will be enough? Should I do something different?

Do not, under any circumstances, use styrofoam. Just... don't do it.

We moved into a new house a couple of years back. There was a chicken coop, which we integrated our birds along with the previous owner's birds. The coop used to be an old tack shed and so it had a door, a window, and drywall walls. It was metal sheeting on the outside and tarpaper and shingles on top of plywood for the roof.

The drywall made it horribly stuffy, we could never get the ammonia smell out and so we decided to just take the drywall out.

Behind the drywall were sheets of styrofoam. And LOTS of mice nests. So many.

The styrofoam was a pain to clean up, and the chickens LOVED to eat it, even though it definitely wasn't good for them. We never got all of it out, and to this day I still find small pieces of it. It's a pain. Don't use styrofoam. Chickens don't need insulation, they walk around with feathered coats.

 

[K0k0shka]

I made a really nice dust bath for my chickens, but they refuse to use it. They prefer to undermine the foundations of the coop and run and dust bathe in those trenches instead So... Don't put too much time and energy into the dust bath. Looks like yours are happy under the coop.

 

[aart]

Not sure how you can put a barrier up to avoid condensation without blocking the eave ventilation....unless you want to remove the tin roofing and lay something down under it.