are 1 week old chicks too young for dust bath?

[princess araucana]

They keep flopping around trying to bathe in spilled food and dried poo! (yes, I clean their brooder box, but they sure poop a LOT!

)
are they too young for me to put a shallow bowl of sand for them to play in?

 

[Ferngully]

I say go for it. It is lot fun to watch them throw it everywhere.

When it is warm enough here during the day we take ours outside in a protected area and watch them dust and sun bathe and learn to peck at things on the ground.

 

[princess araucana]

nice idea to let them out! Do you have a chicken wire box or just let them run around? I would be scared they would run off. My chicks last year were so tame, but these guys get spooked real easy and don;t like to be held...

 

[Ferngully]

We made a mini run with chicken wire and scrap bits of wood. Easy enough for kids to move and climb in and out of. We throw a foot stool in to sit on, some food and water and a beach towel over it in one area for shade. It gives you the ability to get into their area to play with them and handle them. So far it has worked well as we now have to make a run for it if the chicks and chickens are out if we need to do something. EVERYBODY wants a pet or a hold or treat or to perch on your shoulder. At night, or when it starts to cool outside the babies come back inside to their brooder.

 

[rebecca10782]

No, that is the cutest thing ever when babies dust bath! I miss having babies

 

[TXmom]

If you give them sand to dust bathe in, they will go crazy EATING it! It's too funny how much they love eating sand. I'm not sure how much is too much, but mine sure ate a lot.

And...you probably already know this, but just in case...since they'll eat it, make sure it's clean sand, not from the beach or something.

 

[jkm]

My broody has six new babies, and she wanted a dust bath now! after 21 days of no bath ,she was desperate. So she took them out of the safe pen at 24 hours old, to the rose bush and showed them how to have a bath. It was a hoot.
Now at age five days, they all want a bath at 5 pm, with mom, in my new flower bed, aghhh...... so yes at five days the instinct is there.

mom buffy has enlaged their range every night across the yard,,, adding more space , but she puts them to bed early! 730 pm.