Ashes for dusting?

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

We have a wood burning stove, so we have LOTS of ashes and I read somewhere on here that it is good for chickens to dust in! Is this true? I got 2 cardboard boxes and cut them down and filled them with ashes and put them in the chicken coop. Any advice would be great! Thanks,

 

[FortWorthChicks]

Ashes are great for their dust baths... I mix it in with the dirt and they love it.

I would mix it with dirt though straight ashes may be too much.

 

[alpinefarm]

Mrs. Fluffy Puffy :

We have a wood burning stove, so we have LOTS of ashes and I read somewhere on here that it is good for chickens to dust in! Is this true? I got 2 cardboard boxes and cut them down and filled them with ashes and put them in the chicken coop. Any advice would be great! Thanks,

I am interested in this, too, as I know that my grandparents took their wood ash down to the coop...I am not sure just how they used it, whether alone for dust-bathing or for mixing with bedding material. When I've tried to get my flock to dust-bathe in it, they refuse to touch it.​

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

I can't put dirt in there tonight, so tomarrow I'll put some dirt in there! Oh, wait a minute... the dirt is all WET!! Or more like MUD! Maybe It'll dry out tomarrow! Do you think just ashes will hurt them??

 

[FortWorthChicks]

I dont think they will be hurt

Dont worry!! You know If it is wet out there I would just toss the ashes right into the run. maybe where they like to dustbath already. the wet ground should kindof glue it down and the chickens will use it when it drys.

Its a great way to use the ashes.

 

[alpinefarm]

Do the ashes deter/kill mites/lice? Someone mentioned that to me...

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

My friend told me that ashes are suppost to get rid of mite/lice, but I dunno for sure! It would sure be nice if they did, though!

 

[Terri O]

I have always mixed my wood ash with DE and a few sprinkles of Sevin. It seems to work great. The chickens dust in it and al is good! Terri O

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Well, I might mix it with sand or dirt or something!

 

[Slywoody]

Wood ash has lye in it. We used to put in a shovel full of wood ash into a 55 gallon drum of boiling water to scald and scrape pigs. They come out nice and clean.
I have a fair sized plastic tub in the coop that fill half way with screened sand, then i add some DE and wood ash. Not alot, just some. My girls are as clean as a whistle.