babies on the way!

[joanm]

Hello! I will soon be a new mom. I have three chicks that I will get in a couple of days. 2 Buff Orpingtons and 1 Buff Brahma - all hens to start. I have never owned chickens, but my dad raised them when he was a kid. My coop is almost finished (my dad is making it) and I can't wait! I have an acre that is fenced so my chickens can free range. My question is, I know that they like dust baths and I want to build something like a sandbox for them so they maybe won't make alot of holes. Will this work? Can you train them to use the sandbox? Also I know chickens eat bugs, but do they eat ants?

Thanks!

 

[Napalongtail]

If you make a sand box they most likely will use it. Here's an idea for one... Using a 4ft long by 3 ft wide sheet of weed block a few cinder blocks and a couple bags of sand. Lay your weed block down in a fairly flat area. Then layer the cinder blocks two high(those 6in high by 12 in long ones are best) once your walls are built add the sand in. Once a month you can add 1 cup of DE( make sure its food grade) or a 1/2 cup of sevin dust 5% your chickens will find it fun and rewarding. In winter you can add in your fireplace ashes instead of the DE or sevin. Just need something to kill the bugs. Have fun and welcome to the chicken world!!
As for ants, they'll try them ,but they aren't a favorite food.

 

[joanm]

Thanks for the great info! Oh, I'm very nervous now. I've been reading Aron's story about the chicks he ordered and some didn't make it! I paid a bundle for the ones I ordered!

 

[AccidentalFarm]

joanm-

Hi, welcome to BYC! You'll find tons of good info here.

It sounds as if you might have ordered from mypetchicken.com? They are one of the few places I know of that will ship just 3 chicks. They include a heating pad with the chicks to help keep them warm, helping to insure survival. Most hatcheries prefer a minimum order of 25 chicks, this is because shipping is hard on the little babies, and having 25 in a box at once helps them to stay warm thus increasing the survival rate. Remember that newly hatched chicks need to be kept at close to 95 degrees in the brooder for the first week. Aran lives in NY and just had bad luck with his shipment- not enough birds/shipping from Texas to NY/colder weather...don't let it worry you, though- not everyone has bad luck with shipped chicks and I'm sure yours will do fine.

As for the dustbath's, Napalongtail had a great suggestion. I have a rubbermaid tote box lid that I use inside the coop as a dust bath box and it works great. I suppose you could use hay bales, 4x4's, or whatever you have lying around and throw sand and DE into it for outside. A kiddie pool would also work.

Be sure to show us pics of your babies and your coop. We love pictures!

Again, welcome to BYC -we're glad you found us!

 

[blue fire]

Chickens love ants!

Once my chicks find some, they start scratching to find more!

 

[CarriBrown]

Quote:
How funny... Mine don't like them at all!!

Silly things.

 

[joanm]

Thanks for the welcome! I'm so excited about my babies! I'll send pics of them and the coop as soon as I can.

 

[joanm]

Yes! I did buy them from my pet chicken.