Can I "make" a dust bath?

[rooster-red]

As long as its just wood ash its fine for a dust bath.

We've even used a new cat litter pan filled with sand for them to take dust baths in, they love it.

 

[sBrickmanHouse]

Well you CAN, but there's no guarantee they'll bathe in it!

My husband was bound and determined to make a dust bath in the run for our birds. He dutifully dug out some dirt, filled the hole with clean, fluffy play sand, and sat back to watch the girls luxuriate in it.

Well, they didn't exactly luxuriate in it-- in fact, they ate it, and promptly went back in the coop to bathe in the pine shavings. So he tried again, filling the hole with a fresh batch of clean sand. Same result.

Husband is now mortally offended that the girls didn't appreciate his efforts, and the birds are still dustbathing in the shavings.

Go figure.

 

[masschix]

Rooster-Red wrote:
As long as its just wood ash its fine for a dust bath.

Thanks for sharing....I didn't know. Boy I have a ton of this after the winter season, since we only heat with the wood stove.​

 

[Velociraptor]

.

 

[Gindee77]

Hahaha...I use sand or parakeet grit, which is like really fine sand, for a treat for my chicks! They eat it. I put DE in with the pine shaving bedding ...they love it. When my chicks are out in the runout pen, they will even take a dust bath in damp soil. They just scratch around in it and finally just flop in it. I think that's one of the funniest behaviors chickens have...it's so entertaining. They just suddenly look like they are made of rubber and get all floppy and loose!

 

[gritsar]

What I'm wondering is if Crayola brand play sand is safe to use. I saw regular play sand back before I needed it, but of course couldn't remember where I saw it when I did need it (I hate having CRS!

)
Anyhow, I bought a very expensive bag of pink Crayola play sand, but haven't used it. I know the chicks are gonna try and eat it. They think anything that comes from me is food. I don't think it'd harm them, kids eat it when you put it in their sandboxes right? But how can I be sure?

 

[Velociraptor]

I bought the sand from lowes for $2.77 for a fifty pound bag, it was a grade down from the play sand, guy there said play sand will get very hard when wet and is good for making sand castles.

Even though I have very hard clay ground they do attempt to bath in it, I just saw it wasn't working well and went out of my way to make an unappreciated sand box (read litter box).

 

[Velociraptor]

.

 

[Cetawin]

I have nothing but Rocks and hard red clay so this is what I did...

Bought a heavy rubber horse feeder
Sift the rocks out of red clay from the yard
Put the clay and some Sweet PDZ in the feeder

Put it in the brooder and MOVED AWAY FAST!

 

[lesterlu]

Here is a link to modern homestead thread for a dustbath. He recommends spaghnum peat moss, shavings, not more than 2 parts per 7 of wood ash and a little diatemacious (food grade) earth as desired.

What is the consensus on the type of sand to use for a run?

I heard mixed reviews and that home depot play sand is bad for their lungs.