Chick dirt question

[Birdpants]

Hi fellow chicken-lovers. I have a weird situation—all the dirt in my backyard is suspect because it was very recently covered in concrete. I’m planning on bringing in fresh topsoil but in the meantime my 3-week old chicks are begging for a dust bath. And I think I’m gonna have to buy dirt.

So....what do I get? Is just a standard topsoil okay? Does it have to be organic? Should it have or not have compost mixed in? Is anything okay as long as it’s not potting soil with vermiculite or perlite? Anything else in particular I should expressly look to avoid (gypsum, lime etc)?

 

[neo71665]

Mine like ash piles

 

[mamajos]

I mix regular dirt, sand, and ash from the fire pit. They love it. Of course they love any dirt spot.

 

[CluckerFamily]

Mine love any dirt even a knocked over pot full of potting soil

 

[rosemarythyme]

Go with PLAIN top soil (which should have no additions), or 100% peat moss. The absolute cheapest "garden soil" might be free of additives too... read the composition panel to check. I would avoid anything with any sort of chemical add ins like fertilizers, or perlite, etc.

I find peat moss to be the easiest thing to buy, and you can often find it in smaller bags if you don't need that much (or conversely, in big bags if you plan on using more of it later on).