Chickens Won’t Use Dustbath

[lmadeline146]

It’s currently super muddy where I live, so I decided to set up a dust bath for my chickens since they cant bathe outside anymore. I got a bin and filled it with sand like people suggested, but my hens refuse to go into the bin. What should I do?

 

[mrskenmore]

It may be too small, can you unload the contents into the corner of the indoor area there?

 

[aart]

What are the actual dimensions of that bin?
How long has it been out there?

Might just take time....or they may never use it.
I tried bins the first couple winters, before I got a place in the run(under the coop building) to stay dry and thus not freeze, they never used it.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Size and height of the bin may make a difference - ideally it should be big enough for at least 2-3 birds at a time, as they like bathing together. Substrate needs to be deep enough for them to really roll in it.

As my girls don't really have other options for dust bathing in winter (uncovered run, lots of precipitation), I have a covered sandbox filled with peat moss, and it only gets opened when weather allows. I count 5 in the photo, but I think I've seen as many as 7 chickens in it:

 

[3KillerBs]

Chickens hate change.

They may use it once they're absolutely SURE that it's not dangerous.

 

[K0k0shka]

I don't know why sand is such a default in people's minds when they fill a dust bath. It's almost like an unspoken rule and the first material they go for when making a dust bath. But the reality is that chickens aren't crazy about sand, at all. Some use it, others will resort to it if they have no other option, but a lot of chickens would rather roll around in plain dirt than use sand. Sand is coarse and abrasive and not very comfortable when rubbed against their skin. They much prefer dry soil, peat moss, wood ash and other such materials that are finer and lighter - like dust, as the name suggests, "dust bath". I went with the popular default of sand, too, back when I was setting up my first dust bath, and my chickens absolutely refused to use it. I built different containers to hold it - larger, deeper, wider, etc. Nope. It's not the container, it's the contents. If they like the medium, they'll cram themselves in a shoebox if that's what it takes! Get rid of the sand and give them peat moss instead - you'll see the instant payoff!

 

[3KillerBs]

I don't know why sand is such a default in people's minds when they fill a dust bath. It's almost like an unspoken rule and the first material they go for when making a dust bath. But the reality is that chickens aren't crazy about sand, at all. Some use it, others will resort to it if they have no other option, but a lot of chickens would rather roll around in plain dirt than use sand. Sand is coarse and abrasive and not very comfortable when rubbed against their skin. They much prefer dry soil, peat moss, wood ash and other such materials that are finer and lighter - like dust, as the name suggests, "dust bath". I went with the popular default of sand, too, back when I was setting up my first dust bath, and my chickens absolutely refused to use it. I built different containers to hold it - larger, deeper, wider, etc. Nope. It's not the container, it's the contents. If they like the medium, they'll cram themselves in a shoebox if that's what it takes! Get rid of the sand and give them peat moss instead - you'll see the instant payoff!

That's interesting to know.

I've never made a dustbath since my climate and setup favors the birds digging their own all year round, so I had no idea.

 

[K0k0shka]

That's interesting to know.

I've never made a dustbath since my climate and setup favors the birds digging their own all year round, so I had no idea.

Mine dig their own in the dry areas of their run year round even up here in the North. I just wanted to be extra and make them a fancy dust bath, too It's too much upkeep though, so I've given up on it now and accepted that they'll just dig craters in the run. Their dust bath is so deep that the top of the peat moss is about 1 foot down, and yet they STILL manage to fling it out and empty the dust bath, and then lose interest in it. They love it when I refill it, and prefer that over their dirt craters, but it doesn't last long before they empty it again and I'm just tired of the whole exercise. I don't know how deep it needs to be for the dust to actually stay in the dust bath...

 

[rosemarythyme]

I don't know how deep it needs to be for the dust to actually stay in the dust bath...

It'd need to be deep enough that the birds couldn't/wouldn't want to get in. Yeah they always fling the dust bath material everywhere, I just go get more. In the summer they'll usually find some other place to roll in anyhow, so it's mostly for the wetter months around here.

 

[lmadeline146]

I don't know why sand is such a default in people's minds when they fill a dust bath. It's almost like an unspoken rule and the first material they go for when making a dust bath. But the reality is that chickens aren't crazy about sand, at all. Some use it, others will resort to it if they have no other option, but a lot of chickens would rather roll around in plain dirt than use sand. Sand is coarse and abrasive and not very comfortable when rubbed against their skin. They much prefer dry soil, peat moss, wood ash and other such materials that are finer and lighter - like dust, as the name suggests, "dust bath". I went with the popular default of sand, too, back when I was setting up my first dust bath, and my chickens absolutely refused to use it. I built different containers to hold it - larger, deeper, wider, etc. Nope. It's not the container, it's the contents. If they like the medium, they'll cram themselves in a shoebox if that's what it takes! Get rid of the sand and give them peat moss instead - you'll see the instant payoff!

Would it be ok to mix the sand and peat moss together half/half? Thank you so much by the way