Chickens Won’t Use Dustbath

[rosemarythyme]

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

You can try it - they might use it, they might not. Won't know until you try.

 

[tlcmurphy]

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...

Chicken craters, yep my run has those too. I swear it’s mostly for their amusement watching me twist an ankle cleaning out the run. I can feel them mocking me…

 

[AnnPann]

mine won't touch anything with any amount of sand mixed in. i live in an area where there is zero sand in the soil though, so maybe it's foreign to them. they much prefer digging their own hole (when it's dry enough), or will sometimes settle for peat moss in a plastic half-barrel planter. as long as it's fresh peat moss. like it's no good after a few uses. unlike the dirt in the hole they dug just outside the run, which is always good forever. picky chickens.

 

[lmadeline146]

You can try it - they might use it, they might not. Won't know until you try.

Hi again! I filled the bin 3/4 peat moss and 1/4 sand, and Its been in there for 3 days. Today I went in and saw a few hens standing around it while everyone was getting up to the roosts. One of my hens was the last one up and she went into one if our old nest boxes with some hay dust in it and bathed there instead. Could this be a sign they mightve been using the dust bin? Should I move peat moss into the spot she used?

 

[K0k0shka]

Hi again! I filled the bin 3/4 peat moss and 1/4 sand, and Its been in there for 3 days. Today I went in and saw a few hens standing around it while everyone was getting up to the roosts. One of my hens was the last one up and she went into one if our old nest boxes with some hay dust in it and bathed there instead. Could this be a sign they mightve been using the dust bin? Should I move peat moss into the spot she used?

Is it the same bin in the same place, just the contents have been changed? If so, the chickens probably don't know that you've made changes. They are used to that bin in that place containing something they don't like, so they have no incentive to go in, they assume it's still the same. Try putting the mix in a different container in a different location, so that everything is novel to them. They'll be curious and will want to investigate, then they'll discover that the mix is different and may end up liking it better. If you want to use that bin in that location, you can still eventually put it back there, just give them a few weeks of using the material in the new place first, until they get used to the way it looks and feels, and then you can move it back to its original place. It will look new again to them so they'll want to investigate again, and also they'll recognize the darker color peat from having used it before, and will be more likely to go into that bin to use it again.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Should I move peat moss into the spot she used?

You can try that if you want? My original dust bath was in a different location (and wasn't covered, so when it got wet, it got wet) and the chickens kept going to a particular corner to bathe, so I simply moved the dust bath to that location instead.

 

[Wot The Flock]

I don't know why sand is such a default in people's minds when they fill a dust bath.

For me, I am going to add sand to the existing local soil, when I build a bath area. It will just help the existing soil not setting as hard as a rock.

To address comments about it being "too small", I had chickens bathe in a small tub (like smaller than the average nesting box) when it had some soil in it (a covered area). They did look rather ridiculous in such a small tub.

My plan is to build a "huge" bathing area, where all six can go at once. Planned size is about 1.5m x 1.2m, or 5' x 4').

At my last place, I bought a round tub, about the right comfy size for one chicken. Put ash, and the soil in it, and they never used it!!!

 

[mrskenmore]

All,

This is SO interesting... I foolishly never even thought about the dust medium. I use sweet pdz as a coop fill in... I was thinking the other day that they don't dust bath nearly as much as when I had mulch and soil down... then they were digging ankle spraining craters in the run! Well.. shame on me- I am gonna go get them some Peet moss today! What an interesting thread!!

 

[centrarchid]

Size appears sufficient. Sand is suitable. For fun consider placing a bright light source such as a heat lamp over the sand. You are likely to see something different

 

[mrskenmore]

I am running a test this weekend, I filled the back section that is separated by a 2x6 with peat moss.. we will see what the girls think