chinchilla dust

[Saerasx]

I havent found a definitive answer so I thought I would ask here. Would chinchilla dust be ok for chicks? My EE is currently trying to use the grit bowl as a dust bath I have a bag of DE that I bought when I took the chicks home but Ive read (chicken chick) that it can actually be dangerous for them? I can clearly tell that they would like to go out and dust bathe, but Im stumped as to what I should be offering.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

You can give them a pan of sand and they will love it for dust bathing.

DE is fine for adding to the sand but there is no point yet if they are still in the brooder and wouldn't get mites. It is harmful to inhale, but people use the feed-grade DE to prevent bug infestations. I use it too in the summer. In the winter I use woodstove ashes.

 

[Saerasx]

It is the food grade DE, and sand...would I get that at Home Depot? Hubby will ALWAYS take a chance to go is it possible to not have to buy a humongous bag? I really think feed stores should start offering "chick bathing" bags

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

It is the food grade DE, and sand...would I get that at Home Depot? Hubby will ALWAYS take a chance to go is it possible to not have to buy a humongous bag? I really think feed stores should start offering "chick bathing" bags

Well I started out buying the play sand (not the mason sand, which is WET inside the bag) in the bag at Home Depot, but then I figured out that if I get a truckload delivered it would be cheaper since I use the sand as bedding in my nestboxes and coops.

So the play sand works great. Always wear a mask when you sift sand and DE. They are both bad for the lungs. I use a kitty litter scoop to clean my coops after scraping with a plastic small rake. When they are tiny chicks though the poos are so small you end up throwing sand away too eventually in order to get the poos out.

They LOVE to bathe in sand.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Sand is OK grit for tiny chicks too so if they ingest some it is OK.

IF they seem to be overingesting it and going nuts eating it all the time, I would remove it and re-offer it at 2 weeks of age. That is when they stop overingesting pans of grit from my experience.

I also raise chicks on sand sometimes but I cover the sand with paper towels for a few days until they know what their food is. When you offer a PAN of sand and they are not used to it, they may overingest it...you just have to try it out and see.