Dust bath area

[YvonneBack]

I want to put a dust bathing area in the run for the girls. I bought a large cat potty box and my thinking is this:
poke holes in the bottom for drainage, lay a layer of gravel to facilitate drainage, then a layer of sand topped off with a layer of diatomaceous earth.
How does this sound? and am I leaving anything out that may be important?

 

[aart]

I'd leave out the gravel and DE.
Just plain sandy dirt is what mine like...and they dig it up themselves.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Another option to keep the dust bath dry (which works far better for me in my rainy climate) is to get a tub/tote/sandbox with a lid. Cover it when weather is bad, uncover when it's dry. Much easier to keep it dry overall rather than try to drain out rainwater.

And I'd scrap the gravel and DE as well.

 

[Mtnboomer]

If you use the gravel, put a layer of weed cloth between it andyour sand. Itwill keep the sand from penetrating the void spaces between the gravel which are meant for water flow. But the gravel is not necessary.

I designed my coop to be elevated (32" from ground to bottom of the floor joist) so the chickens dust themselves under it...and in the wood shed.....and in my flower beds...and ....you get the point.

Those are my free rangers. My youngsters are in a typical coop/run set up with 4x4s squared off to form a 2'x3' sand box. They love it!

 

[YvonneBack]

Ok, get why gravel ain't necessary, so will leave that out. Thanks.
Our 2 hens are limited in their free (outside coop/run) ranging due to coyotes (lost 2 to them in past) and very athletic hawks who dive bomb almost on daily basis when chucks are out, so they are not allowed out without human guards in attendance. I know they love to bathe and wanted to make it available to them in their run; coop/run not built with the extra space available for them to bathe without me setting something up.
I must say I'm surprised with response re no DM. Had a hen last year that was covered in lice; we didn't know til vet pointed it out (she had gone to clinic for different reason) and then we began dusting them by hand. I'd read that 'offering' it in the dust bath area would eliminate us doing it manually for them.

 

[rosemarythyme]

There's a lot of debate on here about whether or not DE is actually helpful against pests or more of a respiratory irritant without enough benefit. If you decide to use it, keep in mind that it needs to be kept dry to work.

 

[kcan2]

The one mistake I made and would not recommend was adding some powdery ashes in my chickens' sandbox. My rooster was ashy for months! He is normally off-white. He didnt seem to mind but I was embarrassed for his gray cheek feathers

 

[aart]

I know they love to bathe and wanted to make it available to them in their run; coop/run not built with the extra space available for them to bathe without me setting something up.

What does your run look like? Pics might help here
Mine are confined to run too but they have dirt to dig in, they dig dust baths all over when weather is dry and under the coop all year.

I must say I'm surprised with response re no DM. Had a hen last year that was covered in lice; we didn't know til vet pointed it out (she had gone to clinic for different reason) and then we began dusting them by hand. I'd read that 'offering' it in the dust bath area would eliminate us doing it manually for them.

...and did you then check that the DE actually killed all the lice?

Just gonna pop my notes in here in case you need them.

My Bug Check notes:
Have you checked them over real well for mites and/or lice?

Google images of lice/mites and their eggs before the inspection so you'll know what you're looking for.

Part the feathers right down to the skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.

Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.

Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).

Good post about mite ID by Lady McCamley:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-chicken-has-mites-now-what.1273674/page-2#post-20483008

 

[cluckadoodledoo13]

My girls have a dig where i normally put just dry earth. They love rolling in it and finding the bugs. In summer i either put the diamatacious earth in the dig once its being scratted out or i put it in one of the nest boxes and they go in there and use it so it doesn’t get rained on.

 

[YvonneBack]

Thanks for all the helpful news. I read some back threads on lice/mites. They were most definitely lice and the DM powder the vet gave us was very effective. Tho, like someone else wrote, some hens get swarmed and others seem not to be as interesting to the little critters. Lice seems to be the big problem; no evidence of mites. The problem with the small run is the many rocks throughout making it not too nice for them to dust bathe. The land the ranch is on, including chicken run, is very rocky (sharp, edgy rocks)...not just on the surface but no matter how deep one digs down. So making them a bathing place would just be very nice for them. I will take picture and send tomorrow. I like to encourage chucks to be outside their coop most of the day given they don't get free range much so am reticent to put anything inside the coop which would make them want to hang in there more then they already do. I've built/made some things to keep them interested in staying outside and hopefully entertaining to them as well.