dust bath for chicks?

[TurtleChick]

sooooooooo do you guys put a dust bathing area in w/your chicks when you're brooding in the house? i want to - they're trying to dust bath in their wood shavings (very cute) - but i'm AFRAID of the ensuing mess........ if you do put a dust bath in the brooder, what do you use that (maybe) keeps the mess to a minimum? or am i dreamin'?

the kids are 2 weeks old and just graduated out of the rubbermaid and into my dog's ex-lg. varikennel crate. so the far end (cool end) is semi-enclosed (vent holes at the top half)...........

thanks in advance!

 

[Catalina]

It will be very, very messy

but your chicks will love it.

I had mine in a spare bed room and after they moved out everything was covered with a layer of fine dust. Yuck

 

[eggcetra_farms]

I'd never put anything in the brooder for them to dust bathe in. I just took them outside to play. If you do it just before it starts getting dark they'll have time to play, but will be easy to catch once it's dark. Maybe you could make up some sort of "playpen" to have them outside for a while when you could watch them.

As far as putting something in the brooder and having it not become a mess - good luck. After watching mine dust bathe I can't see how they wouldn't fling the dust, sand or whatever material you'd like to use EVERYWHERE.

Good luck!

 

[JenniferJoIN]

I learned my lesson the hard way... I thought it was so cute that they were dustbathing... until I went out the next day and there was dust in every nook and cranny possible!! Mine were on the porch/glassed-in area though, so it could have been worse. Still had to clean up though.

But again, it is fun to watch!

 

[schlitch]

I have yet to see mine dust bathe and they are at 6 weeks today. I let them out in the evenings into the large area covered with old hay straw under some of my fruit trees. They seem to only want to scratch and hunt for yummy things. There is lots of loose dirt and even sand in the area, but haven't seen em dust bathe in any of it yet. I told my DW last night, maybe they are clean chickens....er no.

I feel like I maybe missing out on something.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

When ours were little, they had a houseplant saucer with play sand. This was after they moved out of the living room. Although, the reason they had to move out of the living room, was because of all the dust in the air from their dust bathing in the shavings.

I had their saucer dust bath in the tractor with them until they out grew it. Now that they're old enough to free range, their favorite spot outside is a small flowerbed next to the patio, which I've given to them and added more sand to.

 

[TurtleChick]

ahhhhhhhhhhh i was afraid of that!!! dust, dust, everywhere dust.... i refuse to buy an air cleaner to sit next to the peeps. i say this all the time when talking about my human children, who'd have thought it'd apply to tiny chicks, too: how can such tiny creatures be sooooooooo messy???!!!???

unfortunately, it's still too cool (and supposed to be rainy for the next 10days or something...) - highs in the low 50's - to take them out during the day yet. in a couple of weeks and with some more feathers, i'm going to let them start going out to their run (it's sand!) for an hour or two in the afternoon... we've just got to get a tarp to cover part of their run and then the rain doesn't matter!

 

[Wildsky]

I gave mine a dish of dirt ONCE - it didn't last long and it was all kicked out.... after they were a week old, I started taking them outside in their little tractor. It was at first on grass (LOL) and I had my hubby put a shovel full of dirt on tip of the grass they went NUTS for that.

As far as when they did the dust bath thing, they prefered to do it with the sun shining - nice and warm... then they lay around in the sun with their one wing and leg sticking out! LOL very cute!