dust bath

[Chicagoboy]

is sand good enough for a dust bath or should i use dirt ?

 

[sourland]

In my experience they seem to like soil better than sand.

 

[Starburst]

I agree with sourland. My chickens have always preferred dirt to sand. You could also probably mix some sand with the soil if dirt is sparse in your area.

 

[PioneerChicks]

When given the choice mine to to dirt, sometimes with dirt and dry wood ash mixed in.

 

[One Lucky Momma]

Dry clay soil is a favorite around here.

You might see reference to offering DE, diatomaceous earth, for dust bathing. If you research that you’ll probably find there are more good reasons to not use it unless it’s mixed in small proportion to the other ingredients.

Here‘s something funny I saw yesterday. Count the number of birds actively dustbathing:

The answer is 4.

See the rectangular, black edged, partially covered box in the lower center of the picture, that contains no chickens? That’s the dust bathing basin, filled with a carefully formulated blend of all the esoteric ingredients recommended by those who know more about it than I do, but apparently less than the chickens!