Dust Baths

[4H Chicken Love]

What should I use for dust baths? I've heard that DE is bad for their respiratory systems.

 

[pallas]

I used to use DE, but if they have some dry dirt near there coop they seem to prefer that.

 

[RWise]

Hard wood ash,
I myself can burn natural wood, and that is what I do. Burn a pile of oak (they like elm too) and when it gets cold the girls are all over it. I do add powdered sulfur to that.
Ash from the fire place, wood burning stove, even the grill, though I dont use charcoal as it has coal in it to burn hotter and longer.

 

[aart]

Burn a pile of oak (they like elm too) and when it gets cold the girls are all over it.

Do you really find the wood burnt to be that specific?
Have given my birds ash from brush piles(all kinds of wood), I put it in the holes where they usually bathe, they pretty much ignore it and move on to another spot.

 

[Perris]

I tried brushwood ash on its own, and they didn't like it much. Now I mix bonfire ash 50:50 with dry soil and some sand, and a couple of them love it and always choose the dust bath, while others prefer soil spots under two particular trees. I have tried mixing some DE in to both and it seems to make no difference, except that they emerge looking like ghosts and generate clouds of dust with the first proper shake on departure!

 

[New2Chicks97]

My girls have dust bath holes dug all over the place. Anywhere they can find somewhat loose soil or make it loose through determinedly digging, they have a dust bath spot. Their favorite spot seems to be the slightly damp dirt next to the garden. I haven’t added anything special to their dirt they seem to like it just the way it is

 

[RWise]

Do you really find the wood burnt to be that specific?
Have given my birds ash from brush piles(all kinds of wood), I put it in the holes where they usually bathe, they pretty much ignore it and move on to another spot.

Well yes I do. I have a lot of brush, much of it not hard woods, like cottonwood, a fast growing self pruning tree (they drop limbs constantly it seems). The girls do not dust in ash from these soft woods, burn out an elm stump and they dig it deep!
As I understand it, there are things in the hardwoods that are not in soft woods.

 

[aart]

Well yes I do. I have a lot of brush, much of it not hard woods, like cottonwood, a fast growing self pruning tree (they drop limbs constantly it seems). The girls do not dust in ash from these soft woods, burn out an elm stump and they dig it deep!
As I understand it, there are things in the hardwoods that are not in soft woods.

Makes sense, thanks.
I'll have to try this next time I trim the oaks and maples...
...think 'chinese' elm counts?

 

[RWise]

IDK about the Chinese elm, what I have here are piss elms, when I split them for fire wood the splitter 28 ton struggles on the trunk area, and forget hand tools.

 

[Little Jerry Seinfeld]

Well yes I do. I have a lot of brush, much of it not hard woods, like cottonwood, a fast growing self pruning tree (they drop limbs constantly it seems). The girls do not dust in ash from these soft woods, burn out an elm stump and they dig it deep!
As I understand it, there are things in the hardwoods that are not in soft woods.

That's interesting it never occurred to me the chicken would care, now I will have to experiment to figure out what they prefer!!
To op, I just use my desert dirt, with a little DE for a week once every month or two, in the summer, and fireplace ashes in the winter. Yeah they do look like ghosts I find it hilarious ! They don't seem to mind the DE and I know some people say its not good to use, I respect their reasons but choose to use it still. (Sorry if it offends anyone. I really really hate to use chemicals so avoid them. I think the benefits of DE outweigh the risks... )
I'm thinking of putting ground up herbs in the dust baths, oregano, thyme, rosemary, catnip, anyone have anti insect and anti fungle, and many skin benefits, ! Plus health benefits, they often eat their dirt baths, (i add sand)