Dust baths

[Invision]

That's what the DE is for, I also put a small amount on there food, but I have not put anymore on since they were moved to their ground pen. probably wont do it again for another month or two.

 

[dc3085]

The cheapest play sand you can buy. If you are taking dirt from your yard you should worm your birds.

DE isn't safe for humans to breathe, I surely wouldn't put it in with my quail. It says right on the bag that it shouldn't be inhaled under any circumstances. It is a crystal like particle that is covered in sharp edges and can cause respiratory problems in birds or humans.

 

[Kherome]

Has anyone used clean cat litter or the chinchilla dust bath you can buy at pet stores?

 

[Kherome]

So play sand is about it if I don't want to use dirt? The cat litter or chinchilla dust bath is no good? Thanks

 

[aperez54]

We have a pet leopard gecko - it's in an aquarium with reptile substrate as the flooring. Can I use this for their dust bath? OK , well I did... they LOVE it! Then I thought what if it isn't good for them? Is it OK to keep using it?

 

[Advocat]

The cheapest play sand you can buy. If you are taking dirt from your yard you should worm your birds.

DE isn't safe for humans to breathe, I surely wouldn't put it in with my quail. It says right on the bag that it shouldn't be inhaled under any circumstances. It is a crystal like particle that is covered in sharp edges and can cause respiratory problems in birds or humans.

Yard dirt can be sterilized by baking it in an oven (see http://www.ehow.com/how_8139523_sanitize-dirt.html). I'd sieve it first to remove the larger stuff, and I personally would bake it at a higher temperature on a cookie sheet.

To dc3085 : do you think this would provide safe dirt for quail? It makes sense to me, but I don't know a great deal about quail yet.

 

[Kherome]

Well, I bought the only thing I could find, which was calcium "reptile" sand that says "safest sand" on the bag. Hoping it doesn't hurt the birds.

 

[aperez54]

Oh I saw that at the pet store yesterday, I thought hey that's cool, if the quail eats the sand, it should be good for them since it's calcium, right?

 

[Kherome]

That is what I am hoping.

 

[GrandmaBird]

you can buy play sand at the larger discount stores like Walmart or even at home Improvement stores like Home Depot or Lowes. Just get clean sand NOT sand for construction/cement. Most of the time it is marked play sand or sandbox sand. The chinchilla dust is way too fine to use indoors but is okay if your birds are outside.