Dust bins!

[superchemicalgirl]

diatomaceous earth?

 

[kleeo12]

Ok!!! I will look for some of that today

 

[RonB]

My flock can get under the barn where the dirt is dry !! I throw some Food Grade D.E. (diatomaceous earth) under there from time to time. they love it. Inside the barn (coop) I built a box out of 1 x 8's and mixed play sand, some dirt from outside, a bag of plan dirt from Home depot and D.E. it works out great

 

[azygous]

Using wood ashes in your chicken dust bath isn't mandatory.

My chickens have enjoyed any number of dust bathing mediums : peat moss, ordinary construction or beach sand (you probably have access to plenty of that in Florida), forest duff, and compost pile debris compiled of cow manure, garden refuse and their own decomposing droppings raked from their pen and coop.

But here's a warning - you may go to all the trouble of building them a first class dirt batch and they may ignore it for a homely corner of your garden.

 

[fl_deb]

I used 2 bags of play sand from Home depot in an oversized 2.5 x 2'x2' rubbermaid container with holes drilled in the sides near the bottom for drainage, and I have added DE to it as well.

This seems to work well as the sand tends to stay damp during the summer when they want to cool off and dryer during winter when warmth is wanted and all the sand they shake off from their dustbaths covers the run area pretty well, reducing the attractiveness of their poos on the run's floor (my run is an elevated plywood covered in vinyl). When cleaning time comes, I use the back of my rake to scrape the disgusting mess into a bucket and add it to the compost bin.

 

[kleeo12]

I got a 50lb bag of all-purpose sand yesterday & all the chicks and the adults are just in heaven with it LOL They act like little puppy dogs rolling all around in it heeheee

 

[abhaya]

Can I use ash in the coop like DE with thw deep litter method? GE gets expensive with 1 lagre and 1 smaller coop.

 

[chickerdoodle]

Our covered run has 6" deep sand throughout. I add some food grade DE to the area they prefer to take a "bath" in because if I added it to the entire run the cost would become prohibitive! Sand itself keeps it all dry and helps deter lice and mites and with the additional DE so far we've had no issues whatsoever! I add a small handful of the DE to the hen house floor over the shavings (a tiny bit in the nest boxes too) and gently mix it in to keep the shaving dry and prevent lice/mites as well. They love the sand!