Dust Box..?

[CoverTune]

Ok, new to this whole chicken thing.. as per my intro, I bought a house and it came with chickens so, suddenly I'm a chicken owner, lol.

My setup is a small-ish coop (maybe 4' x 10' or so) with an attached run (approx 6' x 6') which is covered. I have a dozen chickens. Oh, and I live in BC, Canada so we've got serious winter to contend with.

I'd like to give the girls a little box of some kind for them to dust bathe in, but really have no idea what to use, or how big, or where to locate it (inside the coop, or out)... help?? At this point, I'm just looking for something really simple and inexpensive... come spring we can reevaluate and get a little more elaborate if necessary.

Thanks!

 

[cavemanrich]

Use a plastic tub and fill with potting soil, (not the fertilizer enriched type) . You can also fill with peat moss. I know it is winter and ground is frozen, but plain dirt when dry works well. For some reason, my chickens did not want to go into just sand. They would also like to dust in my campfire ash. (when not blazing.. )
WISHING YOU BEST... and

 

[Ms Biddy]

I've been thinking about this too. Normally mine make their own dirt bath in the run but it gets wet in the winter. Now I think I'm going to use a tire inside the coop where it's dry. I'm sure some people might think that's ugly but for some reason it appeals to me. The tire can also be painted, which would make it slightly more cute.

 

[cavemanrich]

I've been thinking about this too. Normally mine make their own dirt bath in the run but it gets wet in the winter. Now I think I'm going to use a tire inside the coop where it's dry. I'm sure some people might think that's ugly but for some reason it appeals to me. The tire can also be painted, which would make it slightly more cute.

Many peeps use tires multipurpose. Check this thread posting. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/where-did-they-come-from.1204687/page-85#post-19264491
WISHING YOU BEST..... and

 

[jthornton]

I use a plastic tubby in the middle of my covered run. They like to sit around the edge and have board meetings.



JT

 

[Ms Biddy]

Many peeps use tires multipurpose. Check this thread posting. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/where-did-they-come-from.1204687/page-85#post-19264491
WISHING YOU BEST..... and

Awesome thread, thanks! I think a tire in the main coop will be great. In my temporary grow out pen I'm going with an old metal crisper drawer (crispy chickens and keets!) Unfortunately all they want to do is pick through it to eat all the granite and pdz.

ETA: It's mainly peat with a small amount of wood ash, de, decomposed granite and pdz.

 

[aart]

Ok, new to this whole chicken thing.. as per my intro, I bought a house and it came with chickens so, suddenly I'm a chicken owner, lol.

My setup is a small-ish coop (maybe 4' x 10' or so) with an attached run (approx 6' x 6') which is covered. I have a dozen chickens. Oh, and I live in BC, Canada so we've got serious winter to contend with.

I'd like to give the girls a little box of some kind for them to dust bathe in, but really have no idea what to use, or how big, or where to locate it (inside the coop, or out)... help?? At this point, I'm just looking for something really simple and inexpensive... come spring we can reevaluate and get a little more elaborate if necessary.

Thanks!

Welcome to BYC!
I just grab up some of the dirt where they normally dust bathe and put it in a tub in the coop. Gather it when it's good and dry so it won't freeze.
They never used it last winter as the covered part of the run stayed dry enough with the new windbreak that the dirt/dust didn't freeze.

 

[7acres]

Anyone ever elevated their dust box?

 

[Cryss]

I'd like to put a tire in the run with sand so they could sunbathe as they sandbathe but it would just get wet when it rains. I thought of building a roof but that seems like overkill and would block the sun. And in winter will freeze. I might end up putting a pan of sand in the coop. Watching here for more cool ideas.

 

[rosemarythyme]

This is my dust bath now. Picked it up for free off the curb. The lid's great for dealing with rain in an un-roofed run.



With your run being a lot smaller, using a storage container like a plastic underbed box with lid could replicate the same thing, just smaller footprint.

Also with your number of chickens, one thing to plan for is an expanded run, or free ranging time. They're probably used to what they have right now with snow and everything, but they sure could use additional outdoor space once the weather gets better.