favorite dust bath recipe?

[amazondoc]

hey y'all --

Do you have a "recipe" for dust baths?

So far my chickens have had to make do with plain old dirt. My button quail have been getting Stall Dry or chinchilla dust to bathe in (button quail LOOOOOOOVE to dust bathe, btw

). What do y'all like to use?

Any input welcomed!

 

[Lobzi]

1/3 sand, 1/3 soot from fire place. 1/3 very fine dirt. Keep adding more and more soot for a softer, dustier bath.

 

[skyfires]

Funny you should ask this question,,,I just made up a batch today and the birds are lovin it!!! Simple,,,,,Sand (play box sand) Mite powder (your choice,,just in case) and ash from my wood burning stove (old remedy,,,oldtimers swear by it). Thats it!!

 

[skyfires]

See there,,,,Lobzi's chickens and mine are dustin in the same stuff,,,,hahaha!!!!

 

[amazondoc]

Thanks for the input, guys!

Sand -- no problem
mite powder -- no problem

But I have neither "very fine dirt" nor "ash/soot from the fireplace". Hmmmmmm.

Of course, the birds would get by with just the dirt....but I'd like to explore the possibilities.

Other recipes, anyone?

 

[rughooker]

Quote:
Can I use anything besides ash? Got rid of the Franklin. Somebody said they like to roll in DE. Quite pricey!! Maybe I can add sand to the DE. Right now my sweet little cochins are rolling in plain dry dirt and lovin it!

 

[WoodlandWoman]

We have heavy clay soil and get a lot of rain. That makes sand my favorite base. I also keep one dust bath under cover, so it stays dry. It's hard to dust bathe in mud, although it's fun to play in! We add some de. One bath has fine dirt mixed in, also.

Another favorite dust bath this year, has a lot of peat moss in it! Someone posted on an earlier thread this year, about giving their chickens peat moss to dust bathe in. I thought that was unusual and very interesting. Low and behold, later in the year, my chickens took over a tub planter with a lot of peat moss in it! They were in there every day!

We don't have any wood ash, or I'd put some of that in, too. It's all good!

 

[Dixiedoodle]

We have heavy red clay but in two places (when it is really dry) It's almost like talc, walk thur it and the dust bellows up around your boots...I had thought about getting a shovel or two to add to my 'dust bath"===will it work???Thanks Dixie

 

[WoodlandWoman]

You bet!

 

[bearz]

Could I use peat moss in place of ash?