fire pit ashes in the run

[jjakaus]

I thought I saw someone talking about putting fireplace ashes in their run for the birds to dust bathe...is this really ok? I was thinking about putting my run over an old fire pit and didn't really want to dig all the old ashes out. Won't this make them dirty?

Thanks!!

 

[Leslieb118]

Chickens love ashes, and dirt, and well anything that resembles dirt! I've got a burn barrel outside and when we burn wood in it, I wait a few days and throw some in the run for the chickens. They've got a spot under the coop they like to dust bathe, a spot under one of the trees, and a spot where my lawnmower has gotten stuck when it was muddy. They dust bathe under a trailer I have sitting on my concrete driveway that has dirt and a little gravel under it from when we had the tractor sitting on it...you name it, they've tried it!