Gave my Rooster a dust bath today

[redoak]

This morning I noticed my rooster Leo had a bum that was more red than normal. Upon closer inspection I noticed a couple mites. I've been giving the chickens a bucket full of wood ashes every week to dust bath in. I put the ashes in a cat litter box and they all dive in, except today it occured to me that I've never seen Leo dust bathing in the wood ashes. So I took matters into my own hands and gave him a dust bath. He didn't like it and I didn't like it one bit.

 

[ranchhand]

I'd be willing to bet you got more dust than Leo did? Oh dear!

 

[I'M On Island Time]

Sorry about your roo's mites, but this was pretty funny.

I can picture him flapping his wings and spraying dust all over everything but himself!

 

[edselpdx]

Maybe add some food-grade DE to the dust bath and bedding as a future preventative? If one's got mites, you probably need to assume the others do too and change out bedding in the coop. Pesticide based on your own personal choices. The image of anyone trying to give any chicken a forced dust bath in wood ashes does make me chuckle a bit.