Going to rotational graze my chickens on pasture - no dust baths?

[thistlewick]

Hey there just been thinking about this situation before I have a problem (my chicks are just babies right now, am being proactive)

We are going to be rotationally grazing them on our pastures in a chicken tractor; our pastures are grass. Rotationally grazing them is ideal for chickens but -- no dust! No bare ground anywhere for them to dust bath in.

Will they figure it out on their own or do I need to organize something for them?

 

[NatJ]

Hey there just been thinking about this situation before I have a problem (my chicks are just babies right now, am being proactive)

We are going to be rotationally grazing them on our pastures in a chicken tractor; our pastures are grass. Rotationally grazing them is ideal for chickens but -- no dust! No bare ground anywhere for them to dust bath in.

Will they figure it out on their own or do I need to organize something for them?

They will probably make a dust bath by scratching a bare spot in the grass.
That would be fine for the chickens, but may not be what you want in the pasture.

I see an older thread where someone recommends making a dust bath that sits in the moveable pen and is moved along with it:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tractors-and-dust-baths.1546347/

I have no idea how well that would work, but it might be worth considering.

 

[thistlewick]

They will probably make a dust bath by scratching a bare spot in the grass.
That would be fine for the chickens, but may not be what you want in the pasture.

I see an older thread where someone recommends making a dust bath that sits in the moveable pen and is moved along with it:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tractors-and-dust-baths.1546347/

I have no idea how well that would work, but it might be worth considering.

I did a little more googling after posting (I posted after not finding much googling haha) and chickens will create their own place for dust baths and they will have 7 acres to roam around, possibly more because a cattle electric fence isn't really going to keep in a chicken lol and if they want to roam to the borders where I have tons of woods, they're gonna do that. Lots of possibilities at the borders of the pastures where its dirt!

So I will wait and see, thanks for trying to help!!

 

[NatJ]

I did a little more googling after posting (I posted after not finding much googling haha) and chickens will create their own place for dust baths and they will have 7 acres to roam around, possibly more because a cattle electric fence isn't really going to keep in a chicken lol and if they want to roam to the borders where I have tons of woods, they're gonna do that. Lots of possibilities at the borders of the pastures where its dirt!

So I will wait and see, thanks for trying to help!!

If they are wandering around on 7 acres, they will definitely make themselves a dust bath somewhere, so no need to worry about it.

If they are confined to a small portable pen ("chicken tractor"), and you move it to a fresh patch of grass each day, they may not be able to make good dustbath spots on some days, or they may do a great job and leave a big dusty hole in each location. This is what I had thought you were asking about.

 

[aart]

If they are confined to a small portable pen ("chicken tractor"), and you move it to a fresh patch of grass each day, they may not be able to make good dustbath spots on some days, or they may do a great job and leave a big dusty hole in each location. This is what I had thought you were asking about.

That's what I thought too...pretty clear IMO.

We are going to be rotationally grazing them on our pastures in a chicken tractor

 

[CatInTheHenHouse]

Maybe put a pot full of dirt/ashes/etc. in the tractor for them to use?

 

[NatJ]

That's what I thought too...pretty clear IMO.

Maybe the "chicken tractor" is meant as a place to sleep at night, rather than the place that they spend both days and nights

 

[Ridgerunner]

One method is a chicken tractor for them to sleep and maybe hold feed while they are surrounded by electric netting for predator protection. That way you don't have to move them that often. Like everything else there are lots of different ways you can do about anything.

Will they figure it out on their own or do I need to organize something for them?

My suggestion is to see what happens. You may find you need to provide something, you may not.

 

[thistlewick]

Yep the chicken tractor is their roosting spot for night -- they will free range during the day doing their job over the pastures, spreading the cow poop with their scratch looking for the juicy morsels that have been laid within lol

Chickens are an integral part of regenerative farming practices and rotational grazing under that milieu. They come in last, after the ruminants.

 

[NatJ]

Yep the chicken tractor is their roosting spot for night -- they will free range during the day doing their job over the pastures, spreading the cow poop with their scratch looking for the juicy morsels that have been laid within lol

Chickens are an integral part of regenerative farming practices and rotational grazing under that milieu. They come in last, after the ruminants.

In that case, do not bother giving them a dustbath inside their chicken tractor. They can make their own when they are out for the day, and it sounds like they will have plenty of places where they can do that.