Has anyone made your own dust bath

[farm_girl726]

I know I've seen threads on here about similar but I'm really looking for something current for anyone who has made their own dust bath for their chickens. I've read to combine sand with D.E. and wood ash but I'm interested if anyone has actually done it and the results ... Thanks in advance!!

 

[Lauren Kim]

Not with wood ash, but my chickens bathe in a mixture of sand and dirt. It works well.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I would leave out the DE. It gets airborne and drifts out of the chicken area. It is harmful to honeybees.

I use Peat Moss, fine sand and when I can get it, wood ash.

Never use charcoal ash as it contains harmful chemicals from its manufacturing process.

Every time I freshen the bath it is a crazy bathing frenzy.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

When I expand my run this spring I will be making a dust bath out of a tire, filled with sand and wood ash.

 

[farm_girl726]

I would leave out the DE. It gets airborne and drifts out of the chicken area. It is harmful to honeybees.

I use Peat Moss, fine sand and when I can get it, wood ash.

Never use charcoal ash as it contains harmful chemicals from its manufacturing process.

Every time I freshen the bath it is a crazy bathing frenzy.

Thanks for the advice for the honeybees!!! I have some on my property and would be devastated if they were injured from it. I guess I won't be using it in my garden either! Where do you get wood ash? I don't have a wood stove so I can't use my own, is it something you can purchase? Or better off searching for someone local to give some of theirs up? thank you!!!

 

[21hens-incharge]

I have a neighbor that has a wood stove for supplemental heat. He is nice enough to save the ash for my birds.

You want ash that is from trees not treated or glued items. Some people burn everything including trash.

 

[farm_girl726]

I have a neighbor that has a wood stove for supplemental heat. He is nice enough to save the ash for my birds.

You want ash that is from trees not treated or glued items. Some people burn everything including trash.

I'll use my fire pit this summer for strictly tree wood burning and save up the ash for my girls... how about the ash from a pellet stove? My mom has one of those!

We are also about to start clearing a bunch of lumber on our property I'll scoop some of that up too! Thanks!!

 

[pineapple416]

Sometimes I just find an area with soft dry sand and either hollow it out a little or transport it to a popular dust bathing spot.
One time I used an old tire and filled it with sand to make a dust bathing spot.
I agree don't use DE it could give them respiratory problems.

 

[farm_girl726]

I have a neighbor that has a wood stove for supplemental heat. He is nice enough to save the ash for my birds.

You want ash that is from trees not treated or glued items. Some people burn everything including trash.

I just noticed on another feed back in Sept you commented about the kind of peat moss you use for your dust bathing areas ... you buy it in dried bales? I'm glad I saw that because I wouldn't have known about that, I would have gone to the store and bought a bag of it haha. Where do u get it in the dried bales? Do u leave the area open? I was going to use my toddler's old sandbox to make them a dusting area and I can cover it at night to keep the rain and snow out

 

[farm_girl726]

Sometimes I just find an area with soft dry sand and either hollow it out a little or transport it to a popular dust bathing spot.
One time I used an old tire and filled it with sand to make a dust bathing spot.
I agree don't use DE it could give them respiratory problems.

We don't have sandy spots here, we are a very wet area so I have to improvise. Our water table is very high. I'm going to convert my toddler's old sandbox into their dust bath area so I can cover it during rain and snow